Healthcare

Arizona Medical School Pushes ‘Anti-Racism’ Coalition

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The University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix is transforming into an “anti-racist institution” though a five-stage program, according to the college website.

The college of medicine is one of 11 medical schools throughout Canada and the United States that are implementing the Icahn School of Medicine’s “Anti-Racist Transformation in Medical Education,” a three-year program that helps medical schools “dismantle systemic racism,” according to the college website. The University of Arizona College of Medicine announced the school is in “phase three” of the process as of Wednesday, which creates a “climate for change” by assembling a group of faculty and students to lead the anti-racism effort.

In order to move to phase three, the school obtained $500,000 in scholarship funds for underrepresented populations, created a four-year anti-racist medical curriculum, trained faculty in teaching anti-racism in medicine and created an “anti-racist medicine statement” for orientation, the college website showed.

Phase three is the implementation of the “anti-racist medicine” curriculum and changes, the website showed. Under the third phase, a group of leaders, or a “guiding coalition,” is created to build the “infrastructure and conditions to support change.”

“The Guiding Coalition will be made up of faculty, staff, residents, fellows, postdocs and students, and will be responsible for setting direction for anti-racism systems change,” the website stated. “The Guiding Coalition will oversee the change projects or actions; identify options and make decisions about where energy and resources should be focused; determine how to hold people accountable and manage resistance; as well as muster support, buy-in and resources from stakeholders and other parts of their institution.”

Phase one of the program required the college to assess its “readiness for change” by creating a “brave space” and assessing the college’s “capacity to lead change,” the website stated. The second phase asks the college to identify who its target community is and prepare materials for the desired change.

In phase four, root causes of racism in the institution are identified and “performance monitoring” occurs, the website showed. Phase five includes “removing barriers,” “implementing the change” and “celebrating the achievements.”

Integrating anti-racism into medical education is becoming increasingly more popular across the nation; the Association of American Medical Colleges, a national medical association, released a three-stage diversity, equity and inclusion guidance in July for medical schools which teaches students how to be role models of anti-racism.

The University of California, San Diego’s medical school uses an “antiracism lab” to find opposition to racism and created a “Anti-Discrimination Task Force” that requires anti-racism trainings. The school suggests that white students read “How to Be an Anti-Racist” by Ibram X. Kendi.

The University of Arizona College of Medicine at Phoenix did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.