Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Mission Statement

We, the Maine Medical Center OB/GYN Residency Program, believe that an inclusive and diverse work environment is an integral part of the foundation of a more equitable and just health field and society. In an effort to provide better care for our patient population that includes people who come from around the globe, identify across the gender and sexuality spectrum, and hail from any background and socioeconomic status, we seek to provide more education, programming, support, and conversation around the topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Aims

We strive to recruit and elevate residents who embody these diverse characteristics and grow with us to serve the patients of our state, country, and beyond. We also strive to create an environment of belonging. We recognize that our program and institution is in the earlier phases of implementing these efforts, but we are committed and devoted to anti-racism and anti-violence work. Current and future programming includes:

An anti-racism reading group to facilitate intentional discussion among residents and faculty
Skills building in trauma-informed care
Didactic sessions to amplify the voices of our local community members, including immigrants and asylees, LGBTQI+, homeless and marginalized populations
Commitment to recruitment and retention of diverse medical students, applicants, and residents

Living curriculum on topics related to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging

Topics	Contents (evolving)	Resources (evolving)
Cultural competency	Cultural competency skills building Anti-racism Professional development in addressing microaggressions	MMC Social Work Main Access Immigrant Network Portland Department of Health MMC Interpreter services Community members MMC/Tufts Canvas course on health disparities, social justice and cultural humility BMC Immigrant and Refugee Health Center (including the Refugee Women’s Health Clinic) Ackerman-Barger et al (2021). "Addressing microaggressions in academic health: a workshop for inclusive excellence." Acholonu et al (2020). “Interrupting microaggressions in health care settings: a guide for teaching medical students.” Sotto-Santiago et al (2020). “‘I didn’t know what to say’: responding to racism, discrimination and microaggressions with the OWTFD approach.”
Trauma-informed care	Training on adverse childhood events Approaches to trauma-informed care Identifying and caring for patients of trafficking Identifying and caring for patients of domestic violence Also see topics on cultural competency, vulnerable populations and LGBTQI+	MMC Social work MMP Project BRACES team (building resiliency against adverse childhood events)
Health equity	Intersectionality Health policy Health disparities Social justice Advocacy	MMC/Tufts Canvas course on health disparities, social justice and cultural humility Bi et al (2020). “Teaching intersectionality of sexual orientation, gender identity, and race/ethnicity in a health disparities course.” Introduction to health policy. ACOG CREOG Health Equity Curriculum ACOG CREOG Advocacy Curriculum
Vulnerable populations	Refugee health care Identifying and caring for patients being trafficked Costs of care Diagnosing food insecurity and the role of malnutrition in our patients	MMC Social Work Main Access Immigrant Network Portland Department of Health MMC Interpreter services MMC/Tufts Canvas course on health disparities, social justice and cultural humility Community members Refugee health care. Occupational health and vulnerable worker populations. Introduction to human trafficking with Dr Hanni Stokolosa. HEAL Trafficking. (Recorded ED Grand Rounds.) (additional resources on HEAL) Managed care and health insurance. Financial billing services at MMC. Food production, public health and the environment. Nutrition counseling with MMC dieticians and DIPP.
LGBTQI+	Gender identity and providing inclusive health care (including language and terminology) Addressing common gynecologic issues among transgender patients	ACOG CREOG Transgender Health Care Module MMC/Tufts Canvas course on health disparities, social justice and cultural humility MMC Pediatric Transgender Clinic MMP Reproductive, Endocrinology and Infertility Clinic

The Department of Medical Education is also offering a Diversity Scholarship for visiting medical students:

Visiting Student Diversity Scholarship Program

The Department of Medical Education developed the Diversity Scholarship Award Program to help advance MaineHealth’s mission to actively pursue, and welcome a wide range of perspectives and backgrounds. We believe with this program, we will improve the academic environment, drive innovation, and attract leadership – ultimately, enhancing our ability to train future medical providers to provide high quality, socially responsible, and equitable care to all patients and their families.

MMC’s Department of Medical Education offers eight $500 scholarship awards per academic year for those applying to advanced electives with identities and backgrounds that are considered underrepresented in medicine. The AAMC has previously defined underrepresented in medicine as "those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population." The Department of Medical Education endeavors for this to be an inclusive definition that is open to individual interpretation. Other examples may include physically disabled, economically disadvantaged, or LGBTQ+ students.

This scholarship award may be applied towards travel, housing, and incidental expenses related to a month long visiting rotation.

View the program overview to find out if you are eligible and to learn more about the application process.

If you have any questions, please contact the Department of Medical Education at 207-662-7060 or UME_MedEd@mmc.org.