A University of Iowa Health Care team of graduate medical education professionals has received a prestigious Innovation Grant from the American Medical Association (AMA) as part of the AMA’s Accelerating Change in Medical Education Program.
The team, led by Nkanyezi Ferguson, MD, UI clinical associate professor of dermatology and director of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Office of Graduate Medical Education (GME), and Lauren Hock, MD, senior resident physician in ophthalmology and visual sciences, will use the $30,000 grant to create educational resources that will benefit providers and patients alike by empowering providers to address discriminatory behavior in clinical encounters.
Nkanyezi Ferguson, MD, (left), and Lauren Hock, MD
The innovation project analyzes problems and provides solutions for resident physicians, fellows, and faculty confronted with patient-initiated, identity-based harassment. Hock laid the foundation of this work in her study of patient-initiated harassment based on gender. The grant allows the project to become sustainable, while looking at other identity-based forms of prejudice and discrimination, including race and ethnicity.
This expanded project, led by Ferguson, is part of a strong focus on developing new initiatives across graduate medical education to address systemic needs for diversity and inclusion. The grant involves the development, assessment, and implementation of an interactive curriculum and toolkit for responding to identity-based discrimination and harassment in the clinical setting. The team will deploy this intervention, measure outcomes, and create a generalizable framework that will impact the medical education community.
The grant team is a collaboration of leaders across UI Hospitals & Clinics and the Carver College of Medicine:
- Nkanyezi Ferguson, MD, director of diversity, equity and inclusion, Office of GME
- Lauren Hock, MD, senior resident physician in ophthalmology
- Gerald Wickham, EdD, GME director of Strategic Educational Initiatives, Office of GME
- Patrick Barlow, PhD, Office of Consultation and Research in Medical Education
- Denise Martinez, MD; associate dean for diversity and inclusion, Carver College of Medicine
- Nicole Del Castillo, MD, MPH, director, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Carver College of Medicine
- Nicole Nisly, MD, co-director of the LGBTQ+ Clinic
- David Moser, PhD, director of Educational Outreach, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
- Hillary Chappo, MHA, associate director of Education and Accreditation, Office of GME
- Mark Wilson, MD, MPH, associate dean for graduate medical education, Carver College of Medicine