The Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine Diversity Lecture Series continues in November and December with two events.
The next lecture — “Credentials Don't Shield Healthcare Professionals from Bias,” — will be presented Nov. 6 by Leon McDougle, M.D., MPH, chief diversity officer for The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. A third lecture is planned for Dec. 11, and set to feature Tonya Bailey, chief diversity officer, Lansing Community College.
The forthcoming events follow the first in the series, which was held Oct. 22 and featured V. Thande Sulé, Ph.D., Oakland University professor, and self-described “critical race feminist hip-hop scholar.”
Sulé effectively conducted a workshop to help participants understand what she described at “normalized, taken-for-granted behaviors, and how those behaviors are informed by our discomfort with engaging in critical conversations about the intersection between social identity and access to resources, which includes equitable health care.”
“We have to become comfortable having these conversations, otherwise we won’t move past it,” said Deirde Pitts, interim associate dean for Academic, Faculty Affairs and Diversity & Inclusion, and assistant professor of Foundational Medical Studies.
Diversity Lecture Series presentations are consistent with the OUWB Diversity & Inclusion mission — to facilitate and promote OUWB’s diverse and inclusive medical learning community through pipeline programs, student support and interest groups, educational programs, and community outreach events.
According to Caryn Reed-Hendon, Ph.D., director, OUWB Diversity & Inclusion, the hope is that the lectures inspire dialogue among members of the community surrounding controversial and compelling narrative specific to diversity and inclusion in the health care environment and in everyday life.
Next up in the series is “Credentials Don't Shield Healthcare Professionals from Bias,” featuring McDougle. The event is set for Nov. 6, noon to 1:30 p.m., in room 110B of Oakland University’s O’Dowd Hall.
“I’m hoping that there’s a continued conversation about inclusivity in the classroom, which is something that we are really looking hard at in our environment,” Pitts said. “A sense of belonging is extremely important to the success of any student…if you’re not feeling like you belong as part of a cohort you’re participating with, it makes it difficult for you to excel.”
McDougle is the first African American professor with tenure in The Ohio State University Department of Family Medicine and the first chief diversity officer for the OSU Wexner Medical Center.
A graduate of the University of Toledo and OSU College of Medicine, he completed the family medicine residency at the Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, California, and earned a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, Department of Health Management and Policy.
McDougle was recognized as being among the top 10 percent of physicians nationally for patient satisfaction. McDougle recently became president-elect of the National Medical Association (NMA) and will be installed as the 121st president on Aug. 4, 2020, during the 125th Anniversary of the NMA in Atlanta, Georgia.
Details of the December event featuring Bailey are still being finalized. Pitts said the focus will be on the importance of executives and leaders pursuing inclusive excellence.
The events are open to the entire OUWB community. In addition to their on-campus presentations, on the same days the presenters will take part in Dinner with a Doctor events at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak.
Registration details for the McDougle lecture can be found here.
For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, marketing writer, OUWB, at [email protected].
