Diversity & Inclusivity

Diversity Statement

The University of Rochester Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine is committed to success of imagination. This results in optimal patient safety, effective care, and innovations of therapy that will ultimately lead to advancements in our field. Imagination is not limited to any one group. We are committed to focusing upon securing the inclusion of all groups and creating an environment that nurtures respect of the individual regardless of their group of origin, in an equitable and supportive fashion.

We will advance, cultivate and preserve a culture of diversity, equality and inclusion because there is strength and stability in this approach to the providing of quality patient care.

Programs Operated Under The Direction/Co-Direction of Diversity & Inclusivity

STEP

STEP is a New York State funded educational pipeline program for middle and high school students who are economically disadvantaged or from underrepresented backgrounds. The program is designed to stimulate participants' interest in career development opportunities in medicine and the health care professions. STEP students have the opportunity to work directly with physicians, technical staff, certified teachers, medical, and graduate students. Students are exposed to a variety of academic and professional skill development opportunities to enhance their problem solving, critical thinking and test taking skills with an emphasis on active or "hands-on" learning.

• STEP Application Checklist
• STEP Parent/Student Agreement
• STEP Student Application

SURF

Bridge

Suggested Reading From Our Diversity & Inclusivity Team

Karakatsanis, A. Usual Cruelty: The Complicity of Lawyers in the Criminal Injustice System (2019)​

Mr. Karakatsanis examines what the justice system chooses to punish. He uses, for example, the fact that in most of the United States poor people shooting dice in the streets and placing bets can be seized, searched, have their assets forfeited and be locked in cages. In contrast, wealthy individuals are allowed to wager over international currencies, mortgages and the global supply of wheat. Mr. Karakatsanis draws attention to this fact. This book looks at the mass caging of human beings and the everyday brutality inflicted upon the poor and people of color

Katz-Nelson, I. When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America (2006)

This book examines the origins of affirmative action, a product of the New Deal and Fair Deal era of the 1930’s and 1940’s which sought to facilitate the recovery from the American Great Depression. All of the key programs were created in a purposely discriminatory manner, and were designed in large part by Southern Democrats (Dixiecrats).

Washington, H.A. Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present (2006)

An historical treatise on the use of Africans Americans’ mistreatment as experiment subjects by the U.S. medical establishment.

Spiro, J., Defending the Master Race: Conservation, Eugenics, and the Legacy of Madison Grant (2009)

The life of Madison Grant, “the greatest conservationist that ever lived” who has also been labeled the United States’ “most influential racist”. He typified twentieth century Americas and left a legacy that still influences the American political landscape. A legacy that ranges from arresting climate change to anti-immigrant politics. Grant popularized the blond-haired, blue-eyed Nordics as the master race; advocated for the elimination of members of the inferior races who were deemed of no value to the community; successfully lobbied for Congress to enact immigration restriction legislation of the 1920’s; and led many states to ban interracial marriages and to sterilize thousands of “unworthy citizens.

Jones, J.H., Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, New and Expanded Edition (1992) 

The story of the United States Public Health Services’ non-therapeutic experimentation on more than 400 African American sharecroppers infected with syphilis from 1932-1972. The men were not informed that they had syphilis and were intentionally not offered effective pharmacologic treatment.

Blindspot- Hidden Biases of Good People, ISBN: 9780345528438 

Self-perceptions are examined by psychologists Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald. They challenge the biases carried from a lifetime of exposure to cultural attitudes about age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, sexuality, disability status, and nationality. They question the extent to which our perceptions of social groups—without our awareness or conscious control—shape likes and dislikes and our judgments about people’s character, abilities, and potential. They report their experience with the Implicit Association Test, a method that has revolutionized the way scientists learn about the human mind and that gives us a glimpse into what lies within the metaphoric blindspot.”

Study: “Cumulative Lifetime Adversity in a National Sample of Hispanic/Latino Immigrants: Exploring Construct Validity Across Six Hispanic/Latino Groups Using Data From the HCHS/SOL Sociocultural Ancillary Study”  

This treatise examines how Hispanic/Latino immigrants often experience significant adversity before, during, and after migrating to the United States

Study: “Supporting sexual and gender minority health-care workers”  

This examines how sexual and/or gender minority health-care workers are subject to the heteronormativity and cisnormativity of society and face open discrimination. It discusses the empowerment of these individuals to bring their full, authentic selves to work so that they can serve their patients and institutions with the totality of their strengths. This requires institutional and cisgender or straight allies to support LGBTQ+ communities. This may help create a culture of inclusivity and cause the enactment of  progressive policies.

Audio/Visual Content Pertaining to the Diversity & Inclusivity Initiative

Who We Are (2022)

Former ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jeffery Robinson’s groundbreaking talk on the history of U.S. anti- Black racism is interwoven with archival footage, interviews, and Robinson's story, exploring the enduring legacy of white supremacy and our collective responsibility to overcome it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMCF5hzv_5I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEMDJX_R6h4

Descendant (2022)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M8ESS9hSAQ

Follows the descendants of the survivors from the Clotilda, the last ship that carried enslaved Africans to the United States as they reclaim their story.

Infraction Resolution

Policy Against Discrimination, Harassment and Discriminatory Employment/Service Practices (PADH)

RL Solutions – Employee Incident Reporting System