Chairman’s Introduction:

Welcome!

The Department of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center is committed to fulfilling its three-part mission of achieving excellence in educating the next generation of physicians, conducting preeminent, groundbreaking research, and providing excellent patient care. Increasing racial and ethnic diversity among our housestaff and faculty is essential to accomplishing our mission. Currently, a disproportionately low number of minority physicians provide health-care to an increasingly diverse society. A recent report from the Association of American Medical Colleges shows that only 7% of the internal medicine faculty in U.S. medical schools are members of under-represented groups in medicine, while the proportion of minorities in the U.S. population is 28% and growing. The result is too few culturally competent minority and non-minority physicians who are dedicated to caring for minorities, teaching minority and non-minority medical students and conducting medical research relevant to illnesses that disproportionately affect minorities.

Given the importance of minority representation in medical education and training, in 2004 the Department of Medicine created the Committee to Promote Housestaff Diversity to increase the presence of minority housestaff, faculty and medical students in the Internal Medicine Training Program. This site will introduce the Committee’s plan to increase minority representation in the Department, as well as the Center for Excellence for Diversity in Health Education and Research and the Office for Diversity and Community Outreach of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, important partners in our effort to reach out to the minority community of Philadelphia and beyond.

We welcome you to contact the Department of Medicine to discuss your interest in our programs.

Richard Shannon, M.D.
Chairman, Department of Medicine

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Committee to Promote Diversity:

Welcome! The Committee’s mission is to increase minority representation in the Department of Medicine and to promote diversity in the hospital community by 1) helping recruit the most qualified medical students from under-represented minority groups to our residency program, 2) strengthening the ties between medical students, housestaff and faculty in the hospital community, 3) promoting retention of qualified minority medical students, residents, fellows and faculty, and 4) strengthening the Department’s ties with the community of Philadelphia.

1. In order to attract highly qualified minority medical students, we plan to:
   Attend the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) and Boricua-Latino Health Organization (BLHO) local and national conferences.
2. Establish a Visiting Clerkship for 4th year minority medical students seeking away-rotations at HUP that includes mentoring by our faculty and housestaff, as well as providing housing and transportation during their stay.
3. Organize open houses and other social activities for medical students from schools in our region.
4. Coordinate recruitment events and activities with other residency programs in the hospital.

To foster a sense of unity among the minority housestaff, medical students and faculty in our Hospital Community, we plan to:

1. Establish a mentoring program between housestaff and faculty, as well as medical students and faculty/housestaff.
2. Organize periodic informal social events and happy hours for faculty, housestaff and medical students.
3. Attend events organized by the medical school’s Office for Diversity (e.g. info sessions, Get-Acquainted Dinner for newly-admitted medical students, the Helen O. Dickens dinner).
4. Coordinate social events with minority housestaff in the other residency programs at HUP.
   

We have also created the Faculty Resource and Support Program. Through this program, assigned faculty will be a resource and provide support to each under-represented minority trainee. The goals of this program will be to (i) provide guidance to the under-represented minority housestaff during their professional and personal development; (ii) establish and facilitate networking among minority trainees and minority and non-minority faculty and fellows; and (iii) provide positive role models for academic medicine. To learn more about this Program, please contact Dr. Carmen Guerra (carmen.guerra@uphs.upenn.edu).

Strengthening our ties with the Community of Philadelphia is a key part of our mission. Our plan also includes:

1. Helping advertise community outreach programs organized by faculty and housestaff by means of e-mail or on-line calendar.
2. Encouraging the participation of faculty and housestaff in community outreach events organized by the medical school.

We are excited about further enriching our Department by increasing diversity. If you have questions about any of our Committee, please contact us.

Horace DeLisser, M.D.
Chairman, Committee to Promote Diversity
E-Mail: delisser@mail.med.upenn.edu

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Committee to Promote Diversity, Members:

Dr. Horace DeLisser, Chairman
Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care
Department of Medicine

Dr. Lisa Bellini
Vice Chair for Education and Inpatient Services,
Department of Medicine
Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education
University of Pennsylvania Health System

Dr. Carmen Guerra
Division of General Medicine
Department of Medicine

Karen Hamilton, PhD
Assistant Dean
Office for Diversity and Community Outreach in Undergraduate Medical Education
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Dr. Jerry Johnson
Director, Center of Excellence for Diversity in Health Education and Research
Chief, Division of Geriatric Medicine
Department of Medicine

Dr. Paul Lanken
Associate Dean for Professionalism and Humanism
Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care
Departments of Medicine and Ethics

Jack B. Lewis, MSW, LCSW
Director, Office of Diversity and Community Outreach
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Dr. Gbemi Adeseun
Resident
Internal Medicine Program

Dr. Niya Jones
Resident
Internal Medicine Program

Dr. Sylvia Rosas
Renal, Electrolyte and Hypertension Division
Department of Medicine

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Applying:

We are strongly committed to enriching our residency program by attracting and recruiting the most qualified medical students from under-represented minority backgrounds. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at any point during the application process if you have questions about the program or Philadelphia. To ensure the exposure of applicants to our minority faculty and housestaff during the interview period, we hold additional sessions for applicants to meet some of our faculty and housestaff on selected interview dates. We will also host a second-look event at the end of the interview period for all interested under-represented minority applicants. For more information on how to apply, click here.

Philadelphia has much to offer, especially because of its diversity: 43% of the population is African American and another 8% Hispanic or Latino. Philadelphia is known for its high quality restaurants, nightlife, and cultural events. To read a copy of our ethnic guide to Philadelphia, click here.