Modest turnout for DOM DEI Mixer with great talk, sim lab experience

Roughly thirty people attended the 2024 Department of Medicine mixer hosted Monday, Nov. 4, by the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee in the Health Science Innovation Building’s Forum and ASTEC simulation lab, including at least 10 pre-med and medical students interested in internal medicine.

Below, you’ll find a mini-photo gallery from the event.

In addition to the sim lab experience, the mixer included a captivating talk by Francisco Moreno, MD, titled, “Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Medical Education Research and Practice.” Dr. Moreno is a University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson psychiatry professor and associate vice president over the Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion and director of the Hispanic Center of Excellence at the U of A Health Sciences.

[Christian Bime, MD, MSc] “Dr. Moreno gave a very cogent reflection of the positive impact on our patients a diverse healthcare workforce has,” said DOM Vice Chair for DEI Christian Bime, MD, MSc, who’s also an associate professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, or PACCS. “Building an inclusive environment is what we strive for always. And it was wonderful to see the positive engagement from a diverse group of medical students, staff and faculty at the procedure simulation session.”

The students were thrilled to get a chance to work with DOM faculty in the Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center, or ASTEC, on HSIB’s seventh floor. They got hands-on opportunities to learn about different procedures at four stations. The stations included: [Clockwise from top left: Ryan Wong, MD, Monica Hinestroza Jordan, MD, Andre Johnson, MD, PhD, and Madhav Chopra, MD]

Central line placement (a catheter inserted into a large vein to connect to the heart) with Ryan Wong, MD, a Division of Nephrology assistant professor and director of the DOM IM sub-internship program;
Lumbar puncture, also known as a spinal tap (a procedure to insert a needle into the spinal canal to extract cerebrospinal fluid), with Monica Hinestroza Jordan, MD, Division of Infectious Diseases assistant professor;
Thoracentesis (a procedure to insert a needle or catheter into the pleural space around the lungs to remove fluid or air) with Madhav Chopra, MD, assistant professor and member of Interventional Pulmonology Program team, PACCS Division; and
Joint aspiration, also known as arthrocentesis (a procedure using a needle and syringe to remove fluid from a joint, in this case the knee), with Andre Johnson, MD, PhD,* a fellow in the Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine Fellowship of the PACCS division.

* This station was originally to be led by Riyasha Daulat, MD, a fellow in the Division of Rheumatology, but she was unable to attend.

Dr. Hinestroza said she really enjoyed working with students in the sim lab experience. “The earlier we expose them to the clinical environment and clinicians, the more they’ll be able to really determine what kind of medicine they want to practice. I believe that sometimes, the lack of exposure of some disciplines is part of the reason why so many subspecialties are having such a hard time recruiting the physicians of tomorrow,” she added.

Dr. Moreno also was glad to be a part of the evening’s activities.

“It was great to see the Department of Medicine’s outreach efforts to connect with its members, trainees and students. Our discussion on Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in medical education, research and practice was a great opportunity to remind ourselves of the values that make a great program in the service of our community,” he said.

His talk included stark statistics on the makeup of the health care workforce and inverse disparities in Arizona’s patient population and those underrepresented in healthcare professions (particularly physicians) and biomedical research.

[Francisco Moreno, MD, and Celia Valenzuela, MD] Dr. Moreno also noted how most research data comes from those of European descent, adding that efforts such as the NIH Minority and Health Disparities Strategic Plan (2021-25) and All of Us Research Program are amending that. Other positive efforts at the U of A include the Arizona CEAL Consortium, Arizona Approaches to Equity, Pandemics, Lungs & Sleep Program, Southwest Center for Advancing Clinical and Translational Innovation, and the AZ-HOPE and RECOVER clinical trials programs.

As the DEI Mixer occurred a day prior to the national U.S. elections, Dr. Moreno also stressed the significance of voting as a social determinant of health and underscored the importance of voting for all.

Also present was Celia Valenzuela, MD, a College of Medicine – Tucson associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and the college’s vice dean for diversity, equity and inclusion. She pointed out the DEI office at the college recently was renamed as the Office of Inclusivity, Community and Belonging, noting that some associated the word “diversity” with differences rather than commonalities everyone shares.

MINI-PHOTO GALLERY *
* Click on images to enlarge. Rollover image with mouse for captions.

[U of A Health Sciences associate vice president for equity, diversity and inclusion, Dr. Francisco Moreno talks about disparities and inequities that exist in health care not only among patients but the ethnic and other differences in medical professionals who treat them.]