Hispanic/Latino faculty network, brainstorm how to foster greater inclusion across SoM

By etm18@dhe.duke.edu
On May 7, a group of Hispanic/Latino faculty from across the School of Medicine met for breakfast and to network and brainstorm how to foster greater inclusion of Hispanics/Latinos across the School. The group of 17 faculty discussed strengthening connections and communications across departments and communities; recruitment, retention and progression of Hispanic/Latino faculty, staff and students; raising interests, concerns and awareness of Hispanics/Latinos to enhance multicultural awareness; healthcare issues and research; and individual experiences navigating the culture of Duke Medicine. [caption id="attachment_12075" align="alignright" width="200"]Leonor Corsino, MD, MHS Leonor Corsino, MD, MHS[/caption] The breakfast was hosted by Judy Seidenstein, chief diversity office at the School of Medicine’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, in partnership with Leonor Corsino, MD, MHS, FACE (Endocrinology), Edward Suarez, PhD, (Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences) and Rebecca Reyes, (DUHS Coordinator for the Latino Healthcare Project). Dr. Corsino said her involvement with the gathering was the one step in the Department of Medicine’s new initiative that focuses on the recruitment and retention of Latino faculty, fellows and residents. In her new role as associate chair for the Minority Recruitment and Retention Committee, Corsino is working to increase the number of Hispanics/Latinos in the Department so it better reflects the growing population in North Carolina and across the country. “In the Department of Medicine, there is a very small group of Hispanics/Latinos,” Corsino said. “They are the largest minority in this country but are still underrepresented in the field of medicine.” Corsino said Hispanics/Latinos constitute 16.7 percent of the nation’s population (8.6 percent in North Carolina) and that number is expected to increase to 30 percent of the nation’s population by 2050. In her role with the MRRC, Corsino has developed strategies to begin this task and hopes to provide opportunities and resources that promote success for Latinos in medicine. One of Corsino’s hopes for the breakfast was to build a larger network of Latino faculty across the School of Medicine. During the breakfast faculty had the opportunity to meet, network and brainstorm steps for improvement. “It’s a starting point where we shared information on Hispanics/Latinos in medical school, the number of applicants, and actual students,” Corsino said. Corsino hopes Hispanic/Latino faculty from the Department will continue to meet and support one another – and possibly find opportunities to collaborate. “It turns out many of us across the School and within the Department are doing similar things in research, so there may be opportunities for collaboration,” she said. The group will be meeting again later this summer to build on their ideas and come up with strategies for getting more faculty involved. If you would like more information about this group or would like to get involved, please contact Leonor Corsino, MD, MHS, FACE.

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