Radiologists and other physicians are voicing support for diversity, equity and inclusion in medicine while lawmakers have recently taken aim at ending such initiatives.
The American Medical Association issued a statement Tuesday, labeling DEI as a “means to help improve the health of our nation.” Several other organizations signed the statement, including the American Board of Medical Specialties (the umbrella organization over the American Board of Radiology) and Council of Medical Specialty Societies (of which the American College of Radiology and Society of Interventional Radiology are both members).
“Our efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion seek to address the long-standing and well-documented inequities in our healthcare system and its impact on the health of our patients and communities,” AMA et al. said March 26. “Excellence in patient care cannot exist until we have a physician workforce capable of caring for our patients and their needs holistically, and until the profession of medicine is accessible to all qualified individuals.”
ACR on Wednesday declined to comment on the statement. The Society of Interventional Radiology, meanwhile, said it agrees. “SIR, as a member of CMSS, fully supports and echoes the joint statement on diversity issued on March 26,” a spokesperson said by email.
The announcement comes amid political opposition to DEI, with more than 30 bills across the U.S. targeting related funding, practices and promotion at schools, according to the website BestColleges.com. As of Wednesday, nine had been signed into law by governors in Florida, the Dakotas, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Alabama and Idaho.
Earlier this month, members of Congress led by Rep. Greg Murphy, MD, R-N.C., a practicing surgeon, introduced the Embracing anti-Discrimination, Unbiased Curricula and Advancing Truth in Education (EDUCATE) Act. The bill seeks to “ban race-based mandates at medical schools and accrediting institutions.” House lawmakers have not yet passed the measure, and it faces an uphill battle in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
“American medical schools are the best in the world and no place for discrimination," Murphy said in a March 19 statement. "The EDUCATE Act compels medical schools and accrediting agencies to uphold colorblind admissions processes and prohibits the coercion of students who hold certain political opinions. Diversity strengthens medicine, but not if it’s achieved through exclusionary practices.”
Others signing Tuesday’s statement included the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, the American Osteopathic Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the National Board of Medical Examiners, National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners and the National Resident Matching Program. George D. Lundberg, MD, the editor-at-large for Medscape, also penned a March 25 editorial explaining why he believes DEI should continue to exist in medicine.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.