Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Diversity Definition
Diversity at OHSU requires creating and sustaining a community of inclusion. We honor, respect, embrace and value the unique contributions and perspectives of all employees, patients, students, volunteers and our local and global communities.
Diversity includes age, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. We respect diversity of thought, ideas and more.
Diversity maximizes our true potential for creativity, innovation, quality patient care, educational excellence and outstanding service.
OHSU PA Program Statement of Anti-Racism
OHSU PA Program Anti-Racism Lecture Guidance
Institutional racism is a prevalent and grave problem in medical education on many levels.1 In the Spring of 2020 the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) Physician Assistant (PA) Program made a formal commitment to identifying and addressing systemic racism in medical education. We started by examining all aspects of the current teaching models and PA student educational experiences.
Several workgroups were created to review the curriculum, focusing on areas of racism, inequality, and bias. One of the workgroups looked at didactic lectures.
Using a literature review, we developed seven guidelines and best practices that set clear expectations for individuals who interact with PA students, and serves as a resource and prompt that lecturers can use to review their teaching materials through an anti-racist lens. This guide gives lecturers specific examples of what to look for, explains what is problematic, and suggests how to adjust or replace the content.
1. Diaz T, Navarro JR, Chen EH. An Institutional Approach to Fostering Inclusion and Addressing Racial Bias: Implications for Diversity in Academic Medicine. Teach Learn Med. Jan-Mar 2020;32(1):110-116. doi:10.1080/10401334.2019.1670665
PA Program JEDAI Committee
The PA Program JEDAI Committee is committed to upholding the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, anti-racism and anti-discrimination. Our charge is to identify areas of improvement, develop, implement, and track progress on initiatives that support the JEDAI Council Mission and the OHSU School of Medicine Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Strategic Action Plan 2021-2025.
PA Program JEDAI Committee Mission
Justice & Equity - create, develop, and maintain just and equitable practices and policies;
Diversity - prioritize recruiting and supporting faculty, students, and staff from marginalized groups who have been historically underrepresented in medicine;
Anti- Racism & Anti-Discrimination – consciously support policies that mitigate racial inequity and discrimination as well as continually reflect and assess program practices and policies that may uphold the dominate culture and institutions;
Inclusion - create and foster a culture of inclusion in the work and learning environment, in which all individuals feel equally welcomed, respected, and valued.
PADiM Student Interest Group
Mission of being committed to diversifying the Physician Assistant profession by: Support pre-PA students and promoting the PA profession. Advocate and be a contributor to anti-racist education within the OHSU campus and collaborating with the surrounding community. Promote diversity, equity, inclusion and access to for all under-represented minorities PA students at OHSU and aspiring PA candidates across the nation. Center the voices, experiences and knowledge of a diverse student body.
Highlights
OHSU PA students participate in outreach and education in partnership with PAEA.
Project Access is a community outreach program that aims to encourage high school students from underrepresented minoritized groups to consider the PA profession as a career. Students from the OHSU PA Program partnered with Benson Polytech High School Class of 2022 and Class of 2023 and hosted student-led workshops such as point-of-care ultrasound sessions and heart/lung sound. Benson excels in preparing students for technical careers and is among the most diverse high schools in the region.
Health Care Equity Fair 2022
On October 2nd, student volunteers from across Oregon provided free health care services to the Portland Community at Pioneer Square. The Health Care Equity Fair is an interprofessional, student-run event which began in 2009 to address the needs of those without health insurance. Find out more on OHSU News.
Celebrating PA Week!
Class of 2024 celebrated PA Week by serving community members with food insecurities throughout Oregon and SW Washington by repacking donated produce into smaller family-sized packages at the Oregon Food Bank.
News and Events
PA alumna builds on life experience, hopes to inspire other Black students to attend OHSU, November 2, 2023
Oregon Health and Science University’s PA Program Develops Plan to Enhance EDI Recruitment
PA students held workshops for Woodburn and Jefferson High School students through OnTrack OHSU!
PA Program students participate in student-led PAEA Project Access proposing pathway project to increase diversity in the PA profession.
Health Equity Fair 2022 - Students from colleges across Portland serve hundreds of participants. Great turnout from PA students!
OHSU StudentSpeak, Morgan A. Logan, PA-S2, NHSC Scholar. Sept 28, 2022
PA Program head of division and program director, Dr. Skylar Stewart-Clark joins the OHSU DEI Alignment Team (DAT), meetings expected to begin in December.
PA Program met with Tanana Chief Conference administration at Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center to propose a pathway partnership for Alaska Native students and expand rotation in Interior Alaska. September, 2022
The admissions team partnered with the Center for Diversity and Inclusion to host the second annual workshop, “Combatting Bias in Admissions Interviews” aiming to identify and minimize the source of unconscious bias that could occur in admissions interviews.
Dr. Skylar Stewart-Clark as panelist in the PAEA: Anti-Racism Faculty and Staff Town Hall. Morgan A. Logan, PA-S2 as panelist in the PAEA: Anti-Racism Student Town Hall.
PA Program faculty present OHSU PA Program Anti-racism Lecture Guidance OHSU Symposium on Educational Excellence, May 20, 2022
OHSU StudentSpeak, “You never know until you try” – Morgan A. Logan, PA-S, Class of 2023,
OHSU StudentSpeak, “You can’t be what you can’t see” – Kristina Stephenson, PA-S, Class of 2023
PA Program receives the 2022 OHSU Equity in Assessment Award. Congratulations!
SOM Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Strategic Action Plan 2021-2025
OHSU Inclusive Language Guide
