Creating an Inclusive Environment 

CME Credit Hours: 1.5

America is becoming more diverse and so too, is its medical profession. The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons has a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee whose overarching charge is to increase diversity within the ASCRS so its members can better meet the challenges of delivering equitable colorectal care to everyone. To achieve that goal, the ASCRS must create an inclusive environment that both welcomes and proactively recruits individuals previously and currently marginalized in our profession. This includes many groups: Women; Black, Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC); Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (GLBTQ); and related groups, communities and cultures.  

The proportion of U.S. physicians who are Black is 5% at a time when Blacks constitute 13% of the U.S. population. The proportion of U.S. physicians who are Black has increased by only 4% over the past 120 years, and the share of physicians who are Black men is unchanged since 1940.  Black male surgeons are fewer in number today than they were in 1940.

Objectives

1. Recognize the many societal forces underlying the decrease in the number of black male surgeons entering our workforce today.
2. Develop an effective, personal response to call out microaggressions, prejudices, salary discrepancies, barriers to promotion, and other realities of discrimination faced by black surgeons and others being marginalized within our medical system.
3. Advocate for improved institutional processes to increase diversity and inclusion in your work environments to achieve equity for your colleagues and patients.  

Agenda