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Emergency Medicine residency program wins inaugural Diversity and Inclusion Award

Emory’s Emergency Medicine residency program has received national recognition for its work related to physician workplace diversity and inclusivity. Shown (from left) are Melissa White (EM residency program director), Jennifer “Jae” Goines (2020 EM residency program graduate), Philip Shayne (assistant dean of Graduate Medical Education), Joi Phillips (2020 EM residency graduate), and Jeffrey Siegelman (associate program director).

Emory School of Medicine’s Emergency Medicine Residency Program has been awarded the inaugural Diversity and Inclusion Award from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)The award is presented in recognition of “innovation, commitment, thought leadership to create physician workforce diversity, and efforts to promote inclusivity.”

In giving the award, the ACGME specifically noted Emory’s demonstrated success in diverse recruitment and retention, its commitment to pathway programs into medicine and its engagement with the greater Atlanta community. Emergency Medicine residency program director Melissa White will attend the virtual 2021 ACGME Annual Educational Conference Feb. 24–26, where ACGME Award winners will be recognized in a virtual Awards Hall. 

Emory’s Emergency Medicine residency program accepted its first group of residents in 1974 and has grown to more than 60 residents from diverse backgrounds and regions of the world.

“This ACGME award recognizes over 20 years of a determined department effort to realize our shared values of equity and inclusion,” says Philip Shayne, assistant dean of graduate medical education and former EM residency program director. “Achieving diversity has a been a true team effort and Emory Emergency Medicine is fully dedicated to continue the push for social justice.”  

As EM residents noted on Instagram, “From our residents to our faculty, EMory prides itself on being one of the most diverse and inclusive programs in the nation, not only across ethnic backgrounds but also religious and gender. We don’t just talk about it, we lead it!”

A strategic planning process is currently underway to continue expanding the focus on diversity, equity and inclusion across the School of Medicine. Leaders like Sheryl Heron, who played a critical role in the Emergency Medicine department, are helping to lead this broader planning effort, along with Carolyn Meltzer and other faculty and staff members from across the School of Medicine.

Read more about the EM residency program and see videos from current residents.


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