This week, we celebrate Equity, Diversity and Inclusion on campus and proudly note the remarkable contributions of Tibetha Kemble and Jill Konkin, EDI award winners for their efforts in promoting Indigenous Health initiatives.
This same week, our leadership was also made aware of an account of a learner witnessing unprofessional remarks that were racist in nature. We are deeply disappointed and take such incidents seriously; racist remarks and behaviours are completely unacceptable.
Equity, diversity, and inclusion are core values for the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta. Our leadership stands firmly in support of these principles and expects them to be realized throughout our educational programs, our research, and in the delivery of patient care. Providing a culturally safe learning environment for trainees is crucial and we strive to ensure that this is achieved in all areas of the faculty.
The Dean's Office specifically developed the professionalism button for learners and staff to identify any mistreatment or unprofessional conduct they have experienced within any of the learning environments of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. The Office of Advocacy and Wellbeing is a resource for learners, as well as faculty, to seek out support around mental and physical health, harassment and intimidation, learning disabilities and career counselling.
We are committed to enabling and supporting our community as we work to build an inclusive health-care system that enriches the lives of everyone we serve. In order to support health system-level changes in equity, diversity and inclusion, it is important for each of us in our faculty to ask what more we can do to help shift the landscape.
Dennis Kunimoto, MD, FRPC
Interim Dean
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
University of Alberta