Creating Leadership and Education to Address Racism (CLEAR)

Mission:

The mission of Creating Leadership and Education to Address Racism (CLEAR) is to provide medical students with a hands-on opportunity to deepen their knowledge and understanding of race and racism and how they impact patients, providers, and medicine as an institution. Grounded in robust historical context, we aim to give students the tools to begin to address racism in medicine in both the classroom as well as in the clinic. CLEAR partners with faculty and administration to address the issue of racism in medicine in the formal four-year medical school curriculum as well as provides a 6-week enrichment opportunity for students to engage further.

Vision:

Our vision is for medical students to develop:
• An increased awareness and understanding of how a history of and continued racial injustices affect health outcomes and health care in Boston and beyond
• Skills for intra and interprofessional communication about race, racism, health inequity, and medicine
• Tools to build intentionally anti-racist relationships with future patients and clinicians

Goals:

Through formal curriculum development as well as a 6-week enrichment series on Racism in Medicine, featuring topics of history of racism in medicine, anti-racism 101, racism and genetics, critical race theory, racism on the wards, current clinical cases, and more, our goals are to:
• Engage students in a focused and extended dialogue around racism in medicine
• Introduce mentors, organizations, and thought leaders in this field to interested students and begin to develop students leaders in this area
• Give students the tools to create a more equitable healthcare environment
• Pilot topics in racism in medicine for future Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine curricular integration