Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI)

“People who say it can’t be done should get out of the way,” Harriet A. Washington about achieving true health equity.

Mission Statement

We believe in a social justice framework that values the contributions of people from diverse backgrounds. We welcome and support those who have faced barriers to practicing medicine. We welcome and support those who have faced barriers to practicing medicine based on race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, religion, first-generation in higher education, or otherwise. We are committed to creating resident classes that are more reflective of the patient population who depend on us as a critical safety net as we believe that this is essential for addressing the healthcare disparities our patients face. We also serve as a support system for any allies/advocates/accomplices, parents, those of you who may be financially supporting family back home, etc.

Subsidized Visiting Elective Program

We love having student rotators from all different places. However, we understand that rotating at BMC can come with its own financial burden. To help offset these costs, we offer a Subsidized Visiting Elective Program (SVEP) for select clinical rotators. Some rotators may have encountered challenges, barriers or hardships in their journey to practice medicine. We strongly encourage those with a significant distance travelled in their medical training to apply. Please reach out to JEDI and/or our Chiefs if you are having difficulty finding housing! Subsidized Visiting Elective Program.

 

Our Patients

Unwavering in its commitment to serve the community, Boston Medical Center ED strives to achieve health equity and racial and social justice. Approximately 73% of our patient visits come from underserved populations, such as the low-income and elderly, who rely on government payors such as Medicaid, the Health Safety Net, and Medicare for their coverage; 32% do not speak English as a primary language; more than 50% have an annual household income under $20,400.

Race/Ethnicity:

  • American Indian/Alaska Native 0.3%
  • Asian 5.2%
  • Black/African American 32.1%
  • Hispanic/Latino 15.2%
  • Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.2%
  • White/Caucasian 24.8%
  • Other 22.1%

Our Community

Boston Demographics: 2022 Census

  • Black or African American: 23.5%
  • Hispanic or Latino of any race: 19.8%
  • Native American: 0.3%
  • Asian: 9.7%
  • Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
  • Two or more: 9.6% Source: Census.gov

(NYC for comparison: 25.1% black, Hispanics of any race 27.5%, 11.8% are of Asian descent)

Our Clinical Resources

Boston Medical Center consistently is ranked as one of the most socially responsible health systems in the country, prioritizing the care for the underserved as central to its. We have been working for years to make more resources accessible to our patient population from within the walls of the emergency department.

Our Residents

The JEDI Committee was established in 2016 as a resident-driven group focused on developing strategies to address areas for growth and improvement identified within our department. At the time of its creation, only 10% of our residents reported coming from historically underrepresented backgrounds.

Our Work

Social EM and Health Equity within the Curriculum:

We work closely with our education faculty to ensure that we take a holistic approach to the teaching and practice of delivering clinically excellent care to each of our patients. We do not feel that siloing this material into individual lectures is enough. As such, we have developed a longitudinal health equity curriculum consisting of:

  • Intern orientation community tour
  • Health equity content built into every conference lecture
  • Dedicated health equity journal club
  • Social determinants of health monthly infographics series
  • Core lectures interspersed throughout the weekly conference schedule repeating every 2 years

Recruitment:

  • Implemented holistic application review
  • JEDI & Recruitment Committee
  • JEDI & students from less represented backgrounds

Events:

We host multiple events throughout the year for our residents and faculty to get together outside of the clinical environment and embrace all of the unique identities we hold.

Most notably, we host two annual Affinity Dinners that happen at the end of interview season. These dinners are open to our applicants and aim to provide a glimpse into how we at BMC EM embrace everyone within our program and within our greater Boston community. All members of our community and all applicants who are moved to learn more and participate in our efforts are also invited to join us at these events.

If you have any questions regarding any JEDI events, please don’t hesitate to reach out to bmcjedi@gmail.com!

    Recent Publications and Current Events

    Articles:

    What are national Emergency Medicine advocacy organizations doing about diversity and inclusion?

    Our Faculty

    Our Team