July 2021
Inspired by a shared goal of eliminating racism in medicine, the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and the state’s four medical schools - Boston University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Tufts
University School of Medicine, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School - formed a set of principles that will guide deliberate actions that will create an antiracist, diverse, inclusive, and equitable medical culture. The initiative
was championed by then-Massachusetts Medical Society president Dr. David Rosman and then-Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Dr. Monica Bharel.
The MMS is committed to the following principles and approaches as we work toward our collective goal to eliminate racism in medicine. We expect that these principles will evolve as we progress in our understanding of what is needed to achieve racial
equity.
- Acknowledge and Learn: Understand the history of racism in medicine, the role of privilege, and our implicit and explicit biases; and how structural racism and implicit bias profoundly impact people of color resulting in harm, pain, inequity,
discrimination, and mistrust.
- Lead and Commit: Leaders must set the tone, establish a continuing commitment, and visibly do the work to dismantle racism in medicine.
- Disrupt and Transform: Dismantling racism in medicine necessitates confronting and disrupting existing practices and policies that exclude and devalue trainees, physicians, faculty, staff, and patients of color; and the implementation of
equity-centered approaches, policies, and expectations. The implementation of equity-centered approaches, policies, and expectations is critical to the disruption of this cycle.
- Cultivate: Foster a culture of empathy across all learning and workplace environments where each person is recognized, treated equitably, and with cultural sensitivity and humility
Read the complete Dismantling Racism in Medicine – Principles to Achieve Racial Equity document.
