BY SANDRA JACOBS, VITAL SIGNS EDITOR, AND TOM FLANAGAN, MEDIA RELATIONS MANAGER
Illustration by Chris Twichell
Two years ago, the Massachusetts Medical Society began strengthening its antiracism efforts, starting with gathering advice from a newly formed Antiracism Advisory Group of physicians and health care leaders and input from the Medical Society’s members,
particularly the MMS Committee on Diversity in Medicine and the MMS Minority Affairs Section.
The Society also created a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council of employees from across the organization to oversee three workstreams addressing the MMS’s three distinct roles as a medical society, a publisher, and an employer.
This work to become an antiracist organization has expanded beyond race to creating and maintaining a welcoming environment
for all physicians and to considering equity — specifically health equity — in all the organization’s activities and advocacy.
“The initiatives begun under Dr. Rosman [MMS president, 2020–21] continue to bear fruit. It’s an ongoing process to inculcate DEI into our DNA,” says MMS President Theodore A. Calianos II, MD, FACS. “And there’s still work to do. It’s important not just
to pay lip service, but to continue to make it part of our culture — as is being done, both within the MMS and in our advocacy work for both physicians and patients.”
Actions as a Professional Society
To address the needs of all members, the Society initially provided support and resources for those from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine and educational programs for all staff and members. The Society adopted policies that recognized racism as
a public health crisis and that prioritized antiracism in our policies, strategic plan, governance, and activities.
“Over the past two years, the Society has refocused its policymaking and initiatives through a lens of antiracism and DEI, to reduce harmful inequities that affect health care professionals, patients, and public health,” says Lois Cornell, MMS executive
vice president (EVP). “This work is now intertwined in all that we do.”
Through a bylaw change, the Society committed to strengthen the MMS’s policy, position, and initiatives and to communicate the organization’s sustained commitment to DEI. Activities have included the following:
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Collaboration with the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association and the American College of Healthcare Executives Massachusetts Chapter on a four-part Diversity, Health Equity, and Inclusion Best Practices webinar series for physicians, which drew
such broad attendance that it has continued for a second year
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The Society’s first Black Women in Medicine conference, a successful daylong event aimed at fostering
meaningful connections and helping participants realize their professional goals despite entrenched barriers to achievement
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An online student networking event, “Tips for Success During Clinical Rotations and Beyond,” presented by the MMS Committee on Diversity in Medicine in May 2022 where students, trainees, and experienced faculty from diverse backgrounds shared frank discussion
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The new Underrepresented Physicians of Tomorrow Award, launched by the Minority
Affairs Section to recognize exemplary advocacy, scholarship, community engagement, and leadership among medical students, residents, and fellows
The year ahead includes Training Physician Leaders to Advance a More Just Workplace, a four-day leadership program in March 2023 designed by the Medical Society and the Heller School
for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, with grant assistance from The Physicians Foundation. The MMS also is laying the groundwork for more mentorship activities to help early career
physicians establish helpful professional connections.
Actions as a Publisher
NEJM Group has focused on enriching the diversity of its editors, editorial boards, authors, and reviewers; reviewing publication style guides to address language and usage related to diversity and inclusion; and publishing more content that relates to
race and medicine and that reflects patient diversity. NEJM.org has created a dedicated Race and Medicine page. Work continues to increase representation of patient
diversity in published images.
The New England Journal of Medicine and NEJM Evidence instituted new policies requiring authors of clinical research reports to include a table describing the representativeness
of the study population regarding race, ethnicity, age, and gender of research subjects relative to the population at large with the disease in question. This year, NEJM Group is working to improve accessibility of online content through website
navigation changes, descriptive alt text for figures, and other areas that may be identified.
Actions as an Employer
The employer workstream is focused on ensuring a diverse workforce throughout the organization while fostering an inclusive and equitable environment that supports the retention and success of all employees. Actions include the following:
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Ongoing proactive recruitment outreach to over 400 diversity organizations in Greater Boston, which has increased the representation of people of color in the Medical Society’s workforce
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Offered training programs to all MMS employees: “Embracing a Culture of Inclusion”; a separate four-part DEI webinar series about Disability Etiquette, Unconscious Bias, Microaggressions, and Allyship; and a DEI platform that offers a blend of online
learning and live workshops
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Established the MMS’s first Employee Resource Group, created by and for employees — in this case, LGBTQIA+ employees and allies — to foster a sense of inclusiveness and belonging by creating a safe, respectful environment for connection and learning
A Long-Term Commitment to DEI
Ronald W. Dunlap, MD, an MMS past president (2013–2014) and member of the Committee on Diversity in Medicine, sees progress toward equity in the MMS and notes it has displayed a commitment to diversity. He welcomes what he calls “inroads” created by the
leadership of EVP Cornell and others. But he sees the need for a unified approach that brings together the varied groups of physicians who have been historically underrepresented in medicine to strengthen both the medical profession and the Society’s
membership.
“We have a lot of work to do. People are trying,” Dr. Dunlap says. “The object is to have longer-term initiatives to bring more diverse physicians into the profession and into MMS participation. We need to focus on issues of various segments of the physician
workforce so their needs can be heard to get them involved in the MMS.”
Dr. Calianos also regards DEI work as a long-term commitment for the MMS. “The presidency is a one-year gig,” he notes. “It’s important that each of us who assumes this role remembers the importance of this issue. It is important to take all the good
work that we’re doing on this seminal issue and continue moving it forward.”
Learn more: MMS resources on Antiracism, Diversity, and Equity.
