Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Mission

The University of Maryland Department of Emergency Medicine (UMEM) values diversity and strives to create an equitable and inclusive environment for all. It is critical to our mission to help reduce inequities in health care and emergency medicine through four pillars: recruitment of residency applicants, education, community engagement, and mentorship.

Our Residency Program

Resident Demographics
- 52% Female
- 11% Black/African American
- 4% Hispanic/Latinx
- 5% LGBTQ+
- 12.5% Osteopathic (DO) Trained

Women in UMEM

Faculty is 33% female
Female Leadership (Education)
- Graduate Medical Education:
  - Dr. Sarah Dubbs (Residency Program Director)
  - Dr. Kami Hu (Director, Combined EM/IM and EM/IM/CC Residency Programs)
  - Dr. Jenny Guyther (Co-Director, Combined EM/Peds Residency Program)
  - Dr. Semhar Tewelde (Assistant Residency Program Director & Director of Emergency Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship)
  - Dr. Lauren Rosenblatt (Assistant Residency Program Director)
  - Dr. Alexis Salerno (Director, Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship)
  - Dr. Michele Callahan (Director, Simulation Fellowship)
- Undergraduate Medical Education for the University of Maryland School of Medicine:
  - Dr. Kathleen Stephanos (Assistant Director of Undergraduate Medical Education, Dept of Emergency Medicine)
  - Dr. Laura Bontempo (Co-Course Director, Transitions to Residency Core Curriculum)
  - Dr. Lauren Rosenblatt (Co-Course Director, Transitions to Residency Core Curriculum)
  - Dr. Afrah Ali (Co-Course Director, Transitions to Residency - Emergency Medicine & Clinical Integration of First Year)
  - Dr. Neeraja Murali (Co-Course Director, Transitions to Residency - Emergency Medicine & Clinical Integration of First Year)
  - Dr. Leen Alblaihed (Course Director, Cardiovascular System section of Cardiovascular/Renal/Pulmonary Course)
  - Dr. Sarah Sommerkamp (Course Director, POCUS Longitudinal Elective)
Female Leadership (Administration)
- Dr. Kinjal Sethuraman (Director, Center for Hyperbaric Medicine, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center)
- Dr. Rose Chasm (Associate Chief Medical Officer, UMMC-Midtown Campus & Director of Quality Assurance and Risk Management, U of MD Emergency Medicine Associates)
- Dr. Angela Smedley (Medical Director, Adult ED, Univ of MD Medical Center-Downtown Campus)
- Dr. Cheyenne Falat (Assistant Medical Director, Adult ED, UMMC-DTC)
- Dr. Sarah Sommerkamp (Associate Medical Director, Dept of Emergency Medicine UMMC-Midtown Campus)
- Dr. Heidi Teague (Assistant Medical Director, Dept of Emergency Medicine UMMC-MTC)
- Dr. Mercedes Torres (Associate Medical Director, Dept of Emergency Medicine, Mercy Medical Center)
- Dr. Emily Gorman (Assistant Medical Director, Dept of Emergency Medicine, Mercy Medical Center)
- Dr. Valerie Pierre (Assistant Medical Director, Dept of Emergency Medicine, Baltimore VA Medical Center)
- Dr. Neeraja Murali (Director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Dept of Emergency Medicine, U of MD School of Medicine)

Social Events
- Fall Outing Guinness Brewery Event
- Hike in Patapsco
- Women Volunteer Activity at Paul's Place
- End of the Year Women's Dinner

Our DEI Committee Pillars and Projects

Education

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Social Medicine Residency Curriculum, lecture topic examples:
- How to be an Anti-Racist Doctor – Dr. Quezada
- Violence Against Women – Dr. Callahan
- Health Equity Rounds – Dr. Dubbs
- Transgender Health Sim Lab – Dr. Ali
- She’s a Gay Icon! Using Symbols to Discuss Culturally Competent Care for the LGBTQ+ Community – Dr. Semelrath
- Health Disparities and Social Determinants of Health - Dr. Gingold
- Interrogating Racial Health Equity at Boston Medical Healthcare System- Dr. Thea James
- Racism and Health: The Role of Emergency Medicine – Dr. Malika Fair
Active Projects:
- Creation of a Novel DEI Curriculum - Dr. Stephanie Zhang
- Integration of DEI topics with other areas of interest: Social Medicine, Health Policy, Administration
- Multiple research projects in development regarding various DEI and health disparities topics

Community Engagement

Annual Social Bike Ride with Social Medicine group
- Bike to various Baltimore community organizations/services to visit the site and meet staff
Social Medicine, Community Health Meeting
- Learn about different resources in the community for our patients of diverse backgrounds
UMEM Day of Service: Last project was Juneteenth Day of Service, with plans for recurrent events and community drives
Active Projects:
- Mini-med school development for UMB CURE Scholars Program (Currently held semi-annually as a brief session; hoping to integrate into CURE curriculum)
- Pipeline projects with UMB and UMSOM to introduce our community to UMEM
- Recurrent Day of Service events

Recruitment

Applicant DEI Meet & Greet
Highlighting DEI Committee on UMEM Social Media
Active Projects:
- Re-introduction of DEI Scholarship for Visiting Student Elective
- Pipeline projects for early exposure to UMEM among various communities (including high school, college, and medical school)

Mentorship

Active engagement of DEI Faculty and Residents
Social events for DEI Committee
Active Projects:
- DEI Library for departmental use
- DEI Socials
- Culmination of one-on-one relationships amongst committee members

Resources and Links

UM Baltimore (UMB) Gender Neutral Restrooms Map

UMB Lactation Spaces Map

Minority Housestaff Organization

UMB Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

UMSOM Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion