Embedding DEI: Preparing Future Veterinarians to Engage All Communities

By Roderick J. Gilbert (He, Him)

The necessity of institutions of higher learning and businesses creating and protecting equity of opportunity for individuals from historically excluded or oppressed groups and communities should not be understated. However, I am very grateful that the narrative of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has evolved to be recognized as a tool of development, community/individual wellness, and mission achievement. Specifically, institutions of higher learning are seeing the value in educating students, faculty, and staff to make others feel included, valued, accepted, and connected on campus.

This requires academic and extracurricular engagement, particularly to wield perspective of the experiences of underrepresented or marginalized groups and communities as we endeavor to serve all communities. When delivered effectively, DEI curriculum can be a community rebuilding catalyst and professional development tool for incoming or current veterinary clinicians and staff as we all re-emerge out of social isolation from the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Hanover Research’s Senior Higher Education Research Advisor Dr. Amy Kurfist, “One of the primary goals of DEI in higher education is to create a learning environment where all students succeed and thrive. When students experience a sense of belonging on campus, their academic, health, and engagement outcomes improve. It’s imperative for colleges and universities to shift more focus to inclusion and belonging, even as they continue other DEI efforts.”1 The key to accomplish this shift or balance in focus is DEI education, particularly embedded within core curriculums.

Some institutions treat DEI education exclusively as an optional training anecdote to ensure litigious risk aversion, or perhaps as compliance to accreditive standards (not necessarily a bad thing) instead of an essential skill connected to development and intertwined with a core curriculum. At the University of

Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet), we have taken on the task of making DEI education one of many central drivers of our mission to train the next generation of veterinary leaders to advance healthcare outcomes and access, ensure global health, bolster sustainable agriculture, support interdisciplinary career paths, and foster diversity, equity, and inclusion in the profession.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, “Creating socially conscious educational and work environments—as well as removing barriers to equity and inclusion—are imperatives for veterinary professionals…Veterinarians, team members, and students must be equipped with the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of all clients and create welcoming environments for all co-workers. Education plays a pivotal role in the pursuit for more diverse and inclusive workplaces. AVMA is committed to providing tools that empower veterinary professionals to advance their education on these issues.”2 To this I would add it is an absolute imperative that institutions of higher learning provide the standard of how to educate to inclusively meet the needs of our diverse communities, and also serve as a resource for businesses that desire to do so but may not yet possess the expertise.

With that said, at Penn Vet, we are providing our students (as well as faculty and staff) with a robust DEI education that has been embedded into our Hippiatrika course as part of our newly redesigned core 1st and 2nd year curriculum. The new Hippiatrika course allows DEI to be paired with other vital topics such as population medicine, One Health, communication, professionalism, and wellness. The new curriculum design was led by our Associate Dean of Education, Dr. Kathryn Michel. The embedded DEI curriculum is called “The Penn Experience: Racism, Reconciliation and Engagement.” This course was created in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania’s (Penn) Dr. Beverly Crawford of the School of Dental Medicine and Dr. Amy Hillier from Penn’s School of Social Policy and Practice in 2020 and has since added content in collaboration with six other schools at Penn: Carey Law School, School of Nursing, Perelman School of Medicine, the Wharton School, Graduate School of Education, and Penn Vet.

The Penn Experience course was inspired out of an awareness Penn needed to establish common language and concepts on campus to facilitate difficult conversations about race, racism, and difference in the classroom and beyond. It contains a total of six modules, using video interviews, presentations, short readings, and podcasts, culminating in about 20 hours. There is a distinct focus on the topics of implicit bias, microaggressions, free speech, restorative justice, intercultural communication, re-examining gender identity, forms of oppression, allyship, disability rights, racism, contextualizing racialized literacy & identity, global perspectives, and equity & access in healthcare (for Penn Vet students we have provided a lecture about the intersection of animal and human social determinants of health). The course also highlights the significance of Penn’s and Philadelphia’s history of racism and other forms of oppression, Penn’s evolving relationship to West Philadelphia, and Penn’s efforts toward greater engagement and inclusion on campus and off.

Additionally, we firmly believe DEI education as a skill set is something that must be developed peer-to-peer as well as faculty-to-students. Our students will leave Penn Vet with the ability to lead and engage in complex discussions as well as facilitate programming. Student clubs have all made a commitment to hosting at least one DEI program annually. The programming consists of inviting guest lecturers, hosting book readings, service events, or exploring additional resources from topics in the Penn Experience course. Faculty have also taken the initiative to use the Penn Experience curriculum for their own development, however, we will soon implement a structured format for departments to include this formally as part of their continuing education and development.

Having been in DEI at academic medical institutions for nearly two decades, I believe I can speak on behalf of Penn Vet’s leadership team in expressing how proud and encouraged we are with how our students and faculty have responded to this approach with DEI education. Our peers across the country are also discovering innovative ways to make sure DEI education is fully embedded in their academic and cultural identity as schools. With this momentum, the future for the veterinary industry is bright.

About the Author: Roderick J. Gilbert (He, Him), is the inaugural Chief Diversity Equity & Inclusion Officer at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. He is a Mississippi native and brings over 17 years of DEI experience and success from his various DEI leadership and management roles with the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Boston University Medical Center, The University of Mississippi Medical Center, and Penn State College of Medicine. pennvet.odei@vet.upenn.edu

References:

1 Kurfist, B. A. (2022, April 29). Student belonging: The next dei frontier in higher education. Hanover Research. Retrieved December 18, 2022, from https://www.hanoverresearch.com/insights-blog/studentbelonging-the-next-dei-frontier-in-higher-education/#:~:text=One%20 of%20the%20primary%20goals,health%2C%20and%20engagement%20 outcomes%20improve.

2 Diversity, equity, and inclusion in Veterinary Medicine. American Veterinary Medical Association. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2022, from https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/diversity-and-inclusionveterinary-medicine