[wpseo_breadcrumb]
MODULE 5 - DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are part of Rocky Vista University's nine core values: "An awareness of the dignity of all, regardless of culture, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, physical ability, socioeconomic status, or individual life experiences."
RVU Core Values
Collegiality
Mutual respect, collaboration, and the open exchange of ideas advance mutual goals and facilitate individual growth.
Compassion
The willingness to be engaged with the needs of others.
Diversity
The recognition, reflection, and representation of individual differences within a community including, but not limited to culture, race, age, ethnicity or national origin, color, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, spiritual practices, political beliefs, mental and physical ability, socioeconomic status, individual life experiences, or other ideologies.
Equity
The implementation of unbiased policies and practices to ensure everyone has access to opportunities along with needs-based distribution of resources to obtain positive outcomes so that all individuals and groups may attain their full potential and no one is deprived regardless of identity, abilities, background, or socially determined circumstances.
Excellence
The commitment to exceed expectations in education.
Inclusivity
The dynamic process of creating a welcoming environment that increases awareness, knowledge, and empathetic understanding to enable individuals with diverse backgrounds, abilities, insights, and experiences to interact in an open, fair, respectful, equitable, and collaborative fashion.
Innovation
Delivering new and creative ways to provide healthcare education while consistently demonstrating compassion, integrity, and excellence.
Integrity
The quality of living a unified life in which one's convictions are well-considered and match one's actions, demonstrating fairness, honesty, sincerity, professionalism, and a consistent commitment to our mission, vision, and values.
Service
Please watch the videos below and reflect on the accompanying questions.
Why Your Doctor Should Care About Social Justice:
- What does it mean for you as a healthcare provider to "sound the alarm" regarding health issues impacting diverse and marginalized communities?
- As a future healthcare professional, how could you help bring awareness to the impact of institutionalized racism in the medical field?
How Doctors' Racial Biases Can Harm Black Patients:
- What are two things you learned about yourself after watching the video?
- How do doctor's racial biases of Black patients regarding the handling of pain hurt their patients?
- Are you aware of other biases that exist in healthcare services for other communities, such as LGBTQ+, Latinx, Asian/Asian American, Women, People with Disabilities, Religious communities, and other cultural groups?
Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Racism:
Check Our Bias to Wreck Our Bias:
- As a future healthcare professional, why is it important for you to check your bias?
- How can you keep your biases in check throughout your career?
Privilege Aptitude Test:
Watch the video to the left, then open this Privilege Aptitude Test (PDF) and respond to the questions. Please note that you will not be asked to share your score. This is only for your own use as you consider privilege in society and your own experience. Also, be prepared to discuss the following questions:
- What does privilege mean for you?
- How do you feel about your privilege score?
- How can you use your privilege score positively?
- How can privilege impact your future patients and co-workers?
Final Thoughts | Additional Information
We hope by reviewing this module that you have a better understanding of social justice, bias, privilege, and racism in our society. The questions posed will be part of a larger conversation at RVU, including at Orientation. We all have a responsibility to promote an equitable and inclusive University culture and it starts with ourselves. If you would like to learn more about diversity, equity, and inclusion, including your own role as either a minority or an ally, please follow these links:
REFLECTION QUESTION
Answer the following question in the comment section below before moving to the next module:
What could you do this year to contribute to RVU’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity?
Take time to read and engage with your classmates' answers, as well! You can return to this page at any time to carry on the conversation.
WHAT COULD YOU DO THIS YEAR TO CONTRIBUTE TO RVU’S COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSIVITY?
Listening to my peers about their different backgrounds and meeting everyone with respect and compassion is one of my goals. I also plan to continue learning about micro-aggressions and difference types of discrimination that occurs in a learning environment as well as the medical field in order to make everyone feel safe and comfortable.
What could you do this year to contribute to RVU’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity?I plan to be more open to the DEI commitment and will work to reflect how my actions can affect others. Being able to be open and respectful of the many differences that each one of us will bring to the program. Being able to be a positive role model and work towards just being a good human, and treating others how I would expect my own loved ones should be.
I would like to be mindful of the different walks of life the members of our community from peers to professors come from. Listening to their journeys can provide a sense of being heard and comfort in a community.
WHAT COULD YOU DO THIS YEAR TO CONTRIBUTE TO RVU’S COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSIVITY?
I really will strive to get to know each one of my classmates and the diverse backgrounds they come from. Learning about each individual and striving to include them in each aspect will be very important to me.
This year and moving forward, I want to work on improving my awareness and upholding RVU’s nine core values when I encounter my peers, faculty, and others in my community, especially if it involves volunteering or participating in a service-learning project.
I can contribute to RVU’s commitment to DEI, but looking at the different clubs and organizations around campus that look to help better educate myself on these topics so that I can learn and therefore help more in the community to spread the word.
What could you do this year to contribute to RVU’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity?
This year I can contribute to RVU’s commitment to DEI by learning about my peers and engage in conversation about DEI. Listen to understand, not just to reply and ensure that we always keep an environment that is inclusive and respectful for everyone.
I think the most important thing is to keep an open mind. Every person has their own story that brought them to where they are now and being kind and understanding of everyone, regardless of knowing their background, is key to treating everyone with respect.
What could you do this year to contribute to RVU’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity?
The best thing I can do is to try and make genuine relationships with my fellow students by joining clubs and engaging in service activities. I really enjoy learning about other people’s cultures and backgrounds, so I will most likely just politely ask questions about where my classmates are from.
The best way I can contribute to RVU’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusivity is to be involved with clubs and groups to understand all walks of life and everybody’s backgrounds. Everybody brings a unique story to this university that should be shared with everyone. If there is something that I don’t understand about someone’s culture and like to sit down and talk with them and really get to know their beliefs and their life experiences to help me understand how to better take care of others.
I am committed to getting involved within clubs and organizations around campus to help promote DEI. I am also committed to learning more on how to educate others about DEI to make campus a great to be!
What could you do this year to contribute to RVU’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity?To contribute to RVU’s commitment to DEI this year, I will make a conscious effort to listen and engage daily with my peers through DEI focused conversations. I will join a group on campus where I will have the opportunity to continue to celebrate DEI through working in groups with others where we embrace and celebrate our differences.
What could you do this year to contribute to RVU’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity?Previous experiences have taught me that it’s crucial to recognize my privileges and consider them carefully when interacting with other students, patients, and faculty. I believe taking the time to understand and get to know other people’s stories fosters camaraderie and inclusivity based on shared values. By reinforcing our common ground, we more easily realize that we all want to succeed at our goal of becoming a physician and can do it much better with the help of others than by relying on our own efforts alone. One of my favorite proverbs says: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”
What could you do this year to contribute to RVU’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity?
I would get to know other student’s individual background and get involve them in the conversation of DEI in medicine. I think involving everyone in this conversation is the first step in creating culturally competent physicians.
What could you do this year to contribute to RVU’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity?
I can be active in including diverse individuals into conversations we have as a group and as a class. I can also actively choose who I surround myself around and ensure my group is comprised of a diverse set of individuals and mindsets.
I would like to be part of conversations by joining clubs and events. I also hope to get to know my peer and learn from their experiences.
I will ensure I have an open mind and engaging in meaningful conversations in the spaces I am in to get to know others better. I will also use my own experiences and knowledge to teach others things they may not know or would like to know.
Engagement with things like clubs, professors, and students of all backgrounds and beliefs will be a great way to keep me aware of DEI ideas. Additionally, Recognition of RVUs Core Values will help me promote and advocate for others to ensure that no one is excluded or isolated. Seeking to see the success of my fellow classmates regardless of any part of their identity will be my contribution to RVUs commitment to DEI.
What could you do this year to contribute to RVU’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity?
I want to take advantage of any opportunity we have to work directly with community members. We have such a diverse population base here in Parker/Denver suburbs area. I want to hear their stories, learn of their concerns, and gain a personal insight into the varied lives of my community members.
What could you do this year to contribute to RVU’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity?
What could you do this year to contribute to RVU’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity?
During this course at RVU I can contribute to RVU’s commitment to DEI by getting to know the unique background of my classmates, promoting conversations about DEI with my peers and ensuring that all of my classmates are afforded equal and meaningful opportunities so we can succeed as a team.
What could you do this year to contribute to RVU’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity?I can open up the conversation of the stories of my life so that others can be encouraged and feel safe to be vulnerable and share their stories so that we may understand a little bit better than before the various experiences that people in the community have gone through to make them who they are and believe what they believe, and act and speak they way they do.
To contribute to RVU’s commitment to DEI, I can meet new people and appreciate their differences as promote the same commitment within a peer group or club.
What could you do this year to contribute to RVU’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity? I can converse with students and get to know their individual backgrounds. I also will be inclusive with other students and invite them to events such as study groups.
I think I would like to join a club, event or general school effort to support DIE at RVU. I’m always looking for volunteering or project opportunities to educate, learn, and really just communicate with people about DIE.
After reading into the mission that the “RVU DEI Task Force” are working towards, I was very interested in being involved in that team. Being actively involved in that organization will help me uphold the DEI standards that RVU holds on its students.
To contribute to RVU’s commitment to DEI, I first want to learn more about the programs that RVU has to offer. I always want to be apart of the conversation, I think DEI is swept under the rug a lot of the times and it is a big piece in medicine. This starts as individuals, if you are educated about it then you become more away of it and it gets ignored less. As a first year I would really just challenge myself to get more involved with it and begin to learn a little more about it.