The Idaho Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP) is committed to promoting equity in our communities. Central to this commitment is our focus on systemic and institutional racism. We recognize there are several dimensions to diversity and therefore a variety of identities that experience exclusion. We believe race is a primary stratifier in our communities and will focus our work on anti-racism because when we talk about racism, we are then able to address all other forms of exclusion. With this focus in mind, we are committed to addressing the intersectionality of all inequities in our communities to advance belonging and inclusion for all identities.
IAFP’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Committee Invites You to Learn More About this Work
Resources
We’ve put together a list of useful resources around DEIB work specific to the practice of medicine and more generally.
Click Here for Links to DEIB Resources
We’ve developed a list of key terms to help communicate with each other about this work.
Click Here for a DEIB Glossary of Key Words
Featured Resources:
JAMA–Use of Race in Pediatric Clinical Practice Guidelines A Systematic Review
In this systematic review of US-based pediatric CPGs, race was frequently used in ways that could negatively affect health care inequities. Many opportunities exist for national medical organizations to improve the use of race in CPGs to positively affect health care, particularly for racial and ethnic minoritized communities.
This course will introduce you to insights about how our minds operate and help you understand the origins of implicit associations. You will also uncover some of your own biases and learn strategies for addressing them. Each module is divided into a short series of lessons, many taking less than 10 minutes to complete.
Primary Drivers of the IAFP’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Work:
The IAFP continues to review all our organizational policies, practices, and communications with our DEIB work in mind.
We will consider meaningful representation in the IAFP at every level of decision-making and at all IAFP sponsored events and activities.
We will allocate resources for continued training and materials in DEIB work for Family Physicians and other medical providers. We will support programs that remove obstacles to entering medicine for marginalized groups.
We commit to expanding partnerships in our communities that advance our goals around equity and representation.
We will hold ourselves accountable for continuing to advance our DEIB work.
Foundational Beliefs of IAFP Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Work
- Racism and implicit bias significantly impact the health of our communities. Acknowledging this benefits everyone.
- Race is a social construct but racism is real. Racism permeates all of society including medicine.
- Structures of institutional racism propagate the teaching of implicit bias and racism to all without consent. This is not our fault but it IS our responsibility to eradicate this legacy through persistent and intentional community work.
- We have an obligation to expand the presence of underrepresented groups in medicine and build relationships across difference. These actions alone are not sufficient to confront systems of oppression.
- Challenging racism and white privilege is everyone’s job because we cannot achieve greater equity without deliberate effort. Anti-racist endeavors often default to centering whiteness and we are committed to questioning this response.
- We know that engaging in conversations about inequity and oppression are uncomfortable. We believe that discomfort is essential to our ability to change.
- Language matters when discussing racism and other inequities. Time and care should be paid to minimize the negative impacts of our words.
IAFP Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Community Agreements
We are all responsible to learn about our implicit bias, recognize it and name it. We commit to conducting self-assessments, like the Harvard Implicit Association Test.
We pledge to:
- Center the voices of marginalized groups in medicine.
- Be present and participate in antiracist work.
- Model what we learn about antiracist concepts in our work and life.
- Be respectful, curious and open about issues surrounding equity.
- Support community members of color that don’t get to step away from equity work.
- Prioritize wellness and make it accessible for ourselves and others.
- Do uncomfortable work, while still creating a safe and respectful space for collaboration.
- Sit with and learn from our discomfort.
- Strive to create a safe environment where all feel a sense of belonging.
- Assume positive intent but acknowledge when mistakes are made.
- Be humble and validate everyone’s experiences.
- Be brave. Speak up. Stay engaged.
IAFP DEIB Committee Members:
Dr. Jonathan Bowman, Boise
Dr. Angie Devitt, Boise
Dr. Michael Fields, Moscow
Dr. Sarah Gerrish, Boise
Dr. Bari Laskow, Nampa
Dr. Jessica Rolynn, Pocatello
Dr. Nicole Rosemin, Idaho Falls
IAFP Indigenous Land Acknowledgment
The Idaho Academy of Family Physicians recognizes that Idaho is the Aboriginal homeland of many diverse indigenous tribes: The Shoshone, Bannock, Paiute, Nez Perce, Palouse, Coeur d’ Alene, Kalispel, and Kootenai.
We commit to honoring and acknowledging the rich and important history of these peoples. We know that this history includes persecution, genocide, ethnocide, and forced removal of tribal members by the US Government.
We also commit to supporting these tribes, their members, their health and prosperity today and in the future.
For more information, resources and to be further engaged in this work, contact Liz Woodruff at liz@idahoafp.org
The Idaho Academy of Family Physicians is an independent, 501 c 6 membership association that represents over 800 Family Physicians in Idaho. Our DEIB work is based on the IAFP’s ongoing commitment to promoting health equity, which we know creates healthier communities. This work and content is created by and for the Idaho Academy of Family Physicians and our members and is not affiliated with any other medical institutions.