Page 11 - Dentistry Magazine 2021

Second-year clinical learners celebrated their White Coat Ceremony, delayed due to COVID-19 protocols, this September.
Updates from campus 11
limited scope at the beginning, but will hopefully grow in depth and breadth so that they will stay—changes in our perception and acceptance of the differences that make up our humanity, in our relationships with patients and service to our communities.
We are piloting the use of visual aids to “put a face” on the dental student delivering care and help patients get to know their caregiver through personal protective equipment.
Affinity groups are seeing new life: the Student Hispanic Dental Association and the National Dental Student Association have renewed their status, and a new LGBTQ+ group meets monthly. The Better Together student group continues to meet and hold workshops on DEI issues.
Pathways to dentistry programs for underrepresented students studying STEM at the University of Minnesota are developing through collaborations with the Pre-health Student Research Center, the President’s Emerging Scholars and North Star Alliance.
Within the clinics, faculty and staff are making efforts to foster a more inclusive environment, including the use of translated documents and interpreters. The patient visit now begins when the patient enters the doors to Moos Tower and sees a sign that states “you are welcome here” in multiple languages. Students, faculty and leadership are working to do what they can to make sure that sign’s promise comes to fruition.
Internal programs have fostered a sense of belonging and understanding between community members at the school, supported student and community needs and brought awareness to the diversity and rich community of our school. These programs are only the beginning
of our effort to embrace the change our community has demanded.
There is more work that needs to be done. DEI is not a destination but a journey: one that we hope we can take together.
Joel Mixon
This fall, the school hired a new Associate Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Joel Mixon,
to continue this important work. Throughout the fall semester, he has conducted implicit bias workshops for all clinical faculty, as well as an assessment of our new DDS, dental hygiene and dental therapy students’ hopes and aspirations for diversity,
equity and inclusion work. These workshops will be the basis for future DEI goals and activities.
Moving forward, we have begun to implement plans and procedures to increase the visibility and scope of our diversity, equity and inclusion work throughout campus. The following are some of those new processes.
Regular monthly community conversations on DEI issues among staff began in November. Additional efforts for faculty and staff are forthcoming.
The Assistant Dean and Associate Director will conduct an audit of courses to determine where cultural competence is being taught and where it can be appropriately incorpo- rated. Recommendations will be given to course directions.
A new policy, “Sexual harassment of students: when the patient is the perpetrator” was approved and is being disseminated to faculty, students and staff. The policy was created by a task force from the DEI committee, clinical faculty and members of the Clinical Affairs Committee.