Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Maine-Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency is committed to cultivating a training and working environment that is equitable and inclusive, and reflects a culture of openness and appreciation of difference.
Land Acknowledgment: MDFMR is located in Augusta, Waterville, and Fairfield, Maine. We train and work within homelands of the five tribal nations comprising the Wabanaki Confederacy (Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, Abenaki, Penobscot). As we engage in the hard work of examining our clinical practice and teaching through a structural lens, we recognize that we live in a country founded on an explicit valuation of certain human lives over others, beginning with the original stewards of the land on which our clinical practices were built.
Initiatives already in place to support diversity, equity, and inclusivity within the organization and our training programs include the following:
- Transition to a more holistic resident selection process that values the unique perspectives candidates might contribute as well as recognizes the structural factors that limit equitable access to medical education
- Intentional introduction to our community of the correct pronouns & name pronunciation for all new employees
- Pronoun stickers for badges
- Structured connection with community health leaders incorporated into resident orientation
- Extracurricular DEI-focused book & media club
- DEI Committee meets monthly and welcomes all participants
- Resident and student longitudinal curriculum dedicated to health equity and structural competency
- Quarterly faculty development including implicit bias training, structural competency topics, skill-based practice in interrupting clinical interactions that cause harm to learners
- Continuous evaluation of curriculum for bias, lack of diverse content, acknowledgement of structural roots of health disparities
- Anonymous ongoing collection of data regarding harm, inequity, & ideas for organizational improvement, and processes for addressing harms and reporting back to the Maine-Dartmouth community
- Institutional policies revised to include an explicit commitment to anti-racism and anti-bias practices
- Assessment of individuals’ experience of inclusivity and equity is included in didactic evaluations, program evaluation surveys, and exit interviews
Wellbeing
Maine-Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency is committed to fostering a safe and supportive learning environment, promoting a culture of self-care and shared responsibility for well-being, and providing resources to optimize wellness among employees.
Initiatives to promote wellbeing and social connection within the Maine-Dartmouth community include the following:
- Policies on resident and faculty wellbeing
- Dedicated wellness events integrated into protected resident didactic time
- Electronic suggestion box to collect ideas for improving the work environment
- Ongoing data collection regarding professional fulfillment and burnout via a monthly wellness measure
- Weekly food drops to the inpatient team
- Financial support for wellness initiatives
- Resident Wellness Committee
- Institutional Wellness Committee
- Creation of wellness plan with each resident and distribution of compiled wellness resources
- Employee assistance program with access to mental health support 24/7
- Paid family leave
- Backup systems for patient coverage
- Time allowed for medical, dental, and counseling appointments
- Annual resident retreat
- Calendar of social activities
- Special interest groups (i.e., crafting, exercise)
- Virtual photography exhibit