As many of you know, the Department of Psychiatry Diversity Advisory Committee (PsyDAC) sponsored a DEI retreat on August 26, 2022, with the theme, “Power Dynamics in an Academic Medical Setting.” Participants were psychiatry faculty, various key departmental personnel, as well as residents and psychology interns.
This was the first of a series of important conversations to be held during this academic year. We began the afternoon with a review and discussion of the DEI Strategic Plan results for Year 1 and the DEI Climate Survey results for our department. We then continued by considering some of the systemic and personal power dynamics that impact our interpersonal, interprofessional, and client interactions. Following several film clips from “Picture a Scientist,” a documentary about the challenges of women in academic research, we broke into small groups to discuss approaches to a series of scenarios depicting some form of harassment or discrimination. Many of the scenarios were based on submissions from retreat participants. These discussions were then presented to the large group for further consideration.
We are anticipating a follow-up retreat on February 10, 2023 with a noted speaker and expert in conflict resolution, the role of women in academia, and fostering systemic change.
We had a very productive afternoon of honest and engaging conversations, hearing from diverse voices with varied perspectives. It is our hope that this retreat will continue our efforts to foster an environment that is culturally humble, inclusive, and respectful, whereby we hold ourselves and each other to the highest ethical and professional standards. We anticipate that those of you who participated will be inspired to continue these conversations with your colleagues, direct reports, and students.
Unfortunately, inviting everyone within the Department was logistically not feasible, but we hope to include those of you interested in our follow-up retreat, and encourage those who attended to share information, thoughts, and actions within smaller groups. To facilitate such discussions, please find materials used as the basis of our large and small group interactions, as well as various resources you may find helpful in navigating both the COM-T and the Banner systems when dealing with diversity, equity, and inclusion concerns. Additionally, please find some post-retreat comments from participants, as well as the overall rating of the quality of the retreat.
We want to again thank all those who participated and actively shared of themselves to make this a meaningful and productive afternoon!
On behalf of PsyDAC,
Patricia Harrison-Monroe, PhD