Does U.S. Healthcare Need More Diverse Leadership?

Building Blocks: NIH’s Commitment to Enhance Diversity

Hannah A. Valantine, MD

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been committed to enhancing diversity for decades, according to cardiologist Hannah A. Valantine, MD.

“NIH has made considerable investments in programming,” says Dr. Valantine. However, despite these investments, “the change has not been as rapid or sustainable as we would like it to be.”

As a first step, in October 2014, NIH announced a new set of initiatives designed to enhance the ways in which participants are engaged and trained. Three components comprise the Enhancing Diversity in the NIH-Funded Workforce program. The Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) program was awarded to 10 universities that met eligibility criteria for being under-resourced. The National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) will recruit mentors and use methods (such as “train the trainer”) to bring a more deliberate and intentional approach to cultivating mentors. The third component, the Coordinating and Evaluation Center (CEC), focuses on evaluation and dissemination of identified best practices and competencies.

“We are moving away from the assumption that just because you are a leader in your research field that that means you are a good mentor,” Dr. Valantine says.

Steps to Success for UREM Trainees, Junior Faculty

Success for underrepresented racial and ethnic minority (UREM) trainees and junior faculty requires bolstering both institutional commitment to diversity and intentional individual planning. John Paul Sánchez, MD, MPH, associate professor of emergency medicine and assistant dean for diversity and inclusion in the Office for Diversity and Community Engagement at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has consistently worked for inclusion of diverse individuals in the medical and academic medicine workforces. While much of the trajectory toward a medical degree is prescribed (e.g., the steps from premedical school courses, the MCAT, STEP exams, and the residency match), he encourages trainees to think beyond satisfying these markers and reflect on determining satisfying career options, using these steps:

• Reflect on which activities have been most satisfying during your pursuit of a medical career. Beyond clinical care, have you gained satisfaction from teaching, conducting research, mentoring, and/or engaging in community service?
• Be diligent in recording all of your activities in a timely fashion (e.g., committee work, leadership roles, extra work on quality initiatives, mentoring, etc.). This will help you see patterns in the types of activities to which you are drawn and gain you recognition for your contributions.
• Strive to transform your activities into scholarship (e.g., publications, presentations, trainings), a key deliverable valued in medicine for promotion.
• Seek out role models, mentors, and champions to build your support network.
• Assess the alignment of your interests and values with those of your institution. Does the organization afford you the opportunities and support to move ahead? If not, it may be time to end the relationship, says Dr. Sánchez. “Everyone knows how hard it is to move from an uncomfortable situation. But moving can be personally and professionally fulfilling and can free you to find an institution with which your values are more aligned.”
• Return to reflection: Along the way, continue to reflect upon whether you are being true to your interests and values.

Deborah J. Bowen, FACHE, CAE, president and CEO of Chicago-based American College of Healthcare Executives, points out that professional societies can play an important role in bolstering leaders and opening up opportunity.

“A lot of healthcare is about the network,” she says. “Professional societies are a kind of safety zone where people can build relationships.”

Tomás León, president and CEO of the Institute for Diversity in Health Management in Chicago, agrees: “Another education process, such as the certification in healthcare management through the American College of Healthcare Executives, which I am working toward earning, has been very helpful for my professional growth and development.”

—Gretchen Henkel