Diversity and Inclusion

The Boston Combined Residency Program in Pediatrics (BCRP) links the pediatric training programs of Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center. With Boston being a minority majority city, both hospitals have at their core a commitment to diversity on all fronts including advancing community connection and partnership, reducing inequitable health care outcomes, and promoting and cultivating a diverse workforce that reflects our vibrant community and that fosters inclusive learning environments. This mission is reflected in both institutions operating active, BCRP-engaged offices of equity and inclusion, being designated LGBTQ Healthcare Leaders by the Healthcare Equity Index as well as the robust network of institutional resources dedicated to reaching these goals.

Providing children and families with the very best care requires an understanding of their physical, emotional, and cultural needs. For this reason, we seek diverse residents who possess intellectual curiosity, a passion for medicine, and a compassionate commitment to patients and their families.

The BCRP embraces all forms of diversity including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, disability, socioeconomic background, gender identity, sexual orientation, and life experiences, like being the first in your family to go to college. We also recognize and celebrate that many of us are a part of several of these communities. We are committed to recruiting and supporting a diverse resident workforce and have outlined the following goals:

• To increase the number of BCRP housestaff from underrepresented groups, broadly defined as listed above.
• To support trainees that are underrepresented in medicine through faculty engagement, mentorship, education, innovation, and resident attendance to national conferences such as SNMA and LMSA.
• To shape the professional development of a cadre of physicians who will become leaders in all aspects of pediatrics including patient care, research, medical education, health care policy and child advocacy.

Diversity Council

The Diversity Council is a robust, resident-led group made up of residents, fellows and faculty who come from underrepresented backgrounds, and their allies. All BCRP-affiliated residents and faculty are invited to join the Diversity Council. The Diversity Council manages its own BCRP-sponsored budget to fund group activities, educational opportunities, and other events at the discretion of its members.

Structure

 The BCRP Diversity Council is led by multiple residents, faculty members and chief residents each year, including the BCRP Diversity Officer, two Associate Program Directors, and a Diversity Chief Resident at each site.  The Council is divided into three working  groups that each focus on an important part of our the Council’s mission and are led by resident and faculty leaders who are dedicated to these ongoing efforts each year.

Working Groups

Recruitment: Focuses on creating an inclusive environment for incoming applicants while also organizing opportunities for applicants to meet resident and faculty members of the Diversity Council.  We offer the following programming each recruitment season to our applicants:

• Diversity Mixers throughout the interview season with residents, fellows, and faculty who are a part of the Diversity Council in a relaxed atmosphere.
• Council Connect!  A program that pairs each applicant with a current BCRP resident via email to answer questions before, during, or after your interview.
• Second Look event for UIM applicants. This will be held in-person this year for the first time since 2020!

Education:  Reviews and enhances our residency-wide curriculum to ensure that we are spending time educating our residents and faculty on topics that will improve their ability to care for our diverse patient populations. Highlights of this work include expansion of Health Equity Rounds to both hospitals and across the US, noon conferences focused on the concept of “Fit” in recruitment; journal clubs where we review new literature regarding outcome/access disparities and propose actionable items to incorporate into our practice as well as social media campaigns that highlight health inequities and evidence-based approaches to providing equitable care.

Community:  Fosters and supports our community within the BCRP by providing opportunities for mentorship and collaboration with pathway programs within our partner institutions, This year, we are in our third year of MentorMed, which is, opt-in mentorship program that pairs residents from the Diversity Council with faculty based on shared interests, passions, and paths. We routinely host events to bring the Council together, including mixers and professional development sessions at faculty homes. We are also committed to helping our diverse residents take advantage of specialized programming at national conferences, including participation in the APA New Century Scholars Program, LMSA and SNMA.

UIM Second Look Day

As part of our intern recruitment program, we offer a funded, in-person second look day for interviewees from groups that are underrepresented in medicine (UIM) defined broadly. The goal of this program is to provide more familiarity and exposure to our program, our affiliated institutions, the city of Boston, and BCRP residents and faculty from underrepresented backgrounds. This year’s second-look day for UIM interviewees has not yet been scheduled but is traditionally held in late January prior to Match Day. The day’s program has included introductions from leadership at both institutions, a faculty panel, a candid discussion about the impact of structural racism in Boston, lunch with residents and optional individual meetings with faculty.