Diversity at Highland
At Highland Hospital, we believe that diversity is one of the greatest strengths of our program and our community. The East Bay, which encompasses Oakland and the surrounding area, is one of the most ethnically and linguistically varied metropolitan areas in the nation. Our region is home to LGBTQI communities in which residents, staff and faculty of all gender identities and sexual orientations can thrive. We are a family-friendly program, and residents find a supportive environment for having and raising families. Our Emergency Medicine residency champions diversity, recruiting physicians with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences so as to better serve the needs of our vibrant East Bay community. Weekly conferences feature talks on social determinants of health, gender-inclusive practices in the ED, race and policing, among other topics.
We are deeply invested in increasing diversity in emergency medicine & finding the best residents who have a mission to serve our unique population. We offer annual scholarships to offset the costs of traveling to Oakland for rotating 4th year medical students underrepresented in medicine (URiM). Additional details here.
Most importantly, we pride ourselves in prioritizing a comprehensive review of applications, valuing the diverse perspectives & challenges faced by URiM students. Our commitment to diversity in Emergency Medicine is highlighted in an article published in Annals of Emergency Medicine titled The Diversity Snowball Effect: The Quest to Increase Diversity in Emergency Medicine: A Case Study of Highland’s Emergency Medicine Residency Program.
The Diversity Committee at Highland is a resident-led group dedicated to actively recruiting, retaining, & supporting residents from diverse racial, ethnic backgrounds, genders, and sexual orientations. Our efforts focus on promoting diversity, equity & inclusion in medicine at every level, including recruiting URiM residents and faculty and advancing curriculum and research in this area. Additionally, we support community partnerships and pipeline programs, such as MiMS and our Social EM Research Diversity Externship which aim to increase the representation of URiM students in the medical field.
Our alumni have gone on to be leaders in Emergency Medicine, including Dr Starr Knight and Dr Kayla Enriquez at UCSF, Dr Kara Toles at UC Davis, and Dr Tiffany Anaebere at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. Dr. Anaebere recently authored the article “Policing Can Take a Lesson from Health Care,” and Dr. Naya Misa on ‘George Floyd’s Autopsy and the Structural Gaslighting of America,’ both published in 2020 in Scientific American.
