During training, our residents participate in a multitude of lectures and workshops related to DEI throughout the year, including:

• Annual implicit bias training with faculty and residents put on by the Morsani College of Medicine.
• Monthly Culture, Enrichment and Engagement CARE (Cultural Awareness in Resident Education) talks put on by residents and faculty who share their background, culture, religion, and traditions.
• A commitment to community engagement and service to meet our patients in the communities in which they live.

Annually, the program also offers a scholarship for 1 to 2 fourth-year medical students who are traditionally underrepresented in medicine. It allows underrepresented minority students an opportunity for a personalized acting internship elective in our program. They can learn about USF Pediatrics and meet with residents and faculty at all of our sites during the rotation. 

• Continued commitment to recruitment and retention of residents underrepresented in medicine, i.e. from diverse racial, cultural, and religious backgrounds, as well as of different sexual orientations and gender identities
• Implementation of monthly diversity-focused journal clubs, and education that focuses on important topics related to diversity, history of structural racism in medicine, and important events that led to creation of minority communities' distrust
• Re-establishment of book club and movie nights with Culture, Enrichment and Engagement topics with structured education and discussion
• Creation of additional opportunities for community service by partnering with non-medical organizations to highlight important community partners serving our patients and families
• Safe Zone Training

Why Tampa Bay?

Tampa Bay is a rich and diverse community, allowing for valuable opportunities to learn how to best care for patients from different backgrounds. We hope that our sustained commitment to diversity will enable our trainees and faculty to gain the skills needed to deliver the highest quality care to all of our patients in the Tampa Bay Area. 

Community

Our residency has the privilege of serving and learning from this wide mix of children and their families. In general, Tampa Bay is about 60% Caucasian, 20% Hispanic or Latinx, 10% Black or African-American, with the remainder of the population being Asian, Native American, or other. A few of the main cultures in our community include Cuban, Puerto Rican, Italian, and Greek.

The majority of our patients receive Medicaid health insurance; however, a consistent cohort of middle to higher-income families with private insurance gives our residents a broad range of exposure to General Pediatrics within our community.

Having such a diverse community for our residents to work in enriches their training and creates a well-rounded and well-prepared pediatrician. We hope that our sustained commitment to diversity and inclusion will allow our trainees and faculty to gain the skills needed to deliver the highest quality care to all of our patients in the Tampa Bay Area.

We understand that there are structural barriers that prevent minority communities from gaining access to care as well as affect health outcomes, and therefore are committed to diversifying our staff in order to meet the needs of our patient population in the Tampa Bay Area.

To learn more, visit our Culture, Enrichment and Engagement page. 

Check out our Underrepresented Minority Visiting Student Scholarship page to learn more about the program and to apply.