Wellness and Diversity - Internal Medicine Residency

We value diversity in our faculty, trainees, staff and the patients we serve.

We aim to recruit and support trainees with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Our residency program is partnered with the University of Maryland Medical Center and University of Maryland School of Medicine to ensure and inclusive and welcoming learning environment for all trainees.

Our Diversity and Inclusion Council was formed with the goal of building an inclusive residency training program and to promote and encourage diversity in our hospital and surrounding community. Some actions we are taking include:

• Unconscious bias training for faculty and residents
• Community Outreach opportunities for our residents
• Social determinants of health curriculum during ambulatory blocks
• Monthly didactic lecture series on diversity and inclusion in healthcare
• Lecture series on LGBTQ+ medicine taught by our endocrinology faculty

Community Outreach

We are proud to serve the West Baltimore population and consider this diverse community a strength of our program. Baltimore City has a wonderful rich cultural history, but also has a history of racism and socioeconomic disadvantage. Our program is partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine to participate in community outreach in Baltimore City. Some opportunities include mentoring school aged children, participation in local health fairs and working with Healthcare for the Homeless.

Resident Wellness

Our program has a strong commitment to resident wellness and resilience. We are committed to ensuring our residents have balance and a focus on well-being. We aim to achieve this through:

• Annual resident retreats for our senior residents in the summer
• Annual intern retreat in the winter
• Wellness half days (in addition to regularly scheduled days off and vacation) for residents to use for doctor's appointments or other personal time
• Monthly resident social events coordinated through our Post Graduate Education Committee (PGEC)
• A resident lounge specifically for internal medicine residents, open 24/7

We have a Resident Mentor Program where every intern is paired with a senior resident mentor upon matching with our program. Our residents are all assigned to one of four resident houses, headed up by a chief resident. These smaller groups meet monthly for social activities and other events.

Our GME office has a House Staff Association (HSA) that puts on social events and wellness events throughout the year for all residents and fellows at UMMC. A highlight is the annual Valentine's Day Ball at the B&O Museum.

The University of Maryland Medical Center has a RISE Program – Resilience in Stressful Events available to all faculty, trainees, and staff as well as a robust Employee Assistance Program (EAP). EAP counselors assist managing health and any personal or job related stressors at no cost. All interns have an EAP appointment scheduled for them during their fall AGIM block for a wellness check in.