As a public institution caring for the wonderfully diverse population of Connecticut, our program is perpetually striving for diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in all our initiatives and environments.  We seek to recruit a diverse workforce of residents, faculty, staff, and students who are attuned to the needs of our diverse patients.  We work hard to foster an inclusive, supportive culture where differences are appreciated and everyone is welcomed.  Through a substantial mentoring program, various educational offerings, diversity-oriented discussion forums, close ties to our Graduate Medical Education’s Diversity Oversight Committee, and recruitment strategies that align with these goals, we are constantly renewing and re-affirming our commitments to equity and justice for each other, for our local communities, and beyond.  Please read below for a taste of the various projects and initiatives that affect residents within our own department:

• We have a department-wide “ARTIST” group (Anti-Racist, Trauma-Informed System Transformation) which meets monthly to discuss, explore, and learn about various aspects of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the work environment.  We invite residents, faculty, and staff to all our meetings, and we have focused on various challenging topics including (but not limited to) using the radical healing framework to address identity-based wounds, addressing discrimination in the treatment of pain, understanding neurodiversity, working with patients who have survived trauma, providing gender-affirming care at our clinical sites, and working with patients who have devaluing behaviors.
• We offer a variety of seminars, case conferences, invited speakers, and Grand Rounds on Health Equity, Public Psychiatry, and Advocacy.
• We encourage scholarly activities on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) - related topics, and our residents have recently completed a number of projects (Quality Improvement Projects, Poster Presentations, Grand Rounds, Regional, Local, and National Oral Presentations, Workshops, Panel Discussions, and News Publications) on topics such as Equity in Restraint and Seclusion, Equity in Teaching, Gambling Use Disorder among Asian Americans, Internet Gaming Addiction in Asian-American Youth, and Psychosocial Functioning of Transgender Youth.
• Two of our residents have been chosen to participate in the “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership Track”, a two-year enrichment program run by a collaboration between the Graduate Medical Education Office and the Office of Multicultural and Community Affairs. The aim of the program is for learners to develop cross-continuum competencies in DEI that will bolster their professional development and prepare them to pursue career pathways focused on DEI leadership in medicine.
• A number of our residents were appointed to leadership positions in the Affinity Groups of the University-Wide Resident Forum, composed of all the residents within the Capital Area Health Consortium.
• Our residents are routinely engaged in recruitment efforts with various diversity-based organizations both within and outside of our institution, including LMSA (Latino Medical Student Association), SNMA (Student National Medical Association), and Howard University.
• We have various clinical sites that enhance our exposure to a diverse clinical population, including our own outpatient psychiatry clinic, four affiliated hospitals, Correctional Psychiatry rotations, Hartford Behavioral Health, and various rotations at the Newington VA.
• We have a quarterly gathering of the “EASE” group (Educators All Striving for Equity).  This is a group of residents, faculty, and staff who have completed a five-hour course which focuses on Becoming a More Equitable Educator.  In these quarterly meetings, we address timely but challenging topics from current events or from our daily lives, and we work together to recognize internal biases, identify competing priorities, and to strive for equity.

We hope this gives you a flavor of our most recent efforts.  Despite our various achievements, we will not stop striving for equity, fostering inclusion, or enhancing diversity, because we see this as a perpetual endeavor.  If you would like to join in our efforts as faculty or staff, or if you are interested in joining our residency, please do take the next step.  We would love to welcome you too.