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School of Medicine Greenville

  • Diversity at USCSOMG

Diversity

The University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville is deeply committed to fostering a culture of fairness, equity and inclusion among its diverse students, faculty, staff and other key stakeholders.

This commitment stems from a core belief that different perspectives create the intellectual and experiential foundation through which the richest learning occurs and through which culturally competent healthcare providers are trained. People with various life paths who represent different racial, ethnic, gender identity, sexual orientation, geographic, socioeconomic and academic backgrounds are considered a crucial part of creating a thriving learning community. The School of Medicine Greenville recognizes that the medical needs of a community are best met by practitioners who, by way of their own lived experiences, strengths, and demonstrated capacity to overcome adversity, have a unique perspective and personal understanding of how those medical needs are best met when considering cultural norms, economic constraints and educational barriers within that community.

Diversity Education

Health care is changing, and the patient populations of tomorrow will be the most diverse in United States history.  At the USC School of Medicine Greenville, we seek to ensure that our students have the skills and confidence to provide compassionate, culturally-relevant, high-quality care to meet each patient’s unique needs and also recognize the broader societal and healthcare system patterns that can impact the health of various people differently.

 

Levi S. Kirkland Society Mentoring Program

The USC School of Medicine Greenville is committed to creating a nurturing environment where students from all backgrounds can thrive. Members of the Levi S. Kirkland Sr. M.D. Society of Prisma Health–Upstate have developed a mentoring program to students who identify as Black/African American during their time at the medical school. Our students gain invaluable knowledge from mentors who have been in their shoes and now serve as physicians at Prisma Health–Upstate or are faculty members of the medical school.

 

Hispanic Medical Society

The Hispanic Medical Society is a physician-led Business Resource Group of Prisma Health and serves to improve the health of all Hispanics and underserved communities and works to advance diversity in medical education with a focus on mentorship and retention of students who identify as Hispanic/Latinx into and throughout medical school.

 

Bridges to Excellence

The USC School of Medicine Greenville has partnered with the Duke University School of Medicine Masters in Biomedical Sciences (MBS) program to establish the Bridges To Excellence (BTE) program. This collaboration seeks to increase the number of promising students from South Carolina, who are interested in working with underserved communities in the Carolinas. These students are vetted for their interest, familiarity, and passion for working in those communities, with the goal of matriculating into the School of Medicine Greenville. Applicants receive conditional acceptance to School of Medicine Greenville, contingent upon successfully achieving specified academic metrics in the Duke University MBS program. The BTE program will award each student approximately $12,500-$15,000 in scholarship funding to help defray the cost of MBS attendance and will provide longitudinal mentoring support from the senior year of college through medical school. Conditional acceptance to medical school will relieve the considerable financial burden of application fees and interview costs and the anxiety that can accompany the application process. This grant includes partial scholarship support to attend the Duke MBS program and makes additional funding available to the School of Medicine Greenville to support recruitment and retention (e.g. prospective student travel to interviews, accepted student travel to school-sponsored events, research support, support for relevant student interest groups). The BTE program is supported by a grant from The Fullerton Foundation.

 

Student Advocates for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (SADIE)

The Student Advocates for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (SADIE) exists as a body of welcoming students, faculty and staff committed to: advancing the integration of diversity and inclusion within the medical school’s curriculum; supporting those student organizations with an emphasis on diversity; and fostering an environment for meaningful discussions centered on diversity and inclusion at USC School of Medicine Greenville. The students serving on this committee will be utilized as a conduit for medical students of any race, creed, ethnic background, ability, sexual orientation or gender identity to express themselves in a safe and supportive setting.

 

In addition to SADIE, the USC School of Medicine Greenville offers several student organizations that support equity, diversity and inclusion, including the Student National Medical Association (SNMA), Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA), Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA), LGBTQ Health Interest Group, Medical Student Pride Alliance (MSPA), Global Health Interest Group, Supporting Women in Medicine (SWiM), and Medical Students for Health Advocacy (MSHA).

 

Student Blog

Student bloggers write about their journey to become physicians and address such topics as diversity and inclusion. 


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