Antiracism and Health Equity

STFM Policy Statement Against Discrimination
STFM opposes all discrimination in any form, including but not limited to, that on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnic affiliation, health, age, disability, economic status, body habitus or national origin.

STFM Health Equity Definition
Conditions that allow everyone the opportunity to attain their highest level of health

STFM Health Equity Strategic Goals and Priorities
Guided by a 5-year strategic plan, STFM members and staff are driving the health equity of communities through medical education. Read the STFM health equity goals and objectives.

Family Medicine Special Issue on Racism
Toolkit for Teaching About Racism in the Context of Persistent Health and Healthcare Disparities
Health Equity Resource Library Resources
Curriculum in the Family Medicine Residency Curriculum Resource (curriculum available to subscribers)
Being Black in Medicine—STFM Podcast by Tricia Elliott, MD

Published Papers:

More Family Medicine Articles on Health Equity and Racism

More PRiMER Articles on Health Equity and Racism

Published Papers/Articles:

The STFM Foundation launched a year-long blog series. In this series, The Path We Took, URM members share the paths they took to become faculty and leaders in family medicine.

One African American Woman’s Leadership Journey—Judy Washington, MD
One of Those Kids in That Class Is Me and They Deserve a Chance—Renee Crichlow, MD
Mi Gente—Edgar Figueroa, MD, MPH
STFM Is My Most Precious Membership—Evelyn Figueroa, MD
Taking Baby Steps to Success—Kehinde Eniola, MD, MPH
I Share This Story Because it Has Stayed With Me For Some Time—Shannon Pittman Moore, MD
In Pursuit of Equity—Cleveland Piggott, MD, MPH
The Path We Took—Octavia M. Amaechi, MD
Fierce Women and New Stars—Andrea Anderson, MD
Unconscious Bias and Lower Expectations —Christina Johnson MD, PhD

Thanks to generous support from donors to the Underrepresented in Medicine Campaign, the STFM Foundation provides scholarships for underrepresented in medicine applicants to multiple STFM programs.

Underrepresented in medicine applicants are encouraged to apply for:

STFM Underrepresented in Medicine (URM) Initiative

The STFM Underrepresented in Medicine (URM) Initiative, supported by the STFM Foundation, is working to:

Increase the percentage of URM family medicine faculty, and
Increase the number of solutions-focused, adaptable URM leaders within and across our healthcare system

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) definition of underrepresented in medicine is:

"Underrepresented in medicine means those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population."¹

A diverse workforce of family medicine physicians and faculty is required to support the future of health care and the needs of a diverse patient population. URM faculty members collectively make up only 9.4% of academic medicine while representing almost 33% of the national population.^2,3In recognition of this, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) has committed to developing strategies and providing resources to increase the number of underrepresented in medicine (URM) family medicine educators.

Oversight Committee & Work Groups

An interprofessional URM Oversight Committee, chaired by Edgar Figueroa, MD, MPH, has convened to guide the progress of the Underrepresented in Medicine Initiative work. Four Work Groups are leading the development of strategies and measures for their Focus Area, while the entire Oversight Committee is monitoring the progress of the work and communicating with STFM members and the STFM Foundation about the work being done.

Donate to the STFM Foundation URM Campaign

URM Initiative Areas of Focus

Mentorship

Create opportunities for developing meaningful relationships that lead to career advancement and leadership
Develop mentors who have the skills to help URM students, residents, and faculty improve resiliency, satisfaction, and retention

Leadership

Increase the percentage of URM family medicine faculty in leadership positions
Raise awareness of the structural barriers to URM achievement

URM Faculty Pipeline

Increase the percentage of URM students and URM family medicine residents with an interest in teaching
Increase the percentage of URM family medicine faculty
Increase the percentage of URM community preceptors who receive resources to improve their teaching skills

Scholarship

Increase the percentage of URM students, residents, and faculty who have the skills to produce scholarly research

AAMC. The status of the new AAMC definition of "underrepresented in medicine" following the Supreme Court's decision in Grutter. 2004; https://services.aamc.org/AMCAS2_2010/WebApp/Help/WebHelp/Disadvantaged_Status.htm. Accessed January 31, 2014.
Census.gov. Quick Facts United States. 2018; https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US. Accessed September 4, 2019.
Diversity of the Physician Workforce: Facts and Figures 2018. 2018; http://aamcdiversityfactsandfigures.org/. Accessed March 26, 2020.