Have you ever wondered how the Heersink School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion (HSOM ODI) determines if we're on the right track and where we have the most opportunities for improvement with our mission of increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion? To find these answers, we participated in the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Council of Deans Collective Action Initiative -Diversity, Inclusion, Culture, and Equity Inventory (DICE).

What is DICE?

DICE Inventory is an opportunity to review institutional policies, practices, procedures, and programs that impact the climate and culture around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). AAMC’s Council of Deans Collective Action Initiative requires participating medical schools to implement the DICE Inventory and report the results to be shared in nationally aggregated data. This initiative responds to the academic medicine community's desire for concrete action, accountability, and accelerated meaningful change. To do this, the inventory includes 89 questions grouped within six content areas and divided into 15 sub-content areas.

Why participate?

The motivations to participate were twofold. First, the school leadership wanted a fact-based assessment of DEI efforts; secondly, they wanted to make a national commitment to advancing DEI at the school. Participating in the Council of Deans Collective Action Initiative allowed us to accomplish both goals.

Our work with DICE was led by Mona Fouad, MD, senior associate dean in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in the Heersink School of Medicine, and facilitated by Leisha Hultgren, Ph.D., director in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in the Heersink School of Medicine.

Reflecting on her work, Hultgren said, "As the facilitator, I guided members of the implementation team in one-on-one discussions around the DICE Inventory questions to better understand where the institution is situated on the path to excellence in diversity, equity, and inclusion. During these conversations, team members provided supporting evidence from programs, practices, and policies at the school to support responses to the questions. These conversations were so meaningful because they created opportunities to reflect on our growth and opportunities for continuous improvement.”

Key findings and takeaways

The HSOM's overall DICE score of 80.9% puts us at the “substantial effort level.” This is calculated from 72 “yes” and 17 “no” answers. It would be easy for the ODI to focus only on the “green lights” (positive areas), as this is no small achievement. But it is essential to take a holistic approach that doesn’t shy away from opportunities for improvement. For instance, the inventory reveals two “red lights” or areas for improvement. One of those areas refers to Staff Recruitment and Development. In this area, ODI is developing new initiatives recommended by Heersink Staff Diversity Liaisons to be in place for 2023. The second red light relates to Students’ DEI Valued Curricular and Co-curricular Experiences. Discussions are already underway, and new initiatives will be finalized when developing the diversity and inclusion strategic plan.

In summary, Fouad states, “After I identified Dr. Hultgren as the discussion facilitator, we established a collaborative process with an implementation team that drew on talented perspectives from the school to complete the DICE Inventory. These conversations allowed us to understand better where we are doing well and areas where we can improve. The inventory has given us a clear set of achievements and goals.”