Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

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The Department of Behavioral Medicine at Cooper University Health Care values and welcomes differences in age, sex and gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, indigenous background, culture, national origin, language, religion, spiritual orientation, ability status, social class, education, veteran status, political persuasion, professional interests, and other cultural and professional dimensions.

As psychologists we believe we must actively attend to and address issues of individual and cultural diversity and inclusiveness. We value, appreciate, encourage, and support diversity in our work and training community. As a Department, we embrace a stance of cultural humility, in which an interpersonal orientation to, and understanding of, cultural identities and practices is prized. Engaging in cultural humility is viewed as a continuous process rather than an end goal.

We strive to be an inclusive community and to this end, we recruit, retain, and promote faculty and trainees from diverse backgrounds.

Our diversity, equity, and inclusion committee strives to cultivate a climate in which all staff and trainees feel respected and comfortable.

What is the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee doing?

While there are several current initiatives, below are some examples of the committee’s outcomes and ongoing goals:

  1. Created a policy for teleworking to permit interns to work on administrative tasks remotely at the discretion of their supervisors. Included flexibility, as possible, for working parents and caregivers.
  2. Developed and deliver a 4-part didactic series on identifying and responding to microaggressions.
  3. Department members complete the IAT, annually, and discuss how our implicit biases may impact our clinical and supervision work.
  4. Updated our recruitment materials to reflect our dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusions
  5. Facilitated workshops, assisted with data collection on program climate, and provided presentations within Behavioral Medicine as well as other departments (e.g., Psychiatry and Critical Care)