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Who Are We?

The Resident Diversity Committee is a resident-led organization focused on fostering diversity and inclusion at the University of Washington Internal Medicine Residency Program. It was founded on the conviction that diversity among physicians makes us all better practitioners and leaders, and ultimately leads to better patient care.

Our Mission

We believe bias is an inherent part of human behavior that must be intentionally and proactively addressed in order to rectify injustice in medicine, and to deliver equitable, high-quality care. The mission of the Resident Diversity Committee is to purposefully recruit underrepresented minority (URM) resident physicians to the University of Washington, as well as to mitigate the effects of institutionalized racism and bias against marginalized individuals for their gender, race, sexual orientation, or religion. We seek to accomplish this by fostering an inclusive environment that supports and celebrates diversity by proactively working to increase diversity among future residents, and by creating robust, interactive educational opportunities to improve our care of marginalized populations.

RDC members and allies at Judkins Park on playground
Resident Diversity Committee at Judkins Park

What We Do

  • We partner with our program leadership to proactive recruit applicants who identify as underrepresented in medicine
  • We work with program faculty to develop and disseminate educational curriculum related to diversity and inclusion such as implicit bias, microaggressions, and social determinants of health
  • We collaborate with faculty and fellowship directors within UW to develop a robust pipeline for mentorship and advancement of underrepresented residents
  • We host social events to foster a community of support for underrepresented residents, creating a home away from home
  • We serve as a liaison to the broader UW Network of Underrepresented Residents and Fellows (NURF)

RDC Executive Board

Co-Chairs: Gena Lenti (PGY-3), Allan Fonseca (PGY-3), Lena Law (PGY-2)

Admin & Finance Chair: Jason Castaneda (PGY-3), Austin Chen (PGY-2)

Communications Chair: Ayesha Khader (PGY-3), Prasanthi Vemu (PGY-2)

Curriculum Chairs:  Sayuli Bhide (PGY-3), Will Schifeling (PGY-3), Monica Soni (PGY-2)

LGBTQ+ Alliance Chairs: Devin Shen (PGY-3)

Mentorship & Wellness Chairs: Vicki Tang (PGY-2), Josh Bloomstein (PGY-2)

Recruitment Chairs: Adiya Jaffari (PGY-3), Rujuta Patil (PGY-2)

Research Chairs: Olivia Lin (PGY-2), Kristine Cueva (PGY-3), Hasan Nadeem (PGY-2)