Empowerment, Diversity, and Inclusion in Neurology: A Blog by Andrew Spector, MD

I hope you’re enjoying this beautiful Spring and Eid Mubarak!

At the end of all of my monthly emails, I provide a link to anonymous comment box. It doesn’t get used often, but I’m pleased that we did receive a comment this past month. I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to write to the DEI Committee! I’d like to share the comment because it raises a very important point.

Here is your Neurology Department D&I update for March 2023. This will be relatively brief as the committee’s efforts have been focused on our NCCU Career Explorations Day on April 29, so there hasn’t been as much else going on to report. A full advertising push has been initiated, so hopefully you’re seeing the publicity from our department, the CTSI, and the Duke-NCCU Bridge Office. Please help us spread the word to any of your contacts at NCCU who might be interested in helping us get the word out. We’re also still looking for more volunteers.

A week ago, Dr. Nimish Mohile from the University of Rochester gave an inspirational grand rounds talk on combatting inequity in academic neurology departments. He reviewed the many changes that he and his colleagues have implemented to move toward great equity in their department. If you missed it, you can watch it here.

Hello everyone. Here is your D&I Update for January 2023. The big news that I’m very excited to share with you is that we have received a gift from Harmony Biosciences to sponsor our Careers in Neurology and Neuroscience Day for NCCU students!

November is Native American Heritage Month. As far as I can tell, Duke University does not have a formal Land Acknowledgement Statement, though there is an effort among the Native American and Indigenous Students Alliance (NAISA) to get the university to adopt one.

Congratulations to Dr. Morgenlander, Dr. Johnson, and everyone who contributed to the recently dedicated Habitat for Humanity House. What a great show of support for our community! 

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Not only does September bring us to Fall, it’s also Women in Medicine Month and Tuesday will begin National Hispanic Heritage Month (9/15/20-10/15/20). Hispanic Heritage Month (Mes Nacional de la Herencia Hispana) begins on September 15 because Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua all declared independence on September 15, 1821. Mexico, Chile, and Belize also have independence days in late September.

This past Saturday, Dr. Len White led a Social History Tour of Duke’s campus. Dr. White led members of the department and their families around sites on campus that are noteworthy for their roles in Duke’s past, particularly in regard to race and racism. It was very well received by those who took the tour. If there is enough interest, this might be repeated in the future for those who couldn’t attend this weekend. 

We are all reeling from the horrifying news out of Buffalo and Uvalde. I could use this platform to scream about the need for gun control, mental health services, and political reforms so that we might someday not have to lurch from tragedy to tragedy, but I’m not going to. I’m not sure that I would have anything original to say that isn’t obvious or already said after the last mass shooting or the one before that or the one before that. 

First, I want to thank Drs Cook and Stuart for a fantastic D&I Grand Rounds, entitled “Neuropsychology normative standards: Where we’ve been, where we’re going, and why it matters.” If you missed this informative look into race-norming neuropsych testing, you can check it out here.