Racism, in all forms, harms individuals and is deleterious to all communities, institutions and society at-large. Racism contributes to shortened life spans, health disparities, health inequities and chronic illness. Racism is an urgent public health problem for all.
The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix joins the leading professional associations in medicine — such as the Association of American Medical Colleges, American Medical Association, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and Arizona Medical Association — in condemning racism and declaring racism a public health urgency.
As a medical school that is charged with training the next generation of physicians, it is incumbent on us to take action to dismantle racism and give a new generation of physicians the skills and training to speak and act against racism for the betterment of patients and public health.
The U of A College of Medicine – Phoenix:
- Rejects racism in all forms.
- Recognizes racism as an urgent public health issue.
- Promotes and delivers educational programs to reduce institutional and systemic racism.
- Commits to training our community members to advance anti-racist practices in medicine.
- Acknowledges racism as a root cause of many health inequities, especially for minoritized communities.
- Denounces brutality and violence against the Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian communities and all other communities.
- Strives to diversify its faculty, students, postdocs, residents, fellows and staff to reflect the population of Arizona.
- Supports research and practice to reduce disparities in health outcomes.