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Valley Children’s Healthcare Resident and Fellow Diversity Council (RFDC)

The Resident and Fellow Diversity Council at the Valley Children’s is a resident- and fellow-led organization focused on nurturing diversity, inclusion and equity. The program was created on the conviction that we all come from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences that are traditionally underrepresented in medicine. In order to diversify the face of pediatrics, we have to actively address common biases inherent in human behavior that have historically created injustices in medicine. We believe that by addressing systems of privilege and actively addressing these biases will permit us to deliver equitable, high-quality care to all children we serve in the San Joaquin Valley.

We believe that diversity enhances the continually changing educational climate and improves educational outcomes. The demographics of the San Joaquin Valley make it vital that our residency program create a workforce that is capable of understanding, communicating and providing medical care to individuals from diverse backgrounds. Diversity enriches reflection in our patient care, serves to promote advocacy and reduces healthcare disparities among children.
 

Mission of the RFDC

The mission of the Resident and Fellow Diversity Council is to create a medical community that fosters an inclusive environment by proactively working to create robust, interactive educational opportunities to improve our care of marginalized populations and preparing our residents and fellows to care for increasingly diverse patients.

We also seek to celebrate the diversity in our residency and fellowship programs and recruit underrepresented minority (URM) resident physicians and fellows to Valley Children’s Healthcare. In this milieu, we are mindful of all aspects of human identity such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, abilities and religion. Finally, our program is committed to delivering a curriculum for all our trainees that emphasizes the structural determinants of health affecting our patients.

We plan to develop a strategic framework that is aligned with our program's mission and values related to embracing diversity and to mitigate the effects of bias against marginalized individuals for their gender identity, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, ability or religion.
 

Resident Activities

Resident Wellbeing

  • Quarterly URM resident wellbeing group
  • Diversity advocates for each post-graduate class

Academic Advancement

  • Resident Diversity Education Curriculum
  • Noon conference didactics around issues of diversity, including LGBTQ health disparities, Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities
  • Faculty development for mentoring and supporting diverse trainees

Social Events

  • Networking Receptions for residents and faculty

Resident Mentoring

  • Quarterly resident-faculty mentorship dinners

Community Outreach/Recruitment

  • Diversity recruitment receptions for residency applicants
  • Attendance at the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) and Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) annual conferences
     

Grants/Opportunities for Underrepresented Minority Residents (URM)

Valley Children’s Pre-Med Internship Program
The Valley Children’s Pre-Med Internship Program was created to promote motivated Fresno State pre-medical students that are first generation, low income and/or underrepresented to pursue a career in medicine for the diverse pediatric populations of the Central Valley. This comprehensive program includes research and clinical components to allow students an immersive opportunity for mentorship, leadership and scholarship at Valley Children’s Hospital. Students will perform research under the guidance of an experienced clinical research mentor. This paid internship will provide the student a robust experience in clinical research with the potential of publication in addition to a valuable clinical shadowing experience. The student will attend Valley Children’s Pediatric Residency didactic presentations and also participate in personalized workshops on planning for the medical school application process.