Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine receives national award for excellence in diversity

The Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine has received the 2024 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from Insight Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.

The college joins WSU Vancouver as the only WSU units to receive a HEED Award, a national honor recognizing U.S. health colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. The WSU College of Medicine will be featured with 70 other recipients in Insight Into Diversity's November/December 2024 issue.

"This recognition is not about the award but is an affirmation of the collective work we are engaged in to improve diversity, equity, and belonging in our educational programs and to promote health equity across the state," said David Garcia, associate dean for community, health equity, and belonging at the College of Medicine.

Insight Into Diversity selected the college based on a variety of initiatives, including:

• Pathway programs, which support American Indian and Alaska Native students interested in pursuing medicine and increase their representation in health care fields
• The Health Equity Racial Organizing (HERO) Initiative, a community partnership to improve access to care and address racial disparities in health outcomes
• The Health Equity Circle, a multi-university, student-led organization advancing health equity beyond the classroom
• The Health Justice and Belonging Conference, an annual virtual conference designed to build bridges between people, community, and health care to solve real-world problems

"The Health Professions HEED Award process consists of a comprehensive and rigorous application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees-and best practices for both-continued leadership support for diversity, and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion," said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of Insight Into Diversity magazine. "We take a detailed approach to reviewing each application in deciding who will be named a Health Professions HEED Award recipient. Our standards are high, and we look for schools where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being done every day across their campus."

The College of Medicine's commitment to practicing these values and improving access to quality care is evident in its admissions processes. Research shows that patients experience better health outcomes when they see a provider with the same gender, race, ethnicity, or other attributes as them. To recruit students who are historically underrepresented in medicine, the college uses a holistic review process that considers not only test scores and grades but also personal attributes and experiences that demonstrate applicants' commitment to serving Washington's rural communities, Tribal Nations, and other marginalized communities.

That holistic admissions process has been effective at recruiting diverse cohorts of future health care professionals. The MD program's class of 2025-2028, for instance, exceeds national averages for the rate of matriculated students who have served in the military (7.8% vs. 0.7%), are first generation college graduates (29% vs. 16.6%), have low socioeconomic status (39.1% vs. 31.2%), or are women (62.5% vs. 55.4%). Additionally, 14.4% of the class are American Indian or Alaska Native, Black/African American, or Hispanic. (Race and ethnicity are not considered in admissions per law but reported only as additional demographics of the class.)

"This medical school was founded by the people and for the people," said Garcia.

As part of its five-year strategic plan, the college plans to expand its initiatives to foster excellence and diversity in its academic programs, operationalized through a variety of measurable goals. The college will also collaborate with community partners to advocate for and build a better health care ecosystem that reduces health inequities, training practitioners to care for the underserved in Washington communities.

"We thank our community partners, tribes, grassroots organizations, and the college's students, staff, and faculty for their ongoing commitment to fulfilling our vision of a healthier, equitable Washington for all," said Garcia.

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