June 12th, 2020
The Members of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Queen’s University and Kingston Health Sciences Centre recognize the need to improve health care access and outcomes for patients who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Colour (BIPOC), and from other equity-seeking groups, through our individual and collective actions.
Our Department recognizes the anti-Black racism in society at large, and in our own community. We condemn anti-Black racism and the mistreatment and murder of BIPOC people by the police. We recognize that beyond outright discrimination, implicit bias affects the way we provide patient care and the health and quality of life outcomes for our patients. We will continue to reflect as a Department on the ways that we can better serve our patients. This work has already started; Dr. Olga Bougie recently published a paper outlining that Black and East Asian women have a higher burden of fibroid disease with poorer health-related quality of life scores and prefer uterus-sparing management. This work helps us as caregivers to identify ways that we can provide better care for our patients and to apply these to clinical practice.
As health care educators, we also recognize the need to improve access to education for learners of all backgrounds, and support academic success in students from BIPOC and other equity-seeking groups. We pledge to do so by listening to, engaging with, and learning from our patients and our learners.
We are working on a plan with actionable goals and measurable outcomes. The first step in developing that plan will be a consultation process with patients, learners, community members, and organizations, as well as a review of available resources that can help us to improve our knowledge and practices. We are seeking input and feedback and would particularly value input from members of marginalized groups within the health care system and the health education system. In addition, we are seeking advice from other academic departments and health care organizations that have gone through this process. This consultation process will take place over the summer and conclude by September 30, 2020. After this, we expect to have an actionable plan which we will share with all stakeholders.
We invite your feedback and suggestions.
Please contact us at department.obgyn@queensu.ca or at 613-548-1372
DEPARTMENT OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY
Kingston General Hospital
76 Stuart Street
Kingston, ON, Canada
K7L 2V7
Tel 613 548-1372
Fax 613 548-1330
department.obgyn@queensu.ca