Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

The mission of the Duke Orthopaedics Inclusion Workforce is to ensure that the best and the brightest individuals are represented within orthopedics and given an equitable opportunity to make invaluable contributions to the advancements in musculoskeletal healthcare. The OIW works to emphasize workplace inclusion and civility within our department and strives to increase cultural awareness and representation for improved health literacy, improved patient-provider communication and trust, and more efficient access to the delivery of care. 

Accepted Charges

• Connect diverse students with mentors and facilitate exposure to orthopaedic surgery (Medical Education Experience)
• Build a department culture that embraces diversity and inclusion (Faculty Experience)
• Transform Duke Orthopaedics to represent the changing cultures of our patients, positively impacting the delivery of musculoskeletal care (Patient Experience) 

Guiding Principles

Inclusion
We are committed to creating an inclusive culture within our department to allow diverse individuals to thrive on both training and faculty levels.

Equity
The goal is that diverse individuals be afforded truly equitable opportunities for excellence without exclusion from majority programs or protocols.

Respect
Discrimination based on gender or ethnic background will not be tolerated by any department member, whether in the form of overt bias or micro-aggressions. 

Accountability 
Department and committee leaders will be responsible for implementing and supporting outlined initiatives.

The Duke DPT DiversiTea Newsletter was envisioned to create a sustainable, interactive collection of work that embodies diversity, equity, and inclusion. Content for each newsletter can be submitted by students, faculty, and/or staff; submissions contain both historical and current events, and the content is multimodal, including art, music, literature, dance, etc. A DiversiTea & Coffee session follows publication when people gather and discuss their favorite pieces and talk about to apply them to the practice of physical therapy. View the newsletter.

School of Medicine Moments to Movement—The Duke University School of Medicine is committed to dismantling racism and to better understanding its root causes, harms, and strategies to reduce racial inequity. The Moments to Movement (M2M) commitment extends within our institutional walls, surrounding community, and nation.

Inspired by the amazing video highlighting Black women physicians at Emory University’s School of Medicine, the Duke University School of Medicine’s DPT and OTD programs celebrate Black History Month.

There are more than 20,000 practicing orthopaedic surgeons in the United States. Orthopaedic surgery has been cited as being one of the least diverse specialties. Despite over 50% of medical students being female, only 15% of orthopaedic surgery residents are female, and less than 6% of practicing orthopaedic surgeons are female. Discussions and actions needed to address this issue can be challenging. Duke Orthopaedic spine surgeon Dr. Melissa Erickson is doing her part to help.  

For several years, Dr. Erickson has facilitated hosting the Perry Initiative’s Outreach Program at Duke. This provides a hands-on introduction to Orthopaedic Surgery for women in medical school and engineering for women in high school. The program was named in honor of Dr. Jacquelin Perry, who was among the first women certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and a pioneer in gait analysis and post-polio rehabilitation. The Perry Initiative was founded in 2009 by Dr. Jenni Buckley (a mechanical engineer) and Dr. Lisa Lattanza (an orthopaedic surgeon) to excite women about two predominantly male fields. Today, the Perry Initiative runs over 50 one-day outreach programs, reaching over 13,000 high school, college, and medical students through over 450 outreach events.

Department Faculty Member Appointed to the PCOBA

Erica Taylor, MD, MBA, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Chief Medical Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Duke Health Integrated Practice, and Vice Chair of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Department of Orthopaedics, has been appointed to serve a three-year term on the President’s Council on Black Affairs (PCOBA).

The Council helps ensure that the University pursues its goals of increasing the diversity of the faculty and student body and guaranteeing an excellent student experience. The Council focuses on student issues for both graduate and undergraduate students. The Council also shares information about events and activities on campus that are relevant to African-American community members and helps disseminate this information more broadly.

Dr. Taylor shared, "This is an unexpected honor. Being recognized by our top leadership as a key advisory resource for equity affirms that the work we’ve been dedicated to for decades truly matters and is making a meaningful impact. I look forward to collaborating closely with the core of our academic enterprise, ensuring that our health sector is fully and equitably represented."

Inclusive Skin Tone Bandages at Duke Health

A small supply change at Duke Health is making a big statement to patients – we see you. Duke Health Integrated Practice (DHIP) providers can now order bandages in various skin tones. This new option draws less attention to an injury or post-procedure covering, and more importantly, it supports an inclusive environment.

Led by the DHIP’s Associate Chief Medical Officer Dr. Erica Taylor and DHIPFellows Addison Newman and Ellice Mae Sanchez to make patients feel more included and “seen” when visiting our clinics, the bandages are available for ordering now. “We have high-level strategies, short-term goals, longitudinal plans, and everything else. With this initiative, we wanted patients to know, above everything else, that we are considering them in our daily decisions. This includes reviewing our bandage inventory,” said Erica Taylor, MD, MBA, associate chief medical officer for diversity, equity, and inclusion, DHIP. “This is one tangible demonstration of how it matters to us that our patients are represented in the operations of our clinics.”

Clinics can purchase skin tone bandages from Buy@Duke (click Buy@Duke tab). 

#WhiteCoatsforBlackLives
Ortho team members marched in a peaceful protest against systemic racism and the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.
David Kerr, Sneha Rao, Melissa Erickson, Ed Baldwin, Dan Lorenzana, Alex Lazarides, Brian Dial, John Wickman, and Kendall Bradley laid down for 8 minutes 46 seconds in solidarity as part of #WhiteCoatsForBlackLives ‬

The Perry Initiative: A Game Changer

There are more than 20,000 practicing orthopedic surgeons in the United States. Orthopaedic surgery has been cited as being one of the least diverse specialties. Despite over 50% of medical students being female, only 15% of orthopaedic surgery residents are female, and less than 6% of practicing orthopaedic surgeons are female. Discussions and actions needed to address this issue can be challenging. Duke Orthopaedic spine surgeon Dr. Melissa Erickson is doing her part to help.

Read more about the 2023 Perry Initiative gathering at Duke.