The University of Wisconsin internal medicine residency program strives for a culture in which the values of diversity, equity and inclusion are infused into all of our clinical, teaching and research activities.
We hope to foster a culturally rich, diverse and welcoming learning environment in which trainees learn to provide individualized care to patients with diverse ethnic, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds across the gender spectrum. We are working hard to attract learners who want to contribute to this goal.
How We Support Residents
- Institutional Partnerships
We work closely with institutional partners on activities that promote the recruitment, development and retention of residents, fellows, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds.
- Culturally Responsive Mentoring
We are creating a robust mentoring structure that will help faculty become more effective, culturally aware mentors. This program will ensure that residents from underrepresented backgrounds receive the support they need for success in their training and future careers.
- Curriculum for All Residents
All internal medicine residents receive a robust anti-racist clinical skills curriculum that runs through all three years of training.
Didactic sessions include:
- Health equity lecture series
- Workshop on the harms of race-based medicine
- Upstander training
- Critical appraisal of the use of race in the medical literature
Simulation exercises include:
- Microaggression response training
- Upstander simulations
- Trauma-informed care
- Grand Rounds Lectures
View recent Department of Medicine Grand Rounds focused on diversity, equity and inclusion topics:
- Rural Health: Addressing Health Disparities by Expanding Resident Training Opportunities (Emily Owen, MD)
- Sticking the Landing and Other Ideas to Address Rural Disparities in Diabetic Foot Ulcers (Meghan Brennan, MD, MS)
- Controversies in Medicine: Lessons Learned from Using Race to Manage Kidney Disease (Nwamaka Eneanya, MD, MPH)
- Towards Flourishing: Global Perspectives on Intersectional Stigma and Advancing HIV Prevention and Care Cascades (Carmen Logie, PhD)
- The Reality of Diversity and Inclusion in Alzheimer’s Disease Research: Roles of Scientists and Communities (Peggye Dilworth Anderson, PhD)
- A New Frontier of Global Health: Equity in the Age of COVID-19 (Senait Fisshea, MD, JD)
- History and Herstory: Exploring Gender Bias in Internal Medicine Resident Training (Sarah Donohue, MD)
- Moving the Needle: Mentorship, Sponsorship and Allyship (Nancy Spector, MD)
Meet our Director of Residency Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
"I work to ensure that residents have positive, identity-affirming experiences that support their career development and overall wellbeing. My colleagues and I also work to identify and dismantle the barriers that individuals from historically underrepresented background in medicine and other minoritized groups can encounter during training."
What Residents Say About Dr. Schnell
"Dr. Schnell is an inspiring role model, advocate for residents, and outstanding physician. Working with her the last month has been meaningful for me as I navigate career options within general internal medicine.
She has a positive energy that lifts up everyone around her and makes even the busiest day more fun. Thank you, Dr. Schnell, for sharing your talents and kindness with residents. We are beyond grateful for you."