by Kathy Rivers
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Climate Survey opens to the VUMC Community Sept. 13, and is the latest step toward cultivating an inclusive, respectful VUMC environment — one that is free from discrimination and racism.
“Eliminating inequities at VUMC starts with creating a climate for transformational change. This survey deepens our ‘organizational self-reflection’ and will equip us with a fuller view of how welcoming our work environment is,” said Consuelo Wilkins, MD, MSCI, Chief Equity Officer.
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion partnered with Human Resources to design the Climate Survey to assess VUMC’s current culture of inclusivity and the sense of belonging among our workforce.
“We are delighted to partner with our colleagues on this survey and the deeper understanding we will gain. Our goal is to use this information to make VUMC a positive and thriving environment for all who work here,” said Amy Schoeny, Chief Human Resources Officer.
Survey questions cover four main themes: ability to be one’s self at VUMC; how managers, supervisors, and leadership promote and value diversity and inclusion; the overall culture of diversity and inclusion within one’s work team, unit, or department; and personal work experiences with microaggressions and bias. Microaggressions are brief, everyday exchanges that send negative messages to certain individuals because of their group membership (i.e., race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, social class, and disability status).
“Do we embrace differences in race, religious expression, abilities, sexual identity, or stand in the way of being an organization where everyone feels like they belong?” said Kristy Sinkfield, associate vice president, Diversity, and Inclusion. “We hope everyone will take this opportunity to speak up about these important topics. Each survey response will help chart our path forward.”
The Climate Survey opens to employees starting Sept. 13 and runs through Sept. 27. Each person will receive an email with a unique link. Survey participation is voluntary, and all responses are confidential. Demographic information is also voluntary and confidential.
The survey includes 41 questions and takes approximately 25 minutes to complete. Participants can complete the survey in multiple sittings.
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion will share survey results enterprise-wide by December.
This Climate Survey is a key action in VUMC’s Racial Equity Plan, which includes eight thematic areas and 196 specific actions that VUMC and VUSM will take to advance racial equity. The actions are distributed across clinical, educational and research missions, and the leaders responsible and accountable for each are identified.
