Police Brutality and RacismThe past few months and the past few days have been particularly difficult for our communities. The disparities in health outcomes uncovered by the Covid-19 pandemic have lifted the veil on the systemic inequities in healthcare. The recent horrific events with the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd expose the racism that are endemic in our society. The AUA fully endorses the AAMC Statement on Police Brutality and Racism in America and Their Impact on Health. We stand in support of our colleagues, our trainees, and our communities in this struggle. We recognize the stress and anguish many are feeling. We urge our members and our community to listen in order to learn how to be better advocates. The AAMC calls on all of us to acknowledge our own biases. We have started this process in our own home. Throughout the past year, AUA leaders have taken steps to achieve diversity, equity, and inclusion within our society and within academic anesthesiology. Our work is starting; we continue to strive toward our goal for an equitable and inclusive society that better represents the diversity of our academic community. As AUA members, we are academic leaders in our specialty. We are committed to adding our voice and to being the leaders of change in our specialty. The AUA Council will therefore propose an amendment to the bylaws in support of establishing a Leadership Advisory Board, to elevate the voices of our constituents, to anchor our work in best practices, and to achieve equity in our association. This serves to formally begin our work to achieve diversity, equity, and inclusion that we all hold as core values. |