OPEN LETTER
June 2020
To Our Urology Community,
The murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade and countless others, and the disproportionate toll of COVID-19 on communities of color, have exposed deep wounds in our country. As our nation confronts systemic racism, we must all reflect upon our own contributions to the current crisis, and on actions we must take to create sustainable change.
Many organizations, including the American Urologic Association and Urology Care Foundation, have made statements condemning racism. As the AUA looks ahead for ways to promote equity in our society, encouraging members to speak out against racism, and committing to engage in advocacy against racial discrimination, it is imperative that members of our profession look within. While pledging to fight for healthcare equity for our patients, we must consider: what does it mean to truly support diversity in our own field?
Urology has a diversity problem. We remain one of the fields with the fewest underrepresented minorities and women in our ranks. As a urologic community, we need to critically evaluate the scope of the problem, identify barriers to diversity and inclusion (including those that we tacitly uphold), create a blueprint for impacting change, and engage in continuous self-assessment. While some individual institutions have made efforts to address these workforce issues, broader initiatives have yet to be enacted.
In response, we are assembling Urologists for Equity, a community of urologists who will work together towards achieving equity in our profession through:
1) Advocacy - We will establish specific initiatives and actions that all urologists can pursue and we will partner with organizations that seek to fight systemic injustices in urology. Advocacy can be on local, regional, national and individual levels. We will develop metrics for self-evaluation and monitoring, as well as landmarks for success
2) Sponsorship - We will develop and publish a list of mentors, coaches and sponsors for underrepresented minority faculty and trainees in urology.
3) Scholarship - We will promote research that exposes structural barriers and highlights DEI needs in urology. We will develop a list of studies and resources for self-education.
4) Engagement - We will harness the creativity and energy of a diverse community of urologists, including medical students, department chairs, community urologists, researchers and all who are committed to creating meaningful change in Urology. We want to hear your ideas!
In the coming months, we will solicit input on additional steps we can take to fight systemic racism in urology, and will elevate voices of individuals who are under-represented in our current leadership and field. We will strive to create an environment of inclusion within urology, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation. The urgency and scale of this issue requires immediate action.
Our urologic community can and will do better.
Sincerely,
Shannon Cannon, MD
Fellow, Division of Pediatric Urology, Seattle Children’s Hospital and University of Washington
Geolani W. Dy, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Urology, Oregon Health & Science University
Casey A. Seideman, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatric Urology, Department of Urology, Oregon Health & Science University
With the support of:
Aditya Bagrodia, MD
Assistant Professor, Dedman Family Scholar in Clinical Care, Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern
Jessica Delgado
Co-founder of LatinX in Urology, MD Candidate, Class of 2021, Indiana University School of Medicine
Tracy M. Downs, MD, FACS
Professor of Urology, Associate Dean of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health
Stanley K. Frencher, Jr., MD, MPH
Assistant Professor-in-Residence, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Medical Director of Outcomes and Quality, Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital
Patricio Gargollo, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatric Urology, Mayo Clinic
John L. Gore, MD
Professor, Department of Urology, University of Washington School of Medicine
Kirsten Greene, MD, MAS, FACS
Professor and Chair, Department of Urology, University of Virginia
Emilie K. Johnson, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Urology, Lurie Children’s and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Byron D. Joyner, MD, MPA
Vice Dean, Graduate Medical Education, University of Washington School of Medicine Professor of Urology, Seattle Children’s Hospital and University of Washington
Kathleen Kieran, MD, MSc, MME
Associate Professor, Seattle Children’s Hospital and University of Washington
Kathleen C. Kobashi, MD, FACS
Section Head, Section of Urology and Renal Transplantation, Virginia Mason Medical Center
Cheryl T. Lee, MD
Dorothy M. Davis Endowed Chair in Cancer Research, Professor and Chair, Department of Urology, Vice President of OSU Physicians and the Faculty Group Practice, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Gary E. Lemack, MD
Rose Mary Haggar Professor, Residency Program Director, Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Mark S. Litwin, MD, MPH, FACS
Professor and Chair, Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Manoj Monga, MD, FACS
Professor & Chair, Department of Urology, University of California San Diego
Kelvin A. Moses, MD, PhD, FACS
Associate Professor, Department of Urology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Stephen Nakada, MD, FACS
Professor and Chair, Department of Urology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health
Yaw A. Nyame, MD, MBA, MHSA
Assistant Professor, Department of Urology, University of Washington School of Medicine
Ganesh S. Palapattu, MD, FACS
The George F. and Sandy G. Valassis Professor and Chair, Department of Urology, The University of Michigan Medical School
David F. Penson, MD, MPH
Professor and Chair, Department of Urology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Raj Pruthi, MD, MHA, FACS
Professor and Chair, Department of Urology, University of California, San Francisco
Polina Reyblat, MD
Chief, Department of Urology, Los Angeles Medical Center Kaiser Permanente
Yahir Santiago-Lastra, MD
Associate Clinical Professor of Urology, UC San Diego Health
Martha K. Terris, MD
Professor and Chair, Department of Urology at Medical College of Georgia/Augusta University
Simone Thavaseelan, MD
Associate Professor Surgery and Program Director, Department of Urology, Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University
Randy Vince, Jr., MD
Society of Urologic Oncology Fellow, Department of Urology, University of Michigan
Christopher Warlick, MD, PhD
Associate Professor and Chairman, Department of Urology, University of Minnesota Medical School
Hunter Wessells, MD, FACS
Professor and Chair, Department of Urology, University of Washington School of Medicine
Kassandra E. Zaila, BA
Co-Founder of LatinX in Urology, MD Candidate, Class of 2021, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA