Welcome from Dr. Benjamin Van Voorhees

Head, Department of Pediatrics

Current Chiefs: Michael Gonzalez, Addie Witt, and Luna Nasry

Opportunities for Residents:

We are proud to highlight some of the impactful work in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) that our residents and faculty have led at the University.

• As a program, we have a deep commitment to holistic review of all applicants in resident recruitment.

• Our core pediatric comprehensive curriculum has integrated curriculum on social determinants of health and its impact on health outcomes.

• Training for all Residents in Bias Reduction, Inclusion, Diversity, and a guide to Equity via the BRIDgE program.

• DEI Task Force led by directors Felecia Scott-Wellington and Kristen Kenan.

• Diversity Week Symposium – One dedicated week of lectures and grand rounds that emphasized diversity as a cornerstone of our Pediatrics Department at UIC. Each lecture provides valuable information and useful tools, encouraging us to reflect on how we live, interact, and practice culturally competent and holistic pediatric medicine.

• Pediatric residency program Diversity Day – Opportunity to share stories, food, pictures that highlighted our diverse cultures.

• Multiple residents have been selected as Association of Pediatric Program Directors (APPD) Advancing Inclusiveness in Medical Education Scholars (AIM) on a national level.

• Newly developed interdisciplinary resident Medical Spanish Course in collaboration with Internal Medicine, Med-Peds, and Family Medicine residency Programs. Train our residents to provided language concordant care to our Spanish speaking population.

• Annually, the program sends resident representatives to the national LMSA and SNMA conferences

• Residents ability to pursue DEI initiatives through our educational tracks, especially Community Health and Advocacy (CHAT) and the Global Health Track.

Simulation And Integrative Learning Center