The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award honors residents and physicians who have made significant contributions toward enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within the osteopathic profession. It recognizes those who have actively promoted equity, diversity, and inclusion within underrepresented communities and demonstrated leadership through their commitment, actions or initiatives, fostering a more diverse and inclusive environment in the osteopathic field.
Award qualifications include:
- Must be an active ACOFP resident or physician member in good standing.
- Must have no current restrictions on any medical licenses at the time of application.
- Physicians must be currently certified in family medicine by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) or the American Board of Medical Specialists (ABMS).
Award requirements include:
- Submission of one letter of support from the nominator.
- Submission of one letter from the nominee's ACOFP affiliate society. In cases where an ACOFP affiliate society is not available, the letter must come from a national leadership organization that advocates for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Submission of a personal statement of 500 to 650 words detailing their engagement and leadership in at least two of the following areas to address these disparities:
- Advocacy and Actions: Describe efforts to support the advancement of underrepresented minorities or those from disadvantaged backgrounds (including women, socio-economically disadvantaged communities, the LGBTQI community, African American/Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Native American, Pacific Islander, Asian, or Middle Eastern) within the osteopathic profession.
- Reducing Health Disparities: Outline advocacy efforts and actions taken to reduce health disparities at the state or national level.
- Mentorship and Leadership: Detail leadership activities while mentoring underrepresented minority medical students at a college of osteopathic medicine, which advanced the professionalism of the students and encouraged their pursuit of training as osteopathic family medicine residents.
- Promoting Health Equity: Provide documentation of initiatives, actions, and advocacy efforts led or supported to promote health equity and inclusion within the communities served, the osteopathic profession, a family medicine resident program, or a college of osteopathic medicine.
- Social Accountability and Ethical Care: Explain actions taken or leadership provided to increase social accountability and ethical medical care, decrease health disparities, and enhance the understanding of diverse and underrepresented populations among physicians, healthcare professionals, residents, students, and the public.
Recipients must be prepared to serve as faculty for an educational program, be willing to write a blog, and be available to offer guidance to the ACOFP Health and Wellness Committee, as needed.