Mission Statement

Our department is committed to convening a diverse community of individuals who work towards excellence and leadership in ophthalmology through education, research, clinical care, and service. By gaining understanding about diversity and inclusion at all levels of work and education, we desire to promote a safe and nurturing workplace through the broadening of ideas and innovation. As we strive to becoming more culturally aware, we seek to become a more equitable and just department that will allow us to provide better, engaged care to our patients, and wellness to our own staff, residents, and faculty.

We will work towards this by having, among other things, these specific goals :

  • To declare a lifelong commitment to improving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Loyola Ophthalmology Program.
  • To increase the representation of URiM people in Loyola ophthalmology such that the department reflects the diversity of the patients it serves (URM defined as African-American/Black, Native American/Alaskan Native, Hispanic American/Latinx, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander).
  • To engage URiM students in ophthalmology scholarship and practice.
  • To promote discussion of DEI issues through educational initiatives, guest lectureships, and constant self-education and discovery.
  • To approach DEI education with self-awareness, sensitivity and open-mindedness and display behaviors of cultural sensitivity, humility, and acceptance to our patients and the larger community.
  • To create a network of faculty at Loyola dedicated to DEI issues, who can provide mentorship and allyship to URiM students.

Mentorship

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The department of Ophthalmology at Loyola is committed to creating a network of faculty at Loyola dedicated to DEI issues, who can provide mentorship and allyship to URiM students. URiM Track students will be paired with a faculty and resident mentor to provide various opportunities in exposure to the field as well as support and guidance through the application process.

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MEET OUR DEI MENTORS (list in formation)

  • Charles Bouchard, MD
  • Patricia Davis MD

MEET OUR DEI COMMITTEE

  • Chairman: Charles Bouchard, MD
  • Vice Chair Research: Evan Stubbs, PhD
  • Faculty Representation: David Yoo MD and Patricia Davis MD
  • Resident Representative and SSOM Representatives: Rotating

Calendar of Events

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Medical Student Resources

Research and Scholarship Opportunities

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ZALE SCHOLARSHIP • $10,000 • URiM MS1 ELIGIBLE • AWARDED FEBRUARY

  • First-year URiM students who were awarded with STAR scholar funding are eligible to apply for the Zale Academic Scholarship in Ophthalmology
  • Two other $10,000 Zale Scholarships in Ophthalmology will be awarded in February to eligible STAR recipients. One will be merit based and one need based
  • Please follow this link to learn more about the Zale Scholarship.

STAR PROGRAM • $4222 • MS1 ELIGIBLE • AWARDED FEBRUARY/MARCH

  • Please follow this link to learn more about the STAR Program

RICHARD A. PERRITT STUDENT RESEARCH STIPEND • $4000 • MS1 ELIGIBLE • AWARDED FEBRUARY/MARCH

  • One summer research stipend will be awarded to one MS1 URiM student
  • Another Perritt Summer Student Stipend will also be available to eligible MS1 students
  • Please follow this link to learn more about the Perritt Research Stipend

DR. AND MRS. THOMAS STAMM OPHTHALMOLOGY AWARD • MS4 MATCHING INTO OPHTHALMOLOGY • AWARDED FEBRUARY

  • Awarded every year by the department of Ophthalmology to one fourth-year student matching into ophthalmology
  • Please follow this link to learn more about the Stamm Award

URiM TRACK RESEARCH MENTORS

  • The department of ophthalmology offers research opportunities in many facets of ophthalmic research and welcomes participation from medical students. The URiM Track provides URiM students with the opportunity to be paired with faculty and resident research mentors. For more information on research opportunities through the ophthalmology department, please follow this link.

Stritch Student Orgs and other resources for URiM Students

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Resident and Faculty resources

Scholarly DEI Resources

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Hatchett L, Elster N, Wasson K, Anderson L, Parsi K. (2015) Integrating Social Justice for Health Professional Education: Self-Reflection, Advocacy, and Collaborative Learning. Online Journal of Health Ethics 11(1).

Wasson K, Bading E, Hardt J, Hatchett L, Kuczewski MG, McCarthy M, Michelfelder A, Parsi K (2015). Physician Know Thyself: The Role of Reflection in Bioethics and Professionalism Education. Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics 5(1): 77-86.

Sue, DW. Disarming Racial Microaggressions: Microintervention strategies for targets, White allies, and bystanders. (Am Psychol., 2019)

Fairless, E. Ophthalmology Departments Remain Among the Least DIverse Clinical Departments at United States Medical Schools (Ophthalmology, 2021)

Aguwa, U. - Improving Racial Diversity in the Ophthalmology Workforce: A call to Action for Leaders in Ophthalmology. (Am Journal of Ophthalmology, 2021)

Ramirez, R. Racial Diversity in Orthopedic Surgery. (Orthop. Clin. North Am., 2019) 5. Lewis, T. Increasing Resident Racial and Ethnic Diversity through Targeted Recruitment Efforts (J. Pediatr. 2020)