key: cord-0910250-uwv04xv8
authors: Cannon, Shannon; Dy, Geolani W.; Seideman, Casey
title: Urologists for Equity: Letter to the Urologic Community
date: 2020-08-11
journal: Urology
DOI: 10.1016/j.urology.2020.08.001
sha: e333e1d3c1e02e482f0016ab2157356fe3130ae5
doc_id: 910250
cord_uid: uwv04xv8

nan

The recent 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 Urological 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 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 selfevaluation and monitoring, as well as landmarks for success.

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 of those committed seeing Urology make meaningful change. 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 the voices of individuals who are under-represented in our field and current leadership. We will strive to create an inclusive environment within urology, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation. The urgency and scale of these issues require 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

Co-Founder of LatinX in Urology MD Candidate, Class of 2021