May 1, 2024 (Updated May 30, 2024)
Statement from WSMA and Washington Medical Schools in Support of DEI Efforts in Medicine
Today, the Washington State Medical Association joins Washington state's three medical schools - the University of Washington School of Medicine, the Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine, and the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine - to add our voices to the national health care organizations and associations from across the country in support of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in health care and society. These efforts are foundational to increasing health care access, quality of life, and the experience of belonging in our communities, along with striving for the highest attainable standard of health for all.
Together with Washington’s medical schools, the WSMA is committed to building health equity and eliminating well-documented disparities to improve patient care here in Washington. That work is worthwhile and necessary to achieve the standard of health that is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation, political belief, or economic or social condition.
As leaders in medical education, medical professionalism, and patient care, we are proud to stand with those in health care who have identified the need to mitigate the harm of long-standing inequities in our health care system, and we are proud to support efforts taking place in our state and throughout the country to help diversify the health care workforce, enhance inclusive excellence, and train health care professionals to provide culturally sensitive care.
This is the work we must do to accomplish equitable health outcomes for every Washingtonian. Only through these efforts will we realize our vision to make Washington state the best place to practice medicine and receive care.
In addition to the WSMA, UWSOM, PNWU, and Elson S. Floyd, the following organizations have signed on in support of this statement:
Allegro Pediatrics
Chelan Douglas County Medical Society
Clark County Medical Society
Grays Harbor County Medical Society
Northwest Academy of Otolaryngology
Pacific Northwest Society of Pathologists
Pierce County Medical Society
Snohomish County Medical Society
Thurston-Mason County Medical Society
Washington Academy of Family Physicians
Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Washington Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians
Washington Chapter of the American College of Physicians
Washington Osteopathic Medical Association
Washington Permanente Medical Group
Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility
Washington Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine
Washington State Association of Local Public Health Officials
Washington State Medical Oncology Society
Washington State Neurological Society
Washington State Dermatology Association
Washington Society of Plastic Surgeons
Seattle Menopause Medicine
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For more information contact:
Graham Short
WSMA Director of Communications
gfs@wsma.org / 206.329.6851 cell/text
Kim Blakeley
UW Medicine/UW School of Medicine/WWAMI Director of Strategic Marketing & Communications
krb13@uw.edu / 206.550.6564 cell
Paul Bubluski
PNWU Director of Public Relations
PBubluski@PNWU.edu
Stephanie Engle
Director of Communications and Marketing
Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
stephanie.engle@wsu.edu
About the Washington State Medical Association
The WSMA represents nearly 12,500 physicians, physician assistants, resident physicians, and medical students across all specialties and practice types in Washington state. The WSMA has advocated on behalf of the house of medicine for more than 125 years. Our vision is to make Washington state the best place to practice medicine and receive care.
About the University of Washington School of Medicine
The University of Washington School of Medicine is dedicated to improving the general health and well-being of the public. In pursuit of its goals, the school is committed to excellence in biomedical education, research, and health care.
About the Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences is a grassroots, non-profit health sciences university established in 2005 by a group of visionary community leaders in Washington’s Yakima Valley. PNWU’s 70-acre campus boasts a collaboration-inspiring array of health sciences disciplines, all united under the university’s mission of educating and training health care professionals emphasizing service in rural and medically underserved areas throughout the Pacific Northwest states of Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Montana.
PNWU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine matriculated its first cohort of students in 2008. The PNWU-COM mission is to educate and train students to become osteopathic physicians that provide research-driven quality care to communities of the Northwest, particularly in rural and medically underserved populations.
About the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
The Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine is Washington’s community-based medical school. Named after WSU’s late president, Dr. Elson S. Floyd, the college was created to expand medical education and health care access in communities across the state. The college offers degree and certificate programs in medicine, nutrition and exercise physiology, speech and hearing sciences, health administration and leadership, and medical ethics, as well as graduate medical education programs. In addition, the college is home to groundbreaking research that impacts communities locally and across the world.