College of Medicine to host second annual diversity symposium
To combat ethnic and religious stereotypes in medicine, the Central Michigan University College of Medicine is hosting its second annual diversity symposium from Jan. 16-20.
The week-long event will bring speakers from diverse backgrounds to discuss health demands facing their communities and the cultural customs that often go unnoticed when treating them, said second-year medical student Hillary Cullison.
“In order to speak intelligently about populations we are not familiar with we need to start bringing people in who belong to those populations,” the Caledonia native said.
By doing so, CMED hopes to learn what is missing from healthcare in terms of treating minorities, she said.
All events will be held in CMED Building Room 1401 and will feature a complimentary meal.
Monday: Lecture focusing on the African-American community - 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday: Lecture focusing on the Sikh community - noon
Wednesday: Lecture focusing on the Native American community - noon
Thursday: Lecture focusing on the Amish community - noon
Friday: Lecture focusing on the Muslim community - noon
CMED emphasizes the importance of understanding the cultural, economic and social factors of any given patient, Cullison said.
While the event is primarily advertised to medical students, it is open to all members of the CMU community.
“A lot of the topics brought up in 2016 were about religion, faith and the discrimination brought upon our nation based on those factors,” Cullison says, "That doesn’t have any business in medicine."
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