EDIIA in the Department of Psychiatry

The Department’s 2020-2026 Strategic Plan included EDIIA as one of the core strategic directions that would enable the department to achieve its overall vision statement: “to improve access and transform mental health through education, research and professional development that meets the needs of our communities”. We aim to embed EDIIA into all the activities of the Department of Psychiatry. Direction for all senior-level accountabilities will be aligned with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s explicitly proposed outcomes, valuing academic freedom while supporting efforts to become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive across our community.

This EDIIA approach will achieve a larger vision of being a space that actively fosters intellectual curiosity, rigorous inquiry, and excellence in clinical care. Thus, together we will work to create an academic community that recognizes equity and diversity as fundamental to achieving excellence in learning, teaching, research, clinical services, and engagement. To achieve our goals, every member of Department of Psychiatry has a role to play, with each of us engaging with and developing plans and initiatives at the local level.

We are committed to achieving equitable access and opportunities in fellow and resident admissions, faculty opportunities, leadership, and advancement. We are working to identify and address systemic barriers and biases that limit equitable access and opportunities. We also aim with intention to pursue and implement system-wide equity initiatives to enhance diversity in all departmental structures, programs, policies, and practices. We will apply principles of fairness and evidence-based policies and practices to support decision-making and to collect and analyze diversity data, establish equity goals and targets, and develop and implement policies. We aim to regularly evaluate and report on progress toward achieving an equitable and inclusive department.