Residency Council for Diversity & Inclusion (RCDI)

Mission Statement:

The Weill Cornell Psychiatry Residency Council for Diversity & Inclusion (RCDI) is committed both to nurturing a supportive community of diverse individuals and to ameliorating mental health disparities, first acknowledging that psychiatry itself is an institution of privilege built on the same foundation as other institutions where structural oppression resides, then working from this assumption to spark introspection, growth, and action among residents.

RCDI aims to:

Advance diversity and inclusion through recruitment of residents traditionally under-represented in medicine both in terms of background, but also in terms of willingness and courage to speak out on issues of injustice in psychiatry.

Educate ourselves and one another about the way social divisions based on class, race/ethnicity, gender, sexual identity and other life experiences and identities impact mental health, with the goal of developing into physicians more equipped to meet the mental health needs of all patients.

Address social issues impacting psychiatry through activism and collaboration within our communities.

Structure

RCDI is structured into three sub-committees to affect our mission and aims:

Academics
Recruitment
Community

RCDI works closely with the NYP-Weill Cornell Medicine Psychiatry Diversity Council which leads similar initiatives for the entire department.

Current and Future Work

The Council is proud of its programming thus far, including the initiatives below. The Council looks forward to coordinating future initiatives, with support from the department.

Lunch and Learns

Lunch & Learn Discussions on Race, Racism, and Effecting Meaningful Change

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
From Privilege to Progress

Diversity Reading Groups

Partnering with the Education Department and Department Diversity Council in establishing Diversity Reading Groups

Collaborations

Collaboration with New York Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College partners through:

Weill Cornell Community Clinic: Several residents are currently running CBT sessions for WCCC patients without insurance.
Wellness Qlinic: During the inpatient rotation, PGY2s spend one night a week delivering psychotherapy to Qlinic patients.
Department of Medicine Minority Housestaff Committee: Opportunity to meet, connect, and build community with residents in the medicine department.
WCM Vote: VotER
- We are partnering with medical school students to make voter registration easily available throughout the hospital.

Collaboration with other community partners through participation in weekly/monthly meetings as individual residents are able:
- New York Doctors Coalition
- NYC Coalition to Dismantle Racism in the Healthcare System

RCDI Google Drive Resource

RCDI has created a central location for residents to share relevant articles and notes from virtual events.

For prospective applicants!

If you would like more information about RCDI, feel free to reach out to any of the chief residents, general residents, or the following PGY2/3s who have been particularly involved in getting RCDI up and running this year: