Promoting Diversity at Yale and in the Community
The Yale School of Nursing has a strong legacy and commitment to better health care for all people. In this regard, YSN is committed to educational goals that embrace and promote diversity in all aspects of the institution. We are strengthened as an organization by having diverse faculty, students and staff. YSN defines diversity in its broadest context. We strive to celebrate, not simply tolerate, the differences within the body of our organization.
The Yale School of Nursing from its very beginning has played a major role in identifying and helping to close health disparities. Through our teaching/learning, practice and research initiatives we remain committed as a community of scholars and students to closing the gaps in health care. To this end, we will continue to engage in activities that identify and propose solutions to closing the gaps in health disparities.
In the summer of 2003, DAC members spearheaded the effort to build a Yale University-wide coalition of individuals and institutions to begin implementing education and training activities across Yale that enhance our understanding of diversity issues on campus and in the community.
The committee organizes and sponsors activities in the following areas:
Diversity Orientation and Socialization: Sponsor activities that promote and celebrate diversity within the YSN community.
Response to Discrimination: Educate and consult on matters regarding discrimination.
Support workshops, seminars and programs that will help faculty, students and staff better manage challenges associated with discrimination.
Curriculum Development: Collaborate with the Curriculum Committee and the specialty directors to ensure that new and existing classes have appropriate content that addresses diverse populations.
Research Development: Encourage sensitivity toward diverse populations in the development of research studies, including the topics to be studied, the design of measurement tools, and recruitment.
Student Recruitment: Assist the Recruitment Office in efforts to significantly increase the diversity of the student population.
Faculty and Staff Recruitment: Provide input to the Dean and Administration on recruiting diverse faculty and staff.
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Student Spotlight
Sayaka Ogata, is one of the student members of the YSN Diversity Action Committee. Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Sayaka entered YSN as a GEPN student in 2003 and is currently in the Women's Health Specialty. "The issues of culture identities, language barriers, and culture clashes have always been a personal interest of mine ever since I left Japan and came to the U.S. eight years ago," said Sayaka. "It has developed into much more than a personal interest over these years."
Prior to entering YSN, Sayaka helped organize a conference on Cultural
Competency as an intern at the Harvard Medical School's Center of Excellence in Women's Health. She also took a year off from college to work as a volunteer in Central America, teaching about HIV/AIDS to sex workers in Guatemala and organizing arts/sports clubs for children in the rural areas of Nicaragua. "In the future, I hope to contribute to improving the health of underserved women, including those in developing countries and immigrants here in the U.S.," she said.
In the photo above, Sayaka is featured with Saras Vedam, Assistant Professor in the Nurse-Midwifery Specialty at YSN and Chair of the Diversity Action Committee.
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