Forty Years Ago
As part of Pride Month, Joan Grzybowski, DO, FACOFP, reflects on the history of the AIDS crisis and how it has impacted healthcare in the decades following.
What Is Juneteenth?
ACOFP Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force member Sherrita A. Polk, DO, provides an overview of the national holiday, Juneteenth, and how she and her family celebrates.
Breaking Down Barriers: Using Personal Experience to Address Health Disparities
Kurt Schroer, DO, shares how his personal experience in the LGBTQ+ community has helped him be a better healthcare provider and break down barriers.
Anti-Racist, Ally, Activist, Accomplice: Expanding Your DEI Vocabulary
ACOFP Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force member Carol A. Penn, DO, MA, ABOM, FACOFP, defines what it means to be an anti-racist, ally, activist and accomplice and encourages healthcare professionals to move themselves along the path to anti-racism.
A Memorial Day Tribute: Honoring Those Who Cannot Come Home
ACOFP Governor LTC Derrick Sorweide, DO, FACOFP, shares his personal experience serving in the military and reflects on the true meaning of Memorial Day.
All Hands on Deck: How a Forward-Thinking Profession Can Embrace Advocacy
ACOFP Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force member DeAundre Dyer, DO, shares how osteopathic physicians can lead change in the medical community and address social determinants of health by embracing advocacy.
Treating Patients Through the Lens of a View-Master
What does it mean to treat the whole person, not just the disease?
I Decided Not to Wait
These intolerable acts of Asian hate have actually happened to others in this country, and I can no longer wait. It is time for me to speak up and act. It is time for everyone to speak up and act.
Organizational Innovation: Meeting the Demands of Today’s Osteopathic Family Physicians
What is innovation? At the core, it is a concept that refers to an individual or organization developing new ideas, enacting new processes or taking a different approach to an existing plan. It is not just a buzzword; it is a necessary component to remain relevant and successful.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
When I was elected to the ACOFP Board of Governors in 2013, I “diversified” our Board by being a 39-year-old white female. At that time and until now, there have only been five women elected as Governor to the ACOFP Board in its 70-year history. Similarly, there has only been a handful under the age of 40, much less anyone with three children under 10. At the time, my addition to the Board was significant for what it represented as a change in our specialty college’s future leadership. I realize now that it was just one minor step in the direction that was needed—not only for ACOFP but also for our profession, the patients we care for and our collective communities.
Eight Minutes, 46 Seconds
We need to have empathy for the diverse situations faced by our patients and work to find ways to break down the barriers to acceptable health care for all—in particular, our underserved and underrepresented populations.
Why Pride
A raid at the Stonewall Inn created momentum for the LGBTQI community, leading us to Pride Month, which is celebrated across the country in June of each year. During this month events and parades are held celebrating the LGBTQI community and the progressive changes of subsequent decades.
The Racist Virus
We have a racist among us and it is not a person. It has no particular involvement with any political party. This racist has crept in an insinuated itself into our homes, our schools, our workplaces and where our most vulnerable live, like nursing homes. Health disparities can be caused by economic status, race, close living conditions, limited access to continuous health care, geography, lack of green space and a paucity of healthy food access.