UC Davis DEI Interview

In continuing our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Highlight Series, we are delighted to introduce a group of University of California-Davis students that are shedding light on how to make veterinary medicine more sustainable and equitable. The January publication of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) featured the work of Anneka Christie, Stephanie Elliott, Ruth Goins, Erin A. Hisey, Megan Sorensen, Kristen Stucker, and Scarlett L. Varney titled,  Encouraging diversity and sustainability in veterinary medicine will serve society and make your practice more attractive to new graduates. All of the authors were second years at the time of writing the paper last year; Hisey is currently a first year in her phD program. The goal of this paper was to incite concret change from “practice owners and hospital managers who are responsible for hiring new graduates and generating hospital policies and programs around diversity, equity, and inclusion.” Let’s dive into their motivations, background and methodology in the formulation of this work. 

Back row (left to right): Stephanie Elliott, Erin Hisey, Kristen Stucker, Ruth Goins; front row (left to right): Megan Sorensen, Scarlett Varney, Anneka Christie

Motivation and inspiration: 

The veterinary industry (and really the world) saw a huge uprising in verbal support for diversity initiatives after the murder of George Floyd. We were thrilled to see so many people finally paying attention to issues that were important to us, but the support seemed to be mostly short lived and performative. The low diversity of Vet Med is not a surprising or new topic - we were hoping to inspire real change in the industry by impressing upon our future employers the fact that new graduates will demand concrete policies around diversity and sustainability.

Personal Experiences with DEI: 

Many of us who wrote the paper are involved in extracurricular clubs focused on diversity. The most challenging aspect of that is garnering support from our peers - many people don’t see this issue as “their” issue. “I’m not diverse,” or “I want to give other people space to discuss these topics” are often cited as reasons for a lack of participation. In reality, DEI work should NOT fall to those who are already underrepresented. It is exhausting emotional labor to do on top of our course load. The most unexpected challenge has been seeing the amount of actual work that some (most) allies are willing to do compared to their amount of verbal support.

Inception to publication:

Our group was lucky enough to have the guidance and support of Dr. Jonna Mazet, who was our supervisor for a class that replaced an in person clinical learning experience during COVID. She encouraged us to think about what mattered to us most and what we wanted to explore in terms of veterinary medicine. She ultimately helped us organize, research, outline, write, and get the courage to submit our paper to JAVMA. We are extremely thankful to her.

The intersectionality between diversity and sustainability: 

Climate change is a looming threat for younger generations - those of us who are graduating now and after us. The solution to this complex and enormous issue will not come from one homogenous group of people. In order to come up with creative and effective solutions, we need many diverse viewpoints to come together.

Areas of improvement: 

Specific areas that can lead to improved DEI include: recruitment and outreach at the high school and college level, assistance/mentorship in applying to veterinary school, scholarships based on economic need and applications that weigh factors besides veterinary experience hours or GPA.

The take home message:

New graduates will demand evidence of DEI policies that go beyond lip-service. What are your hospital’s Principles of Community? How do your hiring practices reflect your commitment to DEI? What are your hospital’s policies around waste reduction and sustainability? We are inheriting an industry that is behind many others in these areas, but the world is rapidly evolving. We need to catch up or we will fail.

Words of advice for student advocates:

Don’t wait! Talk to your administration. Talk to your future employers. Ask the hard questions. If we show them these issues are important to us, change will follow. Ultimately, be persistent. 

Vision for the future of veterinary medicine

We want to be a part of an industry where policies and initiatives around sustainability and diversity are not just “nice to have” but cornerstones of every business. These policies should reflect the collective demands and desires of the employees and create a culture of judgment free belonging.

We thank these students for their commitment to DEI and advocating for students and the future of the profession in a concrete way. We hope this inspires other students to shed light on these issues in their own schools and communities.