VALUE STATEMENT & WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT
It is critical for all persons, not just traditionally marginalized populations, to work in diverse and safe environments. We at the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) therefore strive to remove unjust barriers to healthcare access; nurture compassion for patients; increase scientific knowledge in pursuit of health; and support members to be the best healthcare guardians they can be.
As an organization representing healthcare and scientific professionals, we know all too well that discrimination can be a matter of life and death. We therefore assert that equitable and inclusive treatment—in healthcare and in life—is a universal and basic human right, and we pledge our unwavering commitment to making a positive impact on all patients and the quality of treatment they receive. In order to uphold this pledge to the fullest extent possible, it is essential for ADLM’s staff, members, vendors, and other stakeholders to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. This will enable our members to better meet the needs of the diverse patient populations that they serve around the world.
At the same time, it is important to acknowledge the existence of negative social behaviors that seek to suppress and marginalize certain groups. These behaviors include misinformation, lies, intimidation, deception, and fearmongering and often manifest as subtle microaggressions made under cover of anonymity. Awareness of these negative postures will help us to combat them, and will guide us in our commitment to uphold factual scientific information in the service of health equity. We believe that fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) will make us a more resilient and innovative organization that encourages multiple and diverse perspectives to flourish. In the end, our focus on DEI makes ADLM a better place and puts us in a stronger position to achieve our goals.
CURRENT ADLM DEI INITIATIVES
This is a short list of activities to improve equity and inclusion across the association, the lab medicine community, and patient health.
Publications
Equity-focused Guidance
Education
ADLM is pleased to announce a few of the educational opportunities that will be offered at ADLM 2024 (formerly AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo):
- FairLabs Data Analytics Challenge
The third annual ADLM data analytics competition is cohosted by ADLM's Data Analytics Steering Committee, Health Equity & Access Division, and Informatics Division, and by the Washington University Section of Pathology Informatics. A representative of the winning team will be invited to speak at ADLM 2024 with travel support and free meeting registration included. Competition ends on May 15, 2024. Find more information here.
- Plenary Sessions
Additional programming will be announced for ADLM 2024 in April. Visit meeting.myadlm.org for more information. Visit ADLM Annual Meeting Education for more information on upcoming ADLM 2024 and past annual meeting DEI and Health Equity related education offerings.
Funding Support
- Health Equity and Access Division Scholarships and Travel Awards - opening soon for 2024.
Collective Engagement
- Tools such as the DEI Lens have been shared with volunteer committees to guide awareness and cultural transformation throughout the association.
QUESTIONS & FEEDBACK
If you have questions about ADLM’s DEI initiatives or resource suggestions, please contact [email protected].