Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)

Voices: Lived experiences

  • My Journey Towards Equity in Neurology
    Nicte Itzel Mejia, MD, MPH, FAAN | August 20, 2019

     

    I am a proud Latina immigrant, in love with neurology and passionate about advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). My life path began in El Salvador and Mexico, where my loving and resilient grandmothers supported my parents as they became the first in their families to graduate college and eventually receive doctorate degrees. Born in Guatemala during the country’s civil war, I migrated to Mexico with my family when growing violence and insecurity permeated our lives. We continued to move in search of a better life – I attended 8 different schools in 4 cities across 3 countries by the time I graduated high school. Living across different cultural contexts allowed me to connect with many different people and exposed me to the constancy of inequity: opportunity sat alongside injustice wherever we went. I pursued medicine to care for those most in need.

    Continued

    August 20, 2019
    All Voices

  • Welcome to the new Neurology Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Site!

    The Neurology  Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) is a Specialty Site linked to the larger Journal family and supporting the journal’s purpose “to advance the field by presenting new basic and clinical research with emphasis on knowledge that will influence the way neurology is practiced”.

    As founding Co-Editors of the Neurology  EDI Specialty Site, we developed an initial mission, vision, and goals statement to provide guidance and accountability as we start this venture:

    Mission: To increase awareness and understanding of EDI and in turn foster the Neurology  journal mission “to publish outstanding peer-reviewed original research articles, editorials, and reviews to enhance patient care, education, clinical research, and professionalism”.

    Vision: For the Neurology  EDI Specialty Site is to be the premier destination for patient care, research, education, policy, and advocacy content related to EDI in neurology.

    Goals: 

    1. To highlight peer-reviewed original research articles, editorials, reviews, and any other content published across the Neurology  journal family relating to EDI topics, including contributions that increase our understanding or propose solutions to improve health and healthcare equity.
    2. To provide a welcoming, respectful, and safe forum for the Neurology community to amplify our perspectives and lived experiences.
    3. To share opportunities that advance EDI in health and healthcare within and beyond the field of neurology.

    Did You Know?

    • Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. This definition, from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, “requires removing obstacles to health such as poverty, discrimination, and their consequences including powerlessness and lack of access to good jobs with fair pay, quality education and housing, safe environments, and health care”.

    • The American Academy of Neurology Research Program is open for applications through
    October 1, 2019. Please consider applying to these awards, which offer a variety of wonderful opportunities to jumpstart your career in health disparities research. This is how our co-editor, Dr. Mejia, and others in the field started their path!

    • The American Academy of Neurology Diversity Leadership Program is  accepting applications through October 11, 2019. Please consider this amazing opportunity to engage with others underrepresented in neurology and further develop your leadership skills. Our co-editor, Dr. Mejia, is an alumni and co-editor, Dr. McClean, is actively involved in leading this program!

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  • Call for “Voices: Lived Experiences”

    We encourage you to submit short first-person accounts (1000 words or less) of experiences lived within the realm of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) with the goal of informing and enlightening our community on these critical issues. Some topics to consider include, but are not limited to:

    • Descriptions of experiences that shaped your views of EDI.
    • Reflections on the intersection between personal identity and career.
    • Discussions at the intersection of EDI and neurology patient care, research, education, advocacy, or policy.

     

    The Neurology EDI Specialty Site Co-Editors will assess all submissions based on topic focus and clarity of presentation, and reserve the right to edit or decline submissions. Please provide a short title for your piece. Please submit your contributions to journal@neurology.org and include “Voices Submission” in the subject line. We look forward to reading your perspectives!

     

  • Meet the Editors

    We are very excited to serve as the three inaugural Neurology EDI Specialty Site co-Editors! Over the next few weeks, we will share with you why this work is meaningful to each of us. To begin, Neurology EDI Mini-Site co-Editor Dr. Nicole Rosendale will share what EDI means to her. Dr. Nicte Itzel Mejia and Dr. Jeffrey McClean will soon follow.

    The three of us thank you for reading and look forward to connecting with you as we partner to advance EDI in neurology.

    Editor biographies