LSU Department of Ophthalmology
Diversity & Inclusion Policy
At the LSUHSC Department of Ophthalmology, we are taking steps to transform the institution into a culture where racial bias and inequity has no place. Diversity among leadership, faculty, staff and learners enriches the educational experience for all learners and enables us to better address healthcare inequities and cultural competency in clinical care. The diverse community and patient population that LSUHSC serves fosters trainees' understanding and effective delivery of care to individuals of diverse backgrounds, which is integral to the institution's academic mission. As an inclusive community, LSUHSC embraces the full range of human difference: race, gender, ethnicity, age, culture, national origins, religious belief, physical ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic class, and political convictions.
LSUHSC's commitment to diversity and inclusion as core institutional values, is supported by the Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion who is charged with promoting inclusion and diversity in research, education, patient care and community service by creating programs for successful recruitment of retention of faculty, staff and students from diverse and under-represented communities.
The School of Medicine's Office of Diversity and Community Engagement has started a series to develop awareness, literacy and acknowledgement of the structural frameworks which intersect in the space of race, health care inequities, and disparities.
The Department of Ophthalmology is a supporter of the American Academy of Ophthalmology Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring Program whose purpose is “to increase diversity in the field of ophthalmology by helping underrepresented in medicine students become competitive ophthalmology residency applicants. Students receive one on one mentorship, valuable guidance in medical career planning, networking opportunities and access to a variety of educational resources”. Dr. Reinoso, Program Director of the LSU Ophthalmology Residency, is an AAO Minority Mentor. Dr. Rao, who is leading the LSU Department of Ophthalmology Diversity program as well as Program Director of the LSU Retina Fellowship arranges departmental sessions for faculty and residents on diversity subjects including implicit bias.
LSUHSC New Orleans welcomes, needs and celebrates its diverse voices. Our training programs are our present and future, and serves a beautifully diverse community. We are committed to an inclusive, vibrant training experience, and to learning how to care more completely for each other and our patients.