Section spotlight
Introducing the Underrepresented Minorities Section
Each quarter, this column will spotlight one of SIR's sections while providing updates on the others. Check this column to stay informed of activities, initiatives and upcoming meetings.
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n 2020, SIR created the Underrepresented Minorities (URM) Section for members interested in the advancing IR within underrepresented minority communities.
“Hopefully, our efforts will lead us to a day when patients and physician colleagues alike are not startled to see a Black interventional radiologist walk into the room; a day when Black women suffering from fibroids are given all of their options, no longer needing to rely on life-altering recommendations based in unconscious biases; and, most importantly, a day when it is not uncommon for Black children to live next door to an IR who looks just like them,” says Keith M. Horton MD, FSIR, one of the section co-chairs.
IR Quarterly recently spoke with section co-chair Derek L. West, MD, MS, about the section’s development, its mission and the impact of representation.
Can you tell us about how the URM Section came about? The URM in IR Section is an idea that’s been a long time coming. To understand where it came from is to understand a larger problem that’s not unique to IR or medicine, which is the need to increase the amount of representation of the vast diversity in our country. As both a resident and an attending IR, I’ve often felt this need must be addressed in our specialty. When I first joined SIR, I didn’t see a lot of people who looked like me. I didn’t even know how to find them, and if I encountered another URM, it was like waving across a crowd.
specialty, and there is now a louder and stronger voice to speak for them and support these members. They’ve been a huge inspiration and ally as we get this section off the ground.
What will the section priorities and mission look like? There are three main areas we aim to focus on:
Derek L. West, MD, MS
In more recent years, SIR has been working toward equity and representation, such as with the creation of the Diversity and Inclusiveness (D&I) Advisory Group. I appreciated the efforts being made, but there was a lack of direct representation for URMs within the committee. This was concerning and frustrating, and eventually I and other URMs connected with leadership to develop this new section.
Who is eligible to be a member? Everyone. You don’t have to be a URM to be interested in furthering diversity in the field. And as for URMs themselves, this section isn’t just for Black or Latinx IRs. We will be talking about all kind of underrepresented issues—such as immigration into IR from other countries.
What was the blueprint for creating the section? We’ve looked a lot at the SIR Women in IR (SIR) Section and their structure. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. I know that creating the WIR Section was a lot of work, but it’s already paying off. We’ve had more women in leadership positions and more women are joining the
Resources for URMs in IR: Just knowing who your peers are is incredibly important, so we’ll provide a social aspect and a platform for URMs to gather and address issues that impact us. We will be providing education, but also a community.
• Mentorship: I joined IR because I had mentors who believed in me, such as my co-chair Keith Horton. As a young IR, I needed to see that someone who looked like me could be comfortable and accepted in this specialty, and Dr. Horton showed me this was possible. This is why mentorship at every level is important, as well as mentorship that represents the varied ways to be an IR—from private practice to academia to those in combined IR/DR practices. We want to give people an opportunity to find mentorship within their sphere.
• Health care disparities: This issue is not unique to IR. It reflects a larger problem in medicine and society, which is that if you don’t have a voice, you’re unheard. This exists clearly in IR in ways we may not think of. We do a lot of dialysis work with patients of color, and UFE work with women and women of color. But when we talk about therapies like Y-90, people of color and those without wealth are not receiving this treatment. So your identity is impacting the level of health care you’re receiving. Thinking of disparities in this way
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