This month, members of the DOM Civic Engagement Committee published an article in Academic Medicine, the journal of the American Association of Medical College, entitled "A Perspective on the Baltimore Freddie Gray Riots: Turning Tragedy into Civic Engagement and Culture Change in an Academic Department of Medicine." The article talks about the "Journeys in Medicine" our department undertook following the death of Freddie Gray and subsequent riots in Baltimore to develop more efforts to meaningfully engage and improve our internal and external community and culture. More specifically, the article details our efforts and vision to develop and implement a department-wide initiative both to enhance employee engagement and to improve collaboration with community members in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Given that a quarter of our department’s employees reside in the zip codes surrounding Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, it is important for all of us to better understand and engage with one another in our shared medical mission. If you have not had an opportunity to participate in this work in the past, read our article and keep your eyes open for future opportunities to engage in this important work.
-Thomas Cudjoe, assistant professor in Geriatrics
