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Diversity and Inclusion

ACC is committed to improving diversity and inclusion in the practice of cardiology, and at the College. Diversity is not just an issue for cardiologists, it is an issue for quality patient care. The College's vision is to harness the power of the diversity of its members to advance patient care, spur innovation and improve health equity among individual patients and populations. In doing so, the ACC will ensure opportunity for all cardiovascular providers by working towards a fully inclusive organization and profession. Learn more here about ACC's commitment to diversity and inclusion as well as to find ACC's Diversity and Inclusion Principles.

Below are tips for being diverse and inclusive as a moderator and presenter.

Diversity and Inclusion: Your Core Responsibility as ACC Faculty
Kathryn Berlacher, MD, MS, FACC

 

Moderators

  1. Moderators should ask ALL speakers how to pronounce their names properly before a session begins.
  2. Moderators should set an expectation with all faculty BEFORE the session as to the use of names (either all first names or all Dr. X) and introduce all people equally. Do not mix and match "Dr" and first name only.
  3. Moderators should be sure introductions for all speakers are balanced (give same level of detail for each speaker).
  4. Moderators should step in if someone tries to talk over a presenter or panelist to ensure all faculty have equal opportunity to share their knowledge in a safe educational environment.
  5. Moderators should acknowledge when findings or statement have gender or race imbalance.
  6. Moderators should be careful to not ask a speaker to represent an entire ethnic, racial, gender, or national constituency during the Q&A session.
  7. Moderators should reframe audience questions in a way that is inclusive (see ACC's Diversity and Inclusion Principles); it's ok to paraphrase/rephrase.

Presenters

  1. Presenters should be respectful of their colleagues and of the time: Introduce yourself to everyone on the podium. Do not talk over other presenters or moderators.
  2. Presenters should only include race/ethnicity details in their cases if it's directly relevant to the clinical teaching point.
  3. Presenters should acknowledge when studies or images have gender or race imbalance.
  4. If you are the most senior or most reputable speaker, make sure that others have time to speak – or even better, invite others to comment!
  5. Presenters should be sure to use gender and race balanced examples, images, and language for their cases or figures (i.e., do not have all pictures of doctors be men and nurses be women, workforce vs. manpower).