Recruitment

Our vision is to achieve workforce diversity and advance recruitment of groups underrepresented in surgery. 

Our Initiatives

The Department of Surgery at the University of Michigan will ensure our climate allows all individuals an equal and inclusive opportunity to achieve excellence, increasing the scope of academic potential throughout the department. Our vision is to expand the Department of Surgery at Michigan Medicine with faculty members from diverse backgrounds who demonstrate talent and achievement in the core areas of clinical care, research, innovation, leadership, and education.

We are committed to recruit and maintain a vibrant Department of Surgery faculty by the establishment of standardized and inclusive recruitment practices and to create recruitment procedures ensuring all individuals across differences in race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, and sexual orientation have full opportunity to advance in our Department. Our efforts include:

  • Implementing standard policy for search and recruitment procedures
  • Utilizing data collection and analysis to measure success
  • Partnering with focused academic groups
  • Developing a robust pipeline

The Department Recruitment Committee provides oversight of job postings, candidate pool selection, and participates in all campus visits. The committee is focused on developing and incorporating best practices maximizing the probability that diverse, talented, and well-qualified candidates will be identified, recruited, and hired into the Department of Surgery. All recruitment committee members must complete focused training in search strategies for excellence and diversity.

"Michigan Medicine seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitment to serve the diverse people of Michigan and to maintain the excellence of the University. We welcome applications from anyone who would bring additional dimensions to the University’s research, teaching, and clinical mission, including women, members of minority groups, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities. The Department of Surgery is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity for all persons and will not discriminate against any individual because of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, height, weight, or veteran status, except as allowed by the need for bona fide occupational qualifications."

We have developed the Department of Surgery Recruitment Toolkit, a procedural policy which provides a framework for all faculty and leadership searches. The toolkit includes a variety of resources and requirements to guide staff, trainees, faculty involved in the recruitment and hiring processes.

Review our Standard Recruitment Practice Guide →

Recruiting for Diversity – A Primer

To guide our faculty and resident recruitment efforts, the Culture Crew and Resident Director for Recruitment developed “Recruiting for Diversity – A Primer” – a set of modules focusing specifically on addressing bias in the process and recruiting for diversity. These modules are designed for all staff, trainees, faculty, Section Heads, and Department Chairs involved in recruitment and hiring. We encourage all to engage, lean into this work, ask questions, have conversations, explore discomfort that may arise, and consider lived experiences that are different from your own as rich sources of expertise.

Review the Recruiting for Diversity Primer →

Identifying and recruiting faculty and residents from underrepresented groups is complex and multifaceted. We partner with established academic organizations for opportunities to network and interact with members. These organizations include but are not limited to:

Many focused academic groups have institutional memberships that enhance our understanding, interactions, and access to build diverse candidate pools. The University of Michigan is an Institutional Member of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons, and the Department of Surgery is honored to host the 2023 meeting of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons in Ann Arbor.

There is a critical need to increase the pipeline of underrepresented groups in surgery at all levels including high school, undergraduate, medical students, and trainees.

  • Doctors of Tomorrow: This program supports Cass Tech High School students from underrepresented communities as they prepare to pursue careers in healthcare.
  • Fleming Diversity Leadership Scholarship: This clerkship aims to promote the development of medical students interested in diversity leadership. 
  • HOPE Collaborative: This program analyzes and enhances systems to increase health equity, opportunity, pathways and education for children and families who have been traditionally excluded from academic medicine, generational wealth and quality care.
  • LEAGUES FellowshipThis program for aims to promote leadership exposure for the advancement of gender and underrepresented minority equity in surgery.
  • Michigan Women's Surgical Collaborative: This group works to through support a culture that actively supports women in surgery through outreach and research.
  • SCRUBS: This medical student surgery interest group is focused on providing intentional support for students underrepresented in surgery and creating a culture of collaboration, inclusivity, and empowerment.