Climate and Culture in the UC Emergency Medicine Residency
A Legacy of Advocacy: The Heart of UC Emergency Medicine
The University of Cincinnati Emergency Medicine Residency Program was born from a hospital rooted in justice. Our story begins with Cincinnati General Hospital, one of the nation’s first public hospitals, now UC Medical Center, a place once at the center of a community’s fight for equitable care. From its earliest days, our emergency department has been a beacon for social medicine, advocating for the underserved and caring for those most affected by systemic inequities.
In the summer of 1970, the streets outside our hospital filled with protestors. Led by civil rights leaders from the Avondale neighborhood, residents stood arm in arm demanding justice. Their call was clear: better care for Black patients, more Black physicians, and a hospital that served, not abandoned, the community. These weren’t isolated protests. Just days later, leaders like Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and NAACP attorney William Bowen spoke out, as did frontline nurses like Mrs. Eloise Jones, who bravely testified about discrimination within the hospital walls.
This movement, courageous, public, and unapologetic, forced change. It exposed racial bias in hiring, uncovered disparities in care, and sparked reforms in how the hospital engaged with the Avondale community. One editorial from The Cincinnati Post in 1970 quoted a protestor saying, “If they won’t let us in the front door, we’ll build our own.” That line echoes today in how we teach, advocate, and lead.
Fast forward to today, and that spirit of activism is alive in our residency program. Our residents care for a patient population shaped by social determinants of health: housing insecurity, language barriers, addiction, victims of violence, and generational poverty. We practice in a city where life expectancy varies by more than 20 years between neighborhoods, and we see it every day in the ED.
Our Culture & Climate Committee builds on this foundation by focusing on advocacy, education, and systemic change. We’ve invited Grand Rounds speakers who challenge the status quo and aim to cultivate a broader culture among our department. Our efforts include recruiting diverse learners, elevating marginalized voices, and integrating health equity into education and clinical practice.
Training at UC means practicing in a city with some of the most pronounced health inequities in the country and being empowered to make a difference. Our patient population is rich in complexity, resilience, and need. We serve as both safety net and champion, guided by a deep commitment to justice, compassion, and the belief that emergency medicine is perfectly situated to influence patient outcomes in highly vulnerable populations.
When you train here, you don’t just learn to manage sepsis or stroke, you learn how to speak truth to power, advocate for your patients, and carry forward a tradition that began on the front steps of our own hospital.
Our Goals
To promote and celebrate diversity of all forms including gender, race, national origin, sexual identity, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, religion, culture, disability, spirituality, and other lived experiences
To actively recruit residents and faculty who are underrepresented in medicine (URiM) and passionate about serving our patient population
To provide a safe and supportive environment for the successful recruitment, retention, and advancement of individuals identifying as underrepresented in medicine
To eliminate disparities in treatment and outcomes through resident education and research
To promote equal access to quality healthcare
| 2025 Demographics | % Residents | % Faculty |
|---|---|---|
| Black / African American | 4 | 5 |
| Latinx | 9 | 2 |
| Asian | 14 | 5 |
| Women | 66 | 35 |
| Parents / Expecting | 16 | 85 |
| LGBTQ+ | 8 | 3 |
| 1st gen college | 29 | 13* |
| 1st gen doctor | 84 | 82* |
| Recruitment Stats | 21-22 | 22-23 | 23-24 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total applications received that were URiM | 17% | 18% | 14% | |
| Total initial interview invites offered to URiM applicants | 27% | 25% | 21% | |
| All interviewed applicants who were URiM | 24% | 20% | 15% | |
Cincinnati Demographics
Opportunities to Get Involved
Minority Housestaff Association
The mission of the Cincinnati MHA is: “To create opportunities for the advancement of underrepresented Housestaff through mentorship, networking, professional development, and community engagement while promoting an environment of diversity and inclusion across Cincinnati Health Systems. Check out their website and/or Facebook page for more info.
Cincy EM Climate and Culture Committee
Resident initiated and led, and Department supported, the UCEM Residency Climate and Culture Committee aims to celebrate and increase the diversity of our program and is lad by Dr. Diana Rodriguez and the faculty mentor is Dr. Erin McDonough. Click on their names to read more about their background or click their names above to reach out via email.
+ Diana Rodriguez, MD PGY-4
I am originally from Miami, FL where I was born and raised by a loving Cuban family. I later went to medical school in Chicago, Illinois where I finally experienced true winter!
With my time off, I enjoy going on walks along eden park with my golden doodle, trying new restaurants and attending whatever free event cinci has to offer!
We know patient outcomes, satisfaction and access to high quality healthcare are improved by a diverse health care force. As a Latinx provider, I hope to further bridge the gap by recruiting diverse applicants and faculty but also strengthening our current providers knowledge on diversity informed care.
+ Erin McDonough, MD
I was born and bred in Cincinnati, moved to Chicago for medical school with no intention of coming back to Cincy, but then Cincy EM drew me back! It has been amazing to see how much Cincy has changed (for the better) since I was a kid.
My ideal day off: I sleep in, have some brunch, go hiking with my husband (and sometimes dog if it is a shorter hike...she has short legs), and then make dinner together, either sitting out on our screened-in porch (summer) or in front of the fire (winter).
The DEI mission is important to me for a number of reasons. First, we are fortunate to serve a diverse patient population and we need our providers to better reflect the diversity of that population. Second, I have already seen how the DEI mission enriches the culture of our residency program and Department. Our Residency Program has traditionally struggled in this area, but we have made some great strides in recent years and I have seen firsthand how patients, residents, and faculty have benefited from prioritizing this mission. For instance, I have seen faculty and residents aim to use more inclusive slides in Grand Rounds, I have seen how a Black resident is able to engender trust in a Black patient when the patient declined lifesaving interventions, I have seen male faculty apologize to female faculty for interrupting during a meeting, just to name a few examples. There is still work to be done in buiding our DEI culture and we are looking for residents who want to play an active role in helping us to continue to push the DEI mission forward.
+ **Liz Leenellett, MD - Vice Chair of Faculty Development
I understand the impact and challenges that come along with being the “first” and “only.” I was the first full time female faculty to have a baby, establishing the first maternity leave policy for UCEM. When I joined the ED operations team, I was the first woman to do so, eventually becoming the first and only female Medical Director in the history of our program. I vowed to make changes so that the journey would be easier for others.
In 2018, I became the inaugural Vice Chair of Women’s Initiatives. It was a role created to champion gender equity, wellness, and inclusion for the department. The mission of my Emergency Medicine Program Of Women in leadERship (EMPOWER) is to recruit, retain and promote the women faculty to positions of leadership and it has been hugely successful. As a result, I was asked to expand my role and I now serve as the Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Through my work on the Anti-Racism Task Force, Faculty Well-Being Advisory Group, Improving Gender Equity in Medicine Task Force, and Women in Medicine and Science Group, I align departmental goals with those of the College of Medicine. I created the Leadership Excels with Achievement of Diversity (UC LEADs) endowment fund, use the skills gained from my Hedwig van Amerigen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) fellowship to propel initiatives forward, breaks down barriers, and serves as a role model to others. I was fortunate to have won the 2021 Ohio ACEP Physician Leadership award and currently serve as the Chief of Staff-Elect for West Chester Hospital.
