Our Commitment to Diversity & Health Equity
Like many organizations across the United States during the tumultuous summer of 2020, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and the ABIM Foundation made a public commitment to explore our role in perpetuating—intentionally or not—racial disparities in health care through our Board’s policies and programs. We pledged to move from being “passively non-racist” institutions to being “actively anti-racist” influences in health care.
This page serves as a record of what we have committed to, a living compendium of what we have done thus far to fulfill those commitments, and as a fulfillment of the promise to remain transparent and accountable to our community as we do this ongoing work.
“Through the ABIM Foundation’s programs, initiatives and grants, we concentrate on advancing professionalism and enhancing patient care. As part of this work, we aspire to highlight the root causes of historically merited distrust in the health care system among marginalized communities. We will work to strengthen trustworthiness by helping to support and test improvements that are designed to build trust and mitigate health inequities.” Read our updated pledge.
Our programs advancing health equity
Grant Funding
Together with partners invested in improving health care, we have supported 75 projects intended to promote trust and create a more equitable health system through our Building Trust Through Diversity, Health Care Equity, Inclusion and Diagnostic Excellence in Internal Medicine Training grant program.
In addition to this grant program, the ABIM Foundation has provided one-time grants to various initiatives that support health equity, including supporting We Got Us during the COVID-19 pandemic to empower Black communities with information about vaccination, supporting The Leapfrog Group’s exploration of disparities in patient safety, enabling AFFIRM to create a playbook addressing firearm injury through a public health lens, and backing DiverseMedicine, Inc.’s efforts to evaluate their health equity programs, including Black Men in White Coats.
ABIM Foundation Forum
Each year, the ABIM Foundation brings together health system leaders, policymakers, medical students, public health experts, health educators, and others to delve into emerging or ongoing trends in health care. Since August 2020, health equity has been at the forefront of these discussions. That year, the agenda was deeply shaped by the health inequities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, we further examined how health care organizations can promote equity, earn the trust of historically marginalized communities, and actively engage and partner with them.
At the 2024 ABIM Foundation Forum, during a health equity panel, Dr. Uché Blackstock shared her experiences as a Black physician and her disillusionment with academic medicine due to systemic barriers in addressing inequities. Her insights highlighted one root cause of earned mistrust and underscored the shortage of Black and Brown clinicians. The panel illuminated the urgent need to acknowledge past harms and continue addressing inequities within our workforce and for our patients before trust can be truly established.
Meet the Team Working to Make Impactful Change
- Equity Committee – Learn about the representatives from various governance bodies across both organizations who oversee program fairness and equity.
- DEI Taskforce – Meet the ABIM and ABIM Foundation staff volunteers who help foster health equity within the organization.
The American Board of Internal Medicine’s DEI Efforts
Read more about The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM)’s commitment to ensure their programs and policies are not divorced from the lived experiences of their diplomates, including (but not limited to): age, race, ethnicity, ability, faith, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, geographical location or practice setting.
