Celebrating innovation in equity education at the Cumming School of Medicine

Canadian Innovation Week celebrates changemakers and initiatives happening across Canada. Created to inspire more people to see themselves as part of a larger culture of innovation, this year, the collaborative national campaign encourages organizations across the country to share stories of inspiring innovators and innovations that are changing the world one idea at a time. It also presents an opportunity to showcase a new commitment to systems change happening now at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM).

This year, the CSM introduced the new Health Equity & Systems Transformation (HEST) portfolio led by senior associate dean, Dr. Kannin Osei-Tutu, MD. The portfolio was created to advance health equity, inclusion and anti-racism within the medical school and to action the school’s social accountability mandate externally. A hospitalist and associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine, Dr. Osei-Tutu is at the forefront of emerging concepts in anti-racist, anti-oppressive and culturally safe medical education.

Dr. Osei-Tutu is a provincial and national leader in change transformation, including as founder and president of the Black Physicians’ Association of Alberta and as chair of the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada’s Black Health Innovation and Advancement Committee. He has informed the development of policies, educational programs and curricula that are inclusive, and has established many partnerships with regulatory and licensing bodies to advance health equity.

Dr. Osei-Tutu discusses below what this new portfolio means, the key values it embodies and his plans to lead by example.

What are some of the key values of this new portfolio?
“Health Equity & Systems Transformation (HEST) is an innovative, values-based portfolio that is built on the cornerstones of equity, anti-racism, anti-oppression, authentic inclusion, and Indigenous sovereignty.”

How do you hope to address these key values?
“The portfolio will enact faculty development, innovation and evaluation, and an integrated communications strategy to lead cultural change within the school, and to increase our relevance to the external communities we serve.”

How do you hope to innovate in the equity and anti-racism space?
“My philosophical approach calls for the actioning of a strategy we are calling “precision equity.” Precision equity involves: targeted needs assessments of structurally marginalized groups, implementation of evidenced based solutions tailored to address the unique needs or barriers identified, and scholarly evaluation of metrics, key performance indicators, outcomes and impact.

“My team and I see this a unique and forward-thinking approach that could serve as a model for other post secondary institutions in the country.”

What drives you to serve as a leader of this new portfolio?
“My children. I continue to believe that the privileges bestowed upon medical practitioners uniquely positions us to be agents of change in the broader society – should one choose to answer the call and act in support of systems transformation. I see this platform as a small way to advance important values and principles that may ultimately facilitate more inclusive and compassionate spaces for our children, learners, colleagues and patients.”