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The recruitment and mentoring of URiM medical students to ophthalmology is paramount for addressing the dearth of URiM specialists in our field and the impact that it’s had on health care disparities from lack of access and representation for decades.

Today we being a series of episodes addressing this subject matter again in light of the now apparently gale force winds that the backlash against DEI has become. For this series I have brought back Drs. Dolly Ann Padovani-Claudio and O’Rese Knight to give us an update on the Pathways to success program.

I also had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Lisa Kelly, who is the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring Program which is a partnership between the AAO and AUPO developed to increase diversity in ophthalmology by helping URiM students become competitive ophthalmology residency applicants.These individuals are on the forefront of the efforts being made to diversify ophthalmology. I think that they paint an accurate picture of the current landscape of DEI in ophthalmology and the attitude and approach to take as we face the challenges and ideologies being mounted and employed against its implementation. Their dedication and resolve is inspiring and I believe that from our conversations you’ll get a sense of is needed to secure the best for patient care and our specialty moving forward.

Dolly Ann Padovani Claudio, MD, PhD

O'Rese Knight, MD

Lisa Kelly, MD, MS

Rabb Venable Program

Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring Program