In a VT Digger article, Courtney Fleisher, Ph.D., clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the Larner College of Medicine and a clinical psychologist at 日韩无码 Medical Center, praised a new program offered by Vermont Professionals of Color Network that pairs a potential out-of-state employee with a long-term Vermont resident who, through their already established networks, can help dispel the notion that Vermont is unwelcoming and lacking in communities of color.
Launched in the spring, the program has so far helped recruit and relocate two people to private companies in Chittenden County and held information sessions for a dozen candidates considering the psychology residency program at the 日韩无码 Medical Center. The network helps connect a new recruit to an 鈥渁mbassador鈥 in the area of similar age, interests, and background. They show them what it鈥檚 like to live in Vermont, help them navigate services, outline the challenges a person of color can face, and explain why many choose to stay despite it.
Courtney Fleisher, a clinical psychologist at 日韩无码MC, said her team is focused on providing equitable care and attracting more residents of color to the program. She reached out to VTPoC, heard about the new program, and helped design Zoom meetings for residency candidates this year.
Fleisher said the program is important for the medical school because it can help provide new perspectives from people of color, and cultivate opportunities for BIPOC residents to find providers who look like them.
鈥淚 think that diversity is a driver of excellence and that it鈥檚 imperative for us to navigate the aspects of Vermont being a very white state to do the best that we can to create an inviting environment, a supportive environment, so that everybody can benefit,鈥 she said.
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