Statement Opposing the EDUCATE Act

 

The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) supports initiatives that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in healthcare and education. We can only rectify health disparities and create a more just and inclusive society by embracing the principles of DEI. 

We strongly oppose the proposed EDUCATE Act. If passed, it will restrict federal funding for educational programs incorporating DEI principles, undermining efforts to address systemic inequities and perpetuating disparities in access to care and health outcomes. In addition, it fails to acknowledge the critical role of DEI initiatives in fostering innovation, advancing health equity, and improving patient outcomes.

As the American Medical Association and other medical societies have stated, a commitment to clinician diversity enhances patient trust, communication, and satisfaction, ultimately leading to better patient health. SAEM emphasizes the importance of supporting systems committed to equity and inclusion in emergency medicine, recognizing that a diverse workforce is essential for providing culturally responsive care and addressing the unique needs of the diverse patient populations we treat in the emergency department. The need to expand, not limit, this work has been recently endorsed by SAEM’s lead in the All Emergency Medicine DEI Task Force and SAEM’s 2022 consensus conference on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Developing a Research Agenda for Addressing Racism in Emergency Medicine. 

SAEM's vision for DEI in emergency medicine underscores the necessity of integrating DEI principles into all aspects of medical education and training. By promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in medical education, we can cultivate a healthcare workforce that reflects the diverse communities they serve and ensure equitable access to quality care for everyone.

We urge policymakers to reject the EDUCATE Act in light of these principles and commitments.