NANOS Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Statement

NANOS DEI STATEMENT

We are living in unprecedented times. The COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest in our nation have laid bare implicit and explicit biases in our society and the nation’s deep-seated socioeconomic inequality. Disparities within health care and law enforcement have resulted in tragic outcomes and a drive for racial justice. We at NANOS are acutely aware of the need to introspect, identify and address these biases.

There is evidence that implicit or unintended bias interferes with assessing individuals for hire, evaluating competence and excellence of medical students and residents, recognizing excellence and achievement in medicine. We know that there are disparities in leadership in healthcare, in invited speakers at medical conferences, and in award recipients.

Historically, equity and inclusion have been integral to the NANOS culture and values and are woven into the NANOS Strategic Plan. We are proud of a history of greater equity and inclusion. Just a few examples:

• NANOS is proud of having had 5 women Presidents since 2002.
• NANOS has representation in more than 40 countries around the world and is proud of being such a diverse group and community.
• Since 2018 NANOS has been supporting the AAO Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring program that promotes diversity in the field of ophthalmology by helping underrepresented in medicine students become competitive ophthalmology residency applicants.
• NANOS provides platforms for engagement, networking, and collaboration for women in neuro-ophthalmology (WIN listserv) and young neuro-ophthalmologists (YONO).

While we have this history of inclusion, we want and need to do better. With your help, we WILL do better.

Our aspirations:

• We want neuro-ophthalmologists to increasingly come from different genders, races, and ethnicities to better reflect the diversity of our country and the communities we serve.
• We want to ensure equal access for health care for patients with complex neuro-ophthalmic diseases.
• We want to advocate for our patients and for our colleagues.
• We want all neuro-ophthalmologist to feel welcomed and included in our society.

Here is what we are doing:

Recently a NANOS DEI Taskforce was created to address some of these issues and to identify additional issues of focus.  As this task force prepares to hold its first meeting, we are soliciting input from our members. 

Here is how you can help:

We appreciate your observations of what we can do together to create an equitable and inclusive NANOS, what we can do to promote neuro-ophthalmology as a career to diverse trainees, and how we can better advocate for our patients.

Together we can overcome the challenges of today and build a better tomorrow for everyone.