Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Racism Concern Form

The Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and the University of Alberta is committed to action against racism at the University of Alberta (Anti-Racism Committment)

There is a zero tolerance for racism at the FoMD in all its forms. The Anti-Racism policy of the FoMD can be found here

The FoMD is Committed to:

  • Protecting, advancing and ensuring the health/security of First Nations, Metis, Inuit, and Non-Status Persons who are protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
  • Protecting the advancement and health of Black Canadians who were historically marginalized, excluded and discriminated against in the Canadian context.
  • Creating a safe, equitable and just environment for all Persons of Color who encompass various ethnicities, cultures, racial identities, and colonial legacies.

The purpose of the racism reporting process is to enable a safe, confidential and/or anonymous reporting mechanism for learners and staff who have experienced any form of racism within the learning and working environments at the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry.
This reporting process should be used for reporting experiences of racism, and should not be used for emergencies. If there are concerns around the Reporter’s immediate safety in terms of racial harassment, physical and/or psychological safety, we encourage contact of the following services:

IMMEDIATE HEALTH OR SAFETY CONCERNS

For sexual violence crisis, options include:

For other forms of reporting including threats or violence, options include:

Wellness Supports:

Submissions will be reviewed within 3 business days of submission, and will be triaged according to level of urgency.

Racism experiences can be submitted confidentially (with a person's name attached to the concern for a triage officer to contact), and anonymously (without a person's name attached to the concern to protect identity). All individuals who submit confidential racism concerns will be communicated with as to what actions/outcomes occurred as a result of their concerns being submitted. We are unable to communicate back to individuals who submit anonymous concerns, because of the lack of identifying information provided. Anonymized racism reports will be available on the professionalism website on an annual basis (delayed release greater than six months after preceding academic year).

For a full review of the concern reporting process, please click here.

Have you experienced or witnessed an event that involves immediate health or safety concerns?

No Yes
Immediate Health or Safety Concerns

For sexual violence crisis, options include:

For other forms of reporting including threats or violence, options include:

Wellness Supports:

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Racism Types & Settings

Settings

FoMD Activities

Refers to any activity that occurs at the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry including but not limited to:

  • Any delivery of curricular material in any program in the FoMD
  • Any activity owned by or controlled by the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry or on FoMD property
  • Any learning activity including practicums, clerkships and clinical education of any kind
  • Any research related activity including primary research practice, presentations, conferences, and related activities on and off campus
  • Any and all University-related social networking events affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
  • Any and all social media associated with the FoMD

Racism behaviors can occur through different behaviors, including, but not limited to:

  • Mistreatment (treats others badly, puts down others, yelling, insulting, belittling or offensive remarks)
  • Rudeness and Disrespect (lack of respect for others and others' opinions, foul language in the workplace)
  • Bullying, threatening and intimidation (use of superior strength/influence to force others to do what one wants)
  • Harassment (inappropriate physical and/or sexual contact, unacceptable behavior in the context of social norms)
  • Discrimination (unjust, unequal or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people based on grounds of race, ethnic origin, religion, marital or family status, genetic characteristics, age, gender identity, disability)
  • Spreading rumours, gossiping, saying untrue things
  • Sexual or physical violence

Any instance of racism, individual racism, interpersonal racism, institutional racism, microaggressions, microinvalidations or structural racism is in violation of the Anti-Racism Policy and is eligible for reporting. These might also include, but is not limited to:

Racism Concern

Any report of a race related concern as per the definitions set out in this document and the FoMD Anti-Racism Policy. These concerns may be named or anonymous. These concerns may be firsthand or can be third party reports (i.e. observing an incident and reporting it or reporting racism in curricular materials). Racism concerns may be about interpersonal or institutional actions or about written and distributed materials such as curriculum, research output or FoMD affiliated communications.

Egregious Racism Concern

Any action deemed to be racial harassment, racial discrimination or racial violence, and any action that is seen to pose a direct risk to the credibility and integrity of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. This also includes any racism related concern that poses a risk of immediate and/or serious harm to others. This includes:

  • Racially motivated assault of any kind
  • Publicly viewed and recorded use of racial slurs, racially discriminatory language/ opinion, and any racist action of any kind
  • Any founded instance of racial harassment
  • Any founded instances of racial discrimination

Individual Racism

The beliefs, attitudes, and actions of individuals that support or perpetuate racism in conscious and unconscious ways. Example: Believing in the superiority of white people, not hiring a person of colour because “something doesn’t feel right,” or telling a racist joke.

Interpersonal Racism

Interpersonal racism occurs between individuals. These are public expressions of racism, often involving slurs, biases, or hateful words or actions.

Institutional Racism

Institutional racism occurs within an organization. These are discriminatory treatments, unfair policies, or biased practices based on race that result in inequitable outcomes for whites over people of color. These institutional policies often never mention any racial group, but the outcome results in advantages for the dominant group. (Example: Recognising clinical signs in skin (jaundice, cyanosis, pallor, rashes, inflammation, bruising), for example, can be very difficult if the patient is dark skinned and the doctor has never been trained to recognise these signs in anything but light skin.

Structural Racism

The overarching system of racial bias across institutions and society. These systems give privileges to white people resulting in disadvantages to people of color. Example: Stereotypes of people of color as criminals in mainstream movies and media. (From Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture - Talking About Race.)

Race, Racism, Individual racism, Interpersonal racism, Institutional racism, and Structural racism

Definitions can be found in the existing Anti-Racism Policy which is found here.

Structural racism is the overarching system of racial bias across institutions and society. These systems give privileges to white people resulting in disadvantages to people of color. Example: Stereotypes of people of color as criminals in mainstream movies and media. (From Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture - Talking About Race.)

Racial Discrimination

Refers to any action, whether direct or indirect, which excludes, restricts, or negatively distinguishes people based on Racial identity, Colour, National Identity, Ancestry, Place of Origin or Ethnicity (CRRF, 2020). It denies them the ability to fulfill their full potential and exercise the full scope of their inalienable human rights (CRRF, 2020).

Racial Harassment

Involves unwanted or unwelcome comments, conduct or behavior that humiliates, intimidates, excludes or isolates an individual or group by focusing on their race, ethnicity, origin or religion. Overall, racial harassment undermines self-esteem and is a violation of the dignity and security of the individual or group(s) that it targets. "The person(s) engaged in harassment need not have the intention to harass; it is the objective assessment of the circumstances that matters."(University of Alberta, 2012).

Racial Violence

Any form of violence deemed to be motivated by racial prejudice and hatred towards individuals.

Microaggressions

Everyday comments and actions that covertly uphold racist ideas, they range from slights, off hand comments and exclusionary activities to overt racist language and insults (University of Manitoba, 2020).
Examples:

  • Telling a Person of Colour that they speak english so well
  • Asking a Black Person where they are from
  • Insinuating that colleagues of visible minority status were hired due to their ethnoracial identity
  • Touching a Black colleagues hair without their permission

Microinvalidations

A form of microaggression wherein an individual's life experiences and personal narrative are dismissed or disregarded ( Riel, 2019).
Examples:

  • "I am not a racist. I have Indigenous friends."
  • Mistaking the identity of people who are from the same race

Environmental Concern

A workplace with practices, equipment, policies and leadership perpetuating unhealthy behaviours and mistreatment. This environment causes or risks harm to learners/faculty/staff, contributing to unwellness/burnout, reducing productivity, increasing moral distress, and reducing professional growth and contributions.

Do you feel the events in this concern meet the definition of racism?

No Yes
Racism Types & Settings

Please come back when you observe / experience an concern of racism.

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Racism Reporting Form

This form should be used for reporting racism concerns only and should not be used for emergencies.

All forms will be reviewed within 3 business days of submission, and triaged according to level of urgency.

You will be contacted by a triage officer within 3 business days of submission. Note: we are unable to respond to anonymously placed concerns due to not having the reporter's contact information. We can only contact those who provide their names and contact information.

Please summarize the events including details such as:

  • Nature of the concern(s)
  • Names of all those individuals involved EXCEPT PATIENTS
  • Precise time and location
  • Whether you experienced the concern(s) yourself or witnessed someone else experiencing it

Please note: The events of the concern(s) must be made in good faith and to your best recollection. Filing of a false, frivolous, vexatious, or malicious report will be considered a professionalism lapse.

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Confidentiality and Anonymity

All reports will be handled, investigated and reported on a confidential and/or anonymous basis such that reporter identity will be protected unless required by law; or University policy (Faculty Relations, Human Resources, and the Office of Dean of Students); College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta regulations; and the Health Professions Acts for Alberta Dental Association & College Health; College of Registered Dental Hygienists of Alberta; Alberta College of Medical Diagnostic & Therapeutic Technologists; and the College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Alberta.

Should you choose to submit this report anonymously, no identifiable information will be collected. Please note we are unable to contact those who report concerns anonymously. Anonymous reporting may hinder investigations, outcomes and prevent any follow-up reporting mechanisms. As a result, the FoMD would like to recommend submitting your report confidentially if possible.

Should you choose to submit this report confidentially, you will be asked to provide an email address. Your contact information will be used to provide a transparent process of investigation to you. You will also receive further contact should we require more information or have completed our investigation.

For a description of this reporting mechanism, please click here.

Thank you for your confidence. Please provide your name and email for further confidential contact.

Reporters may select a support person of their choosing, or can ask for a support person to be provided to them, from offices/associations including but not limited to:

You may choose and contact a support person to help you through the reporting process on your own. You are welcome to choose a support person not on the list above. Alternatively, you may indicate that you would like a support person and the triage officer can aid in connecting you to a support person during the initial meeting (such as someone from the list above). Note: faculty are not able to select a support person from the Office of Learner Advocacy & Wellbeing

Your report will be submitted anonymously. Please click the submit button below to submit the report.

Report Submitted Successfully

Thank you for your submission. A notification has been sent to the designated professionalism committee member notifying them of your submission. Your report will be reviewed within 72 hours of submission. However, investigation and resolution of the incident will require more time. If you have provided your contact information, you will receive a final report of the resolution of the investigation.

If you have not received a response within 3 business days, please email fomdprof@ualberta.ca.

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