It speaks volumes about the Mount Sinai Health System’s commitment to equity that we now have an integrated Office for Professional Development and Engagement with a dedicated team for Career Opportunity and Support. Our purpose is to ensure that all feel valued and have equal opportunities to thrive and advance.
Like many physicians and scientists, I have experienced and witnessed unfair treatment. Historically, scientists and clinicians have not all had equal opportunity and assistance in advancing in their careers. Nationally and internationally, these issues are being brought forth, recognized, and addressed. At the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, we are proud of how our structure and climate have changed in tangible ways. Our deepest gratitude extends to former and current leaders, especially Dennis S. Charney, MD, Dean Emeritus, and Eric Nestler, MD, PhD, Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, as well as Mount Sinai faculty and staff who recognize that people thrive in environments that foster learning, collaboration, and access to opportunities. For example, under Dean Charney’s leadership, the number of women in key leadership positions (deans, department chairs, and institute directors) increased from 0 percent to 50 percent in just a decade. Our leaders are more focused than ever before on ensuring that our climates, policies, and structures allow for every talented individual to succeed.
Our collaboration with our faculty, trainees, staff, and leadership allows us to meet goals informed by community needs and develop a portfolio of work based on your visions for positive change and hopes for the future. We have developed robust cohort-based mentorship and support programs for faculty across career stages, where people cultivate leadership and other professional skills that foster success in their scientific, clinical, administrative, and educational journeys. We identify submission opportunities and awards that elevate our faculty’s accomplishments, and support candidates in successfully competing for such awards. We create opportunities for people to shatter silos and learn about pervasive and emerging equity challenges and novel solutions to address them; these include our storytelling events and Amplifying Equity series.
Within this evolving climate, we partner with people across our institution to carefully examine all aspects of the professional experience and find ways to improve it. As Dean for Career Opportunity and Support, I am passionate about ensuring that the positive experiences I have had here are available to everyone at Mount Sinai.
We are here to listen to you, learn with you, and take concrete, tangible actions to ensure we all have the opportunity to thrive and succeed. Together we can create a better future and set an example for others to follow.
Carol R. Horowitz, MD, MPH
Founding Dean for Career Opportunity and Support
Professor of Population Health Science and Policy
Professor of Medicine
Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Human Health
Founder and Director of the Institute for Health Equity Research