The students stayed in East Lansing, Michigan so they could be immersed in educational and hands-on experiences in critical topics related to disparities in health care, leadership, physician wellness, public health issues, applying for residency, and more (Table 1). Students also participated in site visits to Emergency Medicine residency programs at Henry Ford Health in Detroit, Michigan and Central Michigan University College of Medicine in Saginaw, Michigan. During the two-week experience, each student was mentored in a Capstone Project that they presented to ABEM staff and Directors at the conclusion of the Academy (Table 2).

The students provided positive feedback about their experience in the Academy. Several students indicated that this experience was their first exposure to EM and topics of importance in the practice of EM. As a group, the students reported a significant increase in baseline knowledge around issues in public health, health disparities, and the how topics in DEI impact emergency medicine. The Dr. Leon L. Haley, Jr., Bridge to the Future of Emergency Medicine Academy was an opportunity to bring URiM medical students together to create a learning experience unlike any other in the emergency medicine. Not only did this provide unique, hands-on educational experiences for the students, but it also fostered a community of inclusion and helped to expand their peer and mentorship networks.

Engaging medical students early on to support upstream DEI education is a unique and innovative opportunity to inspire enthusiasm for Emergency Medicine. ABEM is the only Member Board, to date, among 24 specialties within the American Board of Medical Specialties to foster this type of DEI initiative. Building a network of URiM students that are passionate about EM and its role in serving diverse communities across the nation, will elevate EM as the specialty leader in DEI and culturally competent care for generations to come. It is critical to the specialty’s advancement that URiM students see a place for themselves in EM and the Haley Academy provides that opportunity.

Table 1: Selected Topics from the Haley Academy

• History of EM and ABEM
• Engaging Public Health Issues in the ED
• Disparities in Healthcare
• Gender Bias in EM
• Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Are We Accountable
• Leadership Trajectories for the EM Physician
• Careers Outside of Academia: Where EM Can Take You
• Social Determinants of Health
• How Research Informs Advocacy
• EMS/Disaster Medicine
• Interviewing for Residency
• Introduction to Simulation
• Achieving through Participation in Organized Medicine

Table 2: Student Capstone Projects

• The Association of Social Factors and Delay in Care for the Hispanic Community During COVID-19
• Buprenorphine: Barriers Affecting Access to Treatment
• The Association Between Higher Asthma Rates and Air Pollution in the Black Population
• Lower Quality Health Insurance Leads to Depression in Hispanic Populations in the Bronx
• Race and Ethnicity’s Impact on Rates of Diagnostic Imaging in Emergency Departments
• Implicit Bias and Chronic Pain Management: What Can We Do?
• Higher Pre-term Birth Rates Among African American Women
• Gun Violence in Youth and Pediatric Interventions
• Childhood Obesity in Hispanic Communities
• The Impact of COVID-19 on the Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence