Can you hear me now? Tools for cultivating a culture of respect, value, and appreciation within pediatric hematology, oncology, and cellular therapy

Abstract

The American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) conducted a workshop “Can you hear me now? Cultivating a culture of respect, value, and appreciation within pediatric hematology/oncology” at their annual meeting in May 2022 in hopes of exploring how the members can enhance wellness in a climate of increasing diversity. Initiatives in the past have focused on personal care, but it has been widely shown that administrative and institutional driven initiatives are essential to create an environment of wellness. In this interactive workshop, we discovered that 22% of participants felt their institution does not instill a culture of respect. We offered tools to the audience on multiple levels: graceful self‐promotion, diversity and inclusion, and leadership perspective on creating a culture of respect to address the individual, local community, and top‐down leadership approaches. Here, we offer a summary on the content of the workshop, and expand upon many of the discussion points that were raised during the workshop. We bring forth novel information on each topic individually from diverse points of view, specific to the field of pediatric hematology/oncology (PHO). We aim to highlight the importance of creating a diverse and respectful work environment in PHO in hopes of ensuring motivated, satisfied, and fulfilled healthcare providers who feel appreciated and valued.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion: Moving from ambition to action

“…3 In issue 5 of Pediatric Blood and Cancer, Tal et al discuss issues of institutional culture and a lack of feeling valued amongst physicians. 4 While a more rigorous methodology may have strengthened their findings, and a description of meaningful steps for improvement would have been appreciated, the authors do highlight the importance of DEI in creating a culture of wellness and value appreciation. We very much agree with the critical importance of these values and would like to use this HIGHLIGHT to offer for consideration some steps our institution has taken to increase both diversity and equity as a path toward improving wellness of our organization and its individuals.…”

“…In issue 5 of Pediatric Blood and Cancer , Tal et al. discuss issues of institutional culture and a lack of feeling valued amongst physicians 4 . While a more rigorous methodology may have strengthened their findings, and a description of meaningful steps for improvement would have been appreciated, the authors do highlight the importance of DEI in creating a culture of wellness and value appreciation.…”