Employees

Reducing Weight Stigma & Bias in Healthcare-March 17th

Virtual Event

March 17, 2026 @ 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm


Building Inclusive and Affirming Interactions at UW Medicine

Reducing Weight Stigma and Bias in Healthcare – As part of UW Medicine’s ongoing efforts to reduce bias in healthcare, this new course explores bias related to body weight. Framed around patient stories, this course aims to increase empathy related to weight stigma by offering a better understand of the history of society’s relationship with weight, as well as explore contemporary research that challenges stereotypes in society about health and one’s body size. This course also focuses on skills we can use in healthcare to decrease bias and improve interactions with people related to their body. 

Objectives:
1. Increase empathy through adult patient stories related to weight stigma. 
2. Understand the history of society’s relationship with weight. 
3. Increase knowledge of recent research on weight’s impact on health, weight loss interventions, and the success at maintaining weight loss. 
4. Learn skills to decrease bias and improve interactions with people related to their body. 

All are welcome to this training.

Register via Zoom

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Reducing Weight Stigma & Bias in Healthcare-January 21st

Virtual Event

January 21, 2026 @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm


Building Inclusive and Affirming Interactions at UW Medicine

Reducing Weight Stigma and Bias in Healthcare – As part of UW Medicine’s ongoing efforts to reduce bias in healthcare, this new course explores bias related to body weight. Framed around patient stories, this course aims to increase empathy related to weight stigma by offering a better understand of the history of society’s relationship with weight, as well as explore contemporary research that challenges stereotypes in society about health and one’s body size. This course also focuses on skills we can use in healthcare to decrease bias and improve interactions with people related to their body. 

Objectives:
1. Increase empathy through adult patient stories related to weight stigma. 
2. Understand the history of society’s relationship with weight. 
3. Increase knowledge of recent research on weight’s impact on health, weight loss interventions, and the success at maintaining weight loss. 
4. Learn skills to decrease bias and improve interactions with people related to their body. 

All are welcome to this training.

Register via Zoom

Related Events

Pronoun Competency Training – January 20th

Virtual Event

January 20, 2026 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Objective
Building Inclusive and Affirming Interactions at UW Medicine

Using individuals’ pronouns is fundamental to respectful, inclusive, and affirming interactions across UW Medicine, with our colleagues, students, and patients.  Many of our community members make mistakes at times, are corrected, and genuinely apologize.  However, to truly improve, we need structured and supportive opportunities to practice. These opportunities are not typically available in our day-to-day interactions.

This monthly training series provides ongoing opportunities to practice and receive feedback from experts and supportive colleagues to improve pronoun competency. Remember, practice makes perfect and you may attend these sessions as often as you would like. Registration for each group is capped at 20 to allow for individualized practice and feedback. The goal is to foster inclusion and belonging for every member of our UW Medicine community, with emphasis on supporting those who do not use he/his or she/her pronouns.

Register via Zoom

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Harborview’s Postal Detective & Community Builder

A man with glasses smiles in front of a world map.

EthnoMed is Harborview Medical Center’s ethnic medicine website, developed for clinicians and healthcare providers working with immigrant and refugee populations in the greater Seattle area. The site offers culturally relevant information on immigration, health beliefs, clinical care, and translated materials for patients. Their recently launched podcast features a segment called “Provider Pulse” where they hold candid conversations with frontline clinicians and medical residents. Episode 17 offers insight beyond clinical roles and takes you on a journey from the lens of the mailroom.

Kenn Arning, Harborview’s longtime mail clerk and self-described ‘postal detective’ has sorted 5,000 pieces of mail a day, tracked down misdirected packages, and built connections across every department in the hospital for more than four decades.

Kenn shares how his Quaker education, global travels, and passion for learning about people and the places they are from shaped his work—and why Harborview’s mission keeps him coming back year after year. This is a conversation about service, curiosity, and the unseen networks that hold a hospital community together.

Listen now at the below link:

Provider Pulse Ep. 17: Kenn Arning – 47 years as Harborview’s Postal Detective and Community Builder

Resources mentioned in the episode:

Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do by Studs Terkel

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59649.Working

FIUTS: Foundation for International Understanding Through Students.

https://www.fiuts.org

OHCE Education and Training Team Opportunities

Deeper Dive Discussions

A coffee mug next to a laptop

The Office of Healthcare Equity is pleased to share our newest training and educational opportunity: Deeper Dive Discussions. These are facilitator-led follow-up discussions to self-paced foundational training modules and will be held via Zoom. We are looking for volunteers from the UW Medicine community to help us pilot test and provide feedback on these discussions as we prepare to go live with this program early next year. Sessions are one hour long, led by a pair of trained facilitators, with a maximum of 20 participants. To prepare for each discussion, participants are asked to review a 30-minute e-learning presentation of a foundational training topic.        

Available October 30 – December 22nd here.

Unlock Your Potential: Explore Our New Career Development Site!

Author: Jennifer Heap, Internal Talent Mobility Specialist

Orange and brown leaves laid out on concrete sidewalk

UW Medicine Organization Development & Training (OD&T) is thrilled to announce the launch of our Career Development site—your one-stop hub with resources for building the career you want.

Our Philosophy — At UW Medicine, career development is for everyone. Our mission is to empower you by providing tools, programs, and opportunities to achieve lasting career success here.

Imagine your career journey is a road trip. You are the driver. You decide the destination and the route. Your manager will hop in the passenger seat at times to help you navigate. OD&T is your free roadside mechanic providing the tools and assistance you need to keep your career on course. Contact Jennifer Heap, your Internal Talent Mobility Specialist for 1:1 career counseling today!

Your Career Development Toolbox —Bookmark our Career Development site for one-on-one career counseling, informational interviews, job shadowing, stretch assignments, mentorship, career success stories, and more!

What’s in the Toolbox?Customize Your Resource
Career Planning·Get started with the Career Planning Exercise Booklet, or Contact the Internal Talent Mobility Specialist (jheap@uw.edu) for 1:1 counseling.
Career PathsAre you a people manager or team leader? Ask the Internal Talent Mobility Specialist  (jheap@uw.edu) to document common career paths in your area.
Informational InterviewsUse the Informational Interview Template to prepare for a conversation with a leader or senior team member and gain insight into your desired role.
Career Development ConversationsPrepare for constructive, future-focused dialogue with your manager using our Career Development Conversation Template.
Job ShadowingComplete the Job Shadowing Template to plan activities that build new skills and independence.
Stretch AssignmentsUse the Stretch Assignment Template to take on high-visibility, challenging work that builds new competencies and skills.
Job-specific MentorshipFind a mentor who’s been in the role you’re aiming for with our Job Specific Mentorship Template.
Share Your Career Story!Celebrate and share your own Career Success Story. Recognize a Career Champion who advocates for others’ growth.
LinkedIn LearningFree with NetID login and as easy as 1-2-3 to begin! 16,000+ self-paced videos, learning paths, podcasts, articles, and more on a variety of skills and topics are available. Do it on your own or as a team! Leaders: consider how to creatively use this on a monthly or quarterly basis.

OHCE Deeper Dive Discussions: Social Determinants of Health – December 22nd

Virtual Event

December 22 @ 9:00 am – 10:00 am

The Office of Healthcare Equity is pleased to share our newest training and education opportunity. You are invited to sign up for our Deeper Dive Discussions.

We are looking for UW Medicine community members to help us pilot and provide feedback on these discussions, as we prepare to go live with this program early next year.   

Sessions are one hour long, led by a pair of trained facilitators, with a maximum of 20 participants. To prepare for this discussion, all participants are asked to review a 30-minute e-learning didactic presentation of the foundational training topic in focus. The eLearning module link will be included in the registration confirmation.

Register via Zoom

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OHCE Deeper Dive Discussions: History of Race and Racism in Science & Medicine – December 8th

Virtual Event

December 8 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am

The Office of Healthcare Equity is pleased to share our newest training and education opportunity. You are invited to sign up for our Deeper Dive Discussions.

We are looking for UW Medicine community members to help us pilot and provide feedback on these discussions, as we prepare to go live with this program early next year.   

Sessions are one hour long, led by a pair of trained facilitators, with a maximum of 20 participants. To prepare for this discussion, all participants are asked to review a 30-minute e-learning didactic presentation of the foundational training topic in focus. The eLearning module link will be included in the registration confirmation.

Register via Zoom

Related Events

OHCE Deeper Dive Discussions: Identity, Privilege & Intersectionality – December 5th

Virtual Event

December 5 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

The Office of Healthcare Equity is pleased to share our newest training and education opportunity. You are invited to sign up for our Deeper Dive Discussions.

We are looking for UW Medicine community members to help us pilot and provide feedback on these discussions, as we prepare to go live with this program early next year.   

Sessions are one hour long, led by a pair of trained facilitators, with a maximum of 20 participants. To prepare for this discussion, all participants are asked to review a 30-minute e-learning didactic presentation of the foundational training topic in focus. The eLearning module link will be included in the registration confirmation.

Register via Zoom

Related Events

OHCE Deeper Dive Discussions: Identity, Privilege & Intersectionality – November 25th

Virtual Event

November 25 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

The Office of Healthcare Equity is pleased to share our newest training and education opportunity. You are invited to sign up for our Deeper Dive Discussions.

We are looking for UW Medicine community members to help us pilot and provide feedback on these discussions, as we prepare to go live with this program early next year.   

Sessions are one hour long, led by a pair of trained facilitators, with a maximum of 20 participants. To prepare for this discussion, all participants are asked to review a 30-minute e-learning didactic presentation of the foundational training topic in focus. The eLearning module link will be included in the registration confirmation.

Register via Zoom

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