A Welcoming Environment

You may have noticed that we recently updated our Instructions for Authors which, among other guidelines, now directs contributors of review articles and radiological cases to omit all references to gender and ethnicity unless those characteristics are directly relevant to the entity being discussed.

If you have been or are on the receiving end of an email from me or follow me on Twitter (@ErinSchwartzMD), moreover, you will see that I include my preferred pronouns (she/her), and I encourage our contributors and leadership to do the same. Additionally, we are expanding the Applied Radiology Editorial Board as part of an overall effort to include more diverse experts from the radiology community, and plan to reflect a wider spectrum of voices throughout our many columns, departments, e-newsletters, forums, and ARConnect.

These steps that we are taking are aimed directly at supporting such efforts as the Association Forum’s “Welcoming Environment^®” initiative, which began in 2015 and seeks “to enhance the larger community by recognizing the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” The Association Forum defines a Welcoming Environment as one that fosters “a sense of belonging and connectedness that engages individuals in an authentic manner in which uniqueness is valued, respected and supported through opportunities and interaction.”¹

A “Statement of Professionalism” developed at the 2019 American College of Radiology Intersociety Conference has since been adopted by such organizations as the American Board of Radiology.² We strongly support this endeavor as well. Every reader and contributor “should be valued and feel included.”²

In addition to the steps outlined above, we also expect professional conduct at all times from all who engage with our social media postings and participate in our digital communities, where we “will not condone any forms of harassment, bullying behaviors, or speech that marginalizes or attacks others.”²

We are honored to join with the many institutions and societies that are striving to promote our shared values of diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout all of health care. And we are saying it loud and proud: Applied Radiology embraces readers and contributors of all races, ethnicities, genders, gender identities, sexual orientations, ages, social classes, abilities or attributes, and medical backgrounds. We recognize the inherent worth and dignity of all people and will continue our mission to provide high quality, practical medical imaging and management content for all radiology professionals.

We welcome you all to join us.

1. Welcoming Environment Resource Kit. http://associationforum.org/browse/welcomingenvironment. Accessed March 9, 2020.
2. Statement of Professionalism – The American Board of Radiology. https://www.theabr.org/statement-of-professionalism. Accessed March 9, 2020.