Critically Diverse

18/01/2024

Blessed Bohdi Day

07/12/2023

A small flame can dispel a lot of darkness

21/11/2023

Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance – a day to commemorate transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people. We see you and stand by you to ensure trans people can live full lives of dignity, without fear of violence or harm.

08/09/2023

Critically Diverse is at IVECCS in Denver!

Find us at the exhibit hall (booth 1303) for support, information and opportunities to buy some incredible merchandise

30/08/2023

Join Dr. Marie Holowaychuk, criticalist and CEO of Reviving Veterinary Medicine to learn more about "Creating a Culture of Inclusion: Practical Ways to Foster DEI in the Workplace".

Inclusion is the extent to which veterinary team members, employees, and others feel a sense of belonging and value within the practice setting. While diversity is essential in veterinary medicine, it is not sufficient on its own.

A sustained emphasis on creating inclusive environments is necessary for success in veterinary practice.

During this session, practical strategies for fostering inclusion in the veterinary workplace will be shared that both leaders and team members can aspire to.

We can't wait to see you there on Sunday, September 10th at 1:30pm in the Juniper A/B room.

28/08/2023

Don't miss the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Happy Hour at IVECCS 2023!!!!

Sunday, September 10th, 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM (MDT)

Join the panelists from the previous session to continue the conversation and enjoy a drink with your allies.

Drink tickets will be given to those who attend "Celebrating Diversity and Nurturing Inclusion in The Workplace" - Panel Discussion

Location: Juniper Prefunction

Thank you to MedVet for sponsoring this event!!!

27/08/2023

On Women’s Equality Day we wanted to highlight not only an amazing criticalist, but also a female CEO, entrepreneur and practice owner… Beth Davidow!

When we asked Dr Davidow what this day meant to her she said “Our world is a better place when all voices are heard”, having women like Dr Davidow in positions of power increases diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.

Learn a bit more about this female role model!

27/08/2023

At the behest of Rep. Bella Abzug (D-NY), in 1971 and passed in 1973, the U.S. Congress designated August 26 as “Women’s Equality Day.” The date was selected to commemorate the 1920 certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. This was the culmination of a massive, peaceful civil rights movement by women that had its formal beginnings in 1848 at the world’s first women’s rights convention, in Seneca Falls, New York.

The observance of Women’s Equality Day not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, but also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality. Workplaces, libraries, organizations, and public facilities now participate with Women’s Equality Day programs, displays, video showings, or other activities.

04/07/2023

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

These are the opening words of the Declaration of Independence of what would become the United States of America; words we all know. They are words of equity and inclusion, even though our founding fathers defined those things far more narrowly than we do today. I don’t think they could have conceived of what those thirteen colonies would become; a diverse and beautiful tapestry of humanity woven together by those unalienable rights.

On this Independence Day, let us celebrate our diversity and always remember that we are a country founded and based on equity and inclusion. Let us remember that those definitions have broadened in scope over the last 247 years and that we must strive to keep them that way and broaden them even further. The work of DEI is how we best honor this great nation of ours.

04/07/2023

Join us in celebrating Charmaine McAbrew, LVT, MBA which is the Nursing Manager for the Emergency and Critical Care department of Animal Medical Center of Seattle!!!

We are thrilled to see technicians in positions of leadership and especially celebrate when those positions are filled by talented, qualified BIPOC!

Show Charmaine your love in the comments!!!

01/07/2023

On June 29th, 2023 after extensive deliberation, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark ruling that effectively prohibits the use of race-based affirmative action in college admissions.

In Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s words “the devastating impact of this decision cannot be overstated.”

28/06/2023

28/06/2023

Happy Eid Al Adha!

20/06/2023

The war against drag is being used as another tactic to continue to limit the rights and freedoms of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Learn more about the drag community and don’t forget to share!

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19/06/2023

Juneteenth commemorates the fall of slavery in Galveston, Texas, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863 to free enslaved Black people held in the Confederacy.

News of Union troops' victory over the Confederates spread slowly across the South, eventually reaching the shores of Galveston in 1865.

Celebrations of the holiday started out regionally in Texas, but as Black Americans spread out across the United States, they brought their traditions with them, including remembrances for one of the final vestiges of chattel slavery.

For years, it was a relatively obscure holiday celebrated among Black people with little acknowledgment or understanding from outside cultures and communities. In 2021, when the holiday gained federal recognition, just 37% of American adults said they knew at least something about Juneteenth.

Learn a little more about this holiday and it’s symbolism, don’t forget to share!

14/06/2023

Dr. Kristin Zersen (DVM, DACVECC) is an Assistant Professor of Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care at the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. She obtained her DVM from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Zersen completed a rotating internship at VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital followed by an emergency and critical care residency at Colorado State University. She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care. Dr. Zersen’s professional interests include fluid therapy, sepsis, and mechanical ventilation.

Leave some love for Dr Zersen in the comments!

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04/06/2023

ACVECC and VECCS have decided to join efforts by merging their diversity, equity and inclusion committes! Critically Diverse will be representing both organizations.

We hope this will allow our efforts to reach not only members of the Emergency and Critical Care College and ECC technician specialty college, but will also have a greater reach to our emergency doctors, technicians, assistants and practice managers, as well as all others that are aligned with our beliefs.

We are excited about this collaboration and have already started meeting to discuss strategic planning, future goals and how we can make a stronger impact in the community.

What projects would you love for us to prioritize?

30/05/2023

Dr Steven Berkowitz, DVM, DACVECC, reminds us of the importance of being vulnerable and bringing down the stigma surrounding mental health!

20/05/2023

Don’t miss the opportunity to go to win an IVECCS DEI scholarship!!!

https://veccs-awards.awardsplatform.com

17/04/2023

Introducing our quarterly Critically Diverse Newsletter!

22/01/2023

Happy Lunar New Year!!!

10/01/2023

Help spread awareness!

04/01/2023

Happy National Ribbon Skirt Day!

28/12/2022

Kwanzaa has seven basic symbols. Each represents values and concepts reflective of African culture and contributive to community building and reinforcement.

27/12/2022

On each day of Kwanzaa, light a candle for that day’s principle on your candleholder (Kinara).
Below are suggested activities for each day from the National Museum of African American History & Culture:

Umoja (Unity)
-To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
-Song for reflection: Worth His Weight in Gold (Rally Round the Flag), Steel Pulse
-Thought for the Day: Morrison, Toni. Beloved. First Edition. Alfred A. Knopf, 1987. pp. 88

Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)
-To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.
-Song for reflection: I am the Black Gold of the Sun, Rotary Connection & Minnie Riperton
-Thought for the day: Black, Daniel. The Coming. St. Martin’s Press, New York. 2015. pp 9-10.

Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)
- To build and maintain our community together and make our community’s problems our problems and to solve them together.
-Song for reflection: Optimistic, Sounds of Blackness
-Thought for the Day: Wilkerson, Isabel. The Warmth of Other Suns. Random House, 2010. Pp. 538

Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)
-To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.
-Song for reflection: We’re a Winner, Curtis Mayfield
-Thought for the Day: Davis, Angela. Angela Davis: An Autobiography. Random House. Inc., 1974. Pp. 89

Nia (Purpose)
-To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
-Song for reflection: Higher Ground, Stevie Wonder
-Thought for the Day: “Poem About My Rights” by June Jordan

Kuumba (Creativity)
-To do always as much as we can to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
-Song for reflection: Africa, John Coltrane
-Thought for the Day: Jones, Leroi (Amiri Baraka). Blues People: Negro Music in White America. William Morrow, 1963. Introduction, ix-x.

Imani (Faith)
-To believe with all our hearts in our people and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
-Song for reflection: Keep Your Head to the Sky, Earth, Wind, and Fire
-Thought for the Day: Poem, “For My People” by Margaret Walker