Our Commitment

By: Paul J. Hauptman, M.D.

The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med) is a research-intensive, community-based medical school with a more than 50-year history of excellence in medical education, biomedical research, clinical care and service to the community. We thrive in part due to a culture that accepts, promotes and celebrates diversity and inclusion, among our students, residents, staff, faculty and importantly the patients we serve. We highlight the importance of these concepts in our daily work and in our personal and professional interactions. Our vision of A Healthy Nevada cannot be achieved without an intentional focus on diversity and its relevance to clinical practice and excellence in patient outcomes. 

We support an environment that is conducive to learning and intellectual curiosity, necessary prerequisites for the development of culturally sensitive clinicians and researchers. As a medical community, we face many challenges. Disparities in access to care must be addressed. Trust in the medical profession must be re-established. Civil behavior must be the expectation at all times. We respect our patient’s religious, political or personal beliefs; we strive to understand their socio-economic, racial and ethnic backgrounds in order to devise care plans that are most likely to lead to good outcomes; we do not pass judgement. The same applies to our interactions with each other. The Honor Pledge recited by our students at their White Coat Ceremony and the Physician Oath recited at Commencement affirm in clear terms these tenets.  

We strive to create an environment in which cultural humility is in our DNA, and by doing so, we can deliver the best possible care to our community. We demonstrate our commitment in our hiring; in our programming; and in the way we treat each other.   

We have a new Strategic Plan for 2024-2029 but our core values remain the same: People are our strength; We innovate and improve; We serve with integrity; We succeed with trust and respect. As we emphasize in our diversity statement, “Our school is an inclusive and engaged community and recognizes the value that students, faculty and staff from different backgrounds bring to the educational experience. We strive to develop culturally competent graduates to care for the residents of Nevada and the nation.” With a commitment to these guiding principles and as a leader in the state and region, we at UNR Med are proud of what we have accomplished and excited by what we will accomplish in the years ahead.