Message from our Diversity Liaison

New Mexico is a “minority/majority” state, and the UNM School of Medicine is one of the most diverse in the nation. We highly value diversity in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and seek to grow a faculty, staff, and residency program that reflects the diversity of the populations we treat.

University of New Mexico Indigenous Peoples Land and Territory Acknowledgement UNM Land Acknowledgement Statement

Founded in 1889, the University of New Mexico sits on the traditional homelands of the Pueblo of Sandia. The original peoples of New Mexico – Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache – since time immemorial, have deep connections to the land and have made significant contributions to the broader community statewide. We honor the land itself and those who remain stewards of this land throughout the generations and also acknowledge our committed relationship to Indigenous peoples. We gratefully recognize our history.

Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring Program

The Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring (MOM) Program was created as a joint effort of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Association of University Professor of Ophthalmology to support students under-represented in medicine (UIM) with the goal to increase diversity in the profession of Ophthalmology. Students receive one-on-one mentorship, guidance in career planning, networking, and access to a variety of educational resources. Only UIM students in their first year of an LCME or COCA accredited US allopathic (MD) or osteopathic (DO) medical school are eligible. The program’s definition of a UIM student includes those that are Black, Hispanic, and/or Native Amerrican (American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian), or two or more races when one or more are from the preceding racial and ethnic categories listed. For interested first year medical students, please see the link below for more information:

https://www.aao.org/minority-mentoring 

Yes Eye Can

Yes Eye Can is a summer camp program run by medical students that targets kids ages 5 to 14 in order to increase their interest in medical sciences, in particular ophthalmology. The program was started in summer of 2022 and the event was coordinated with the Raymond G Sanchez summer youth program.