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Announcements for January 21, 2022


At the request of many Friends, we have updated the annivesary logo - replacing "celebrate" with "commemorate" - to live into our value of anti-racism.
Downloadable files for the updated annivesary logo can be found here 
Announcements, News, and Events
Thinking About Race: Overcoming Medical Bias
Medical bias can be deadly, by Damon Centola, in The Baltimore Sun, December 6, 2021
“In the largest study of its kind to date, a 2020 analysis of more than 3 million U.S. patients’ hospital admissions between 2012 and 2017 found that adults who are Black or from other underrepresented racial or ethnic groups received up to 10% fewer early treatments for heart problems than white patients. Medical bias according to race and gender is so powerful that even mega stars like Serena Williams have nearly died from it.
Institutions including medical schools and hospitals have responded to the problem of bias with implicit bias training— the use of cognitive techniques to make people aware of their internalized assumptions about race and gender. But the data show that it doesn’t work. Being taught directly about one’s own internalized assumptions unfortunately doesn’t seem to alter behavior. So, what can we do about bias that is unconscious, pervasive and threatens the lives of millions of Americans?
In a study published this month in the journal Nature Communications, my colleagues and I discovered a surprisingly effective answer: an online group reasoning technique known as networked collective intelligence, which basically means getting doctors to exchange treatment options with one another. Think of it as a group chat for specialists.
...
While no single discovery or innovation can eradicate race and gender bias from medicine, using egalitarian networks to improve medical care could spark a badly needed paradigm shift, where we train future clinicians to seek answers through peer problem-solving networks rather than deferring to seniority. We have known for some time that biased norms in healthcare are reinforced and strengthened by traditional medical networks. But clinical networks can improve upon the traditional logic of medical authority by relying on collective intelligence, which can reduce flaws in clinical reasoning in a way individual approaches cannot.”
This column is prepared by the BYM Working Group on Racism (WGR) and sent to the designated liaison at each local Meeting.  The BYM WGR meets most months on the first Saturday, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, currently via Zoom.  If you would like to attend, contact the clerk at david.etheridge@verizon.net

Book Group: Healing Resistence

Friends from Homewood and Stony Run invite you to join the Baltimore PeaceBuilders and Central Maryland Ecumenical Council book study of Kazu Haga's book, Healing Resistance: A Radically DifferentResponse to Harm. Register here. 
BYM Is Hiring: Admin Coordinator & Camp Staff
After the budetary approval at December's Called Interim Meeting, BYM is delighted to begin the hiring process for an Administrative Coordinator. In our efforts to modernize BYMs HR systems and policies, increase the diversity of our candidate pool, improve hiring equity, and live more fully into our Testimonies, you'll notice the Admin Coordinator job description looks a little different than previous job announcements from BYM. Following best practices from The Management Center and recommendations from BYM Friends who are working on developing internal equity processes, some changes to our standar job description include: clarity between the "must have" qualifications and the "nice to have" qualifications; listing of salary and benefits; the use of plain language that eliminates insider "Quaker speak"; explanation of BYM's use of background checks in hiring; and more. Additional equity practices will be implemented throughout the search and hiring process. 


In addition, hiring has started for the 2022 BYM Camping Season! BYM Camps are looking for seasonal staff in the roles of counselor and trip leader, medical staff, and camp leadership. 
BYM Camps have forever been defined by staff - their compassion, joy, creativity, and fierce commitment to truth and justice. Come join this diverse and spirit-led community, create truly transformative experiences for campers this summer, and become a lifelong member of the BYM Camps Staff family.

Caminando con la Biblia/Walking with the Bible

WALKING WITH THE BIBLE is a monthly bilingual series of Bible hours (2 hours each) on Saturdays, January 22, February 26, and March 26. Sponsored by Friends World Committee on Consultation (FWCC).  
In this series, Peter Blood-Patterson will welcome a series of different Friends as guest leaders. We will have a chance to hear what role the Bible plays in each of these Friends’ lives and to hear what approaches to the Bible they find work in their personal practice and group settings, and we will read and discuss a piece of Scripture that is meaningful for them. 
Quaker History & Witness Drop In Group
Interested in Quaker History, Quaker Witness, or geneology?  Have a question you would like answered -- or a resource to share?  Please join the QH/QW Drop-in Group!  
The QH/QW Drop-In Group is held at 7:30 pm on Fourth Mondays. Zoom links are sent on request.  Contact Denna Joy, address in Yearbook, for more information.   
 
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Baltimore Yearly Meeting
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