Important Announcements

Nondiscrimination Policy Update

Boston Medical Center Health System complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, national origin (including limited English proficiency and primary language), religion, culture, physical or mental disabilities, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity and/or expression. BMCHS provides free aids and services to people with disabilities and free language services to people whose primary language is not English.

To read our full Nondiscrimination Statement, click here.

URG

URG

Noun

An acronym used in academic medicine meaning underrepresented racial and ethnic groups; specifically refers to Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Native American or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander.

Please note: URG is not a permanent or fixed identity because it is based on demographics and representation.

The need for URG identification results from systems of oppression, particularly racism, which historically excluded people who are Black and/or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Native American or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander from careers and within the field of academic medicine.

Although there is some overlap, URG is not interchangeable with the term people of color, which includes those of broader Asian descent.

Academic medicine made an intentional shift from using the term underrepresented minorities, as “minority” connotes “less than”.

Source

Adapted from the NIH and informed by the National Science Foundation.

The Glossary for Culture Transformation is a living document to be revised on an annual basis.

Suggested Citation: Office of Equity, Vitality, and Inclusion, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston Medical Center, and Boston University Medical Group. Glossary for Culture Transformation. 2021.

For questions or suggestions, please email wordsmatter@bu.edu