Note from the ACDIS Editor: First 2021 CDI Journal focuses on diversity, inclusion in CDI

by Linnea Archibald

This past year has brought to light many of the ills of our society, highlighting needed changes on almost all levels of healthcare, societal norms, and issues of social justice. Together, we look in the rearview mirror with a collective sigh, a sadness and exhaustion deep in our bones.

While we welcome 2021 with mountains of uncertainty, the previous year’s closing allows us a time to look back, assess where we’ve strayed and where we’ve succeeded, and make adjustments to our course to direct us toward a better, safer, and more just world in the year to come.

Like everyone else, ACDIS and the CDI community have been affected by the events of the past year. Members in our midst have lost family members and jobs, security and rest. Far before 2020, members in our midst suffered personal and professional slights and insults based on their races, professional backgrounds, socioeconomic upbringings, and genders.

While the world still grapples with responding to the COVID-19 pandemic—a topic we will long look to in the shaping of modern CDI—ACDIS wants to dedicate the first 2021 edition of the CDI Journal to the promotion of diversity and inclusion in our own association and in the broader CDI community.

Within this edition’s pages, you’ll find articles focused on:

• The difference between diversity and inclusion
• Recruitment and hiring practices
• Foreign-trained physicians in CDI
• Establishing the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force
• The process of education, research, and doing the work
• Advocating for yourself
• Overcoming adversity and maintaining integrity
• Nonclinical professions in CDI
• The state of minorities and COVID-19
• Addressing health disparities with social determinants of health

Plus, this edition also includes a look back at the past year and a glance forward at what’s to come from Associate Editorial Director Melissa Varnavas; some clinical advice from Alba Kuqi, MD, CICA, CCS, CDIP, CCDS, CRCR, CSMC, MSHIM, RHIA, regarding nutritional status documentation for COVID-19 patients; advice from an ACDIS member; and a full index of all articles published in the CDI Journal during 2020.

We know that this past year has been a challenging one, leaving us all with deep scars and memories of everything that’s been lost. Our hope at ACDIS is that as we move forward into the new year, that our CDI community will continue to grow, continue to welcome those of all backgrounds and life experiences, and continue to advocate for positive progress.

The ACDIS team hopes that you enjoy this latest edition and that you’ll find some helpful guidance within its pages. The March/April edition of the Journal will focus on metrics and benchmarking, so if you’d like to contribute, wish to share your CDI journey, or suggest an article idea, feel free to email us.

Editor’s note: Archibald is the editor for ACDIS. Contact her at larchibald@acdis.org