The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in partnership with the NYC Health Department's Office of the Chief Medical Officer, is excited to announce our upcoming conference, Challenging Norms: Uplifting Equity and Justice to Transform the Landscape of Health Sciences Education - 3rd Annual Conference.

Challenging Norms is a non-traditional conference designed to foster community and coalition-building, skill development, and the exchange of ideas. It provides a platform for presenting both completed and preliminary research, sharing personal narratives, and engaging in discussions about successes and challenges in health sciences education.

What’s new this year:

This year, the Institute for Advancing Health Sciences Education is thrilled to announce our partnership with the NYC Health Department's Office of the Chief Medical Officer as part of our efforts to expand the conference to include all health sciences education, including nursing, social work, pharmacy, physical therapy/occupational therapy, MD programs and other health sciences schools.

We will also be adding an in-person component to the conference alongside our virtual sessions. The in-person portion of the conference will utilize Open Space Technology to foster meaningful collaboration across health sciences disciplines. The virtual portion of the conference will continue the previous year’s format and include keynotes, panels, poster presentations, workshops, personal narratives, and fireside chat sessions.

Virtual

Oct 21 & 22, 2025 | 12:00PM - 5:00PM EST

The virtual portion of the conference will be held on the afternoons of October 21st and October 22nd and will include keynotes, panels, poster presentations, workshops, personal narratives and fireside chats.

In-Person

Oct 24, 2025 | 9:00AM - 4:00PM EST

The in-person component of the conference aims to provide a space for individuals in health sciences education to connect, collaborate, engage in meaningful discussions, and build community with one another.

We will be using Open Space Technology, a participant-led, co-created group facilitation method. Attendees will co-create the agenda, identify topics of interest, and self-organize into sessions around the issues they are most passionate about.

How will it work?

All of us will come together to focus on how we can continue to advance medical education in the face of an uncertain and unpredictable political environment.
After an agenda-setting exercise, we will self- select into smaller discussion groups based on topics or issues we are passionate about.
Each small group will capture notes from their discussion. The notes will be compiled into a book of proceedings that will be shared with all participants.

Call For Submissions

The call for proposals only applies to the virtual portion of the conference.

Deadline Extension: June 6th

It has come to our attention that some individuals in our network did not receive our initial communications. To ensure everyone has a fair opportunity to submit, we are extending the deadline once again to June 6th. We hope this additional time will accommodate those who may have missed the earlier messages. We apologize for any inconvenience and miscommunication.

	Poster Presentations We invite submissions for poster presentations that demonstrate original research, best practices or innovative approaches to addressing all forms of bias in health sciences education.
	Workshops We invite workshops that focus on skill-building and coalition-building, explore advances in health sciences education, address current challenges, and provide practical solutions.
	Personal Narratives We invite submissions of personal narratives that explore transformative experiences, challenges and insights in relation to health sciences education and/or the interactions between health sciences education and surrounding communities.
	Fireside Chat We invite submissions for Fireside Chats that share topics, challenges and solutions related to the future of health sciences education. These conversations should foster collaboration, inspire new ideas, and challenge conventional thinking.

Proposal Submissions

Please refer to the Submission Guidebook for proposal submissions.

Submission Deadline: June 6th

Submit Proposals

Questions about this year's conference?

If you have questions or need assistance, please email equityandjustice@mssm.edu.

ABOUT US

The Office of the Chief Medical Officer (OCMO) at the NYC Health Department was established in 2021 to facilitate collaboration among healthcare delivery partners and the Health Department around a shared vision for improving health in New York City centered around health equity and anti-racism. Under the leadership of our Chief and Deputy Chief Medical Officers, the OCMO develops and implements health equity and anti-racists policies and programs in partnership with NYC healthcare delivery organizations as well as create, disseminate, and oversee provider engagement and communications across an array of public health topics. For more information on the Office of the Chief Medical Officer and NYC Health Department, visit nyc.gov/health.

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is a leader in equity and justice in health sciences education, having established the Racism and Bias Initiative in 2015. Through this work, we developed a change-management strategy to fundamentally change the way all forms of bias are addressed in our medical education program. In 2021, with a grant from Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, we established ART in Med Ed, a coalition with 11 other North American medical institutions addressing racism and all forms of bias. In October, 2023 we established the Institute for Advancing Health Sciences Education, bringing these programs under one roof and allowing us to transform the landscape of medicine through initiatives that stop the perpetuation of all forms of bias in medical education.

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiOrganizer of Transforming Health Sciences Education Together