Small gestures, such as sparking a conversation when a student volunteers a personal detail, cultivate a welcoming and inclusive environment. Performing these gestures publicly changes the status quo of how others behave and treat those around them, slowly etching away at cultures and institutions that exclude others.

An anonymous resident reflects on the sometimes unwelcoming environments she experienced as a new mother who was completing surgical sub internships.

The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the May 2023 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.