For decades I have been told, “When the number of women physicians increases, women doctors will be accepted into the medical workplace.” Thirty years later, more women than men are medical students, the pipeline has been full for decades and still parity has not achieved our rightful place in the House of Medicine. We are still not fully welcome there. Not yet anyway.
I was going to change this. First, by becoming a recognized leader in my field, climbing the mountain to the top. And then I faced a grim reality of gender disparity—in pay, in promotion, in participation. I finally went to court and resolved 4 separate actions against two powerful institutions. My academic career was over, my medical life changed.
I knew that creating a progressive healthcare workplace–one that not only tolerates the differences among the individuals who comprise it, but also embraces them—was important. It forced me to go on. Not to give up. It required me to pursue our common goal: remodel the system that was established for us rather than by us. I always knew that my power to make changes came from questioning the status quo, shifting and increasing my expectations, and from being bold about what I must demanded of both myself and others from the healthcare workplaces in which I worked so naively for more than 25 years.
It hasn’t been pretty. It hasn’t been easy. Born out from my (now seemingly absurd) conviction and years of quality improvement leadership experience, that healthcare institutions and physicians could work collaboratively, I launched my first attempt: Expediting the Inevitable (ETI), a revolutionary and idealistic approach to helping both women physicians and the decidedly non-progressive workplaces to make the necessary changes for the benefit of all, especially our patients.
At ETI, I quickly learned that transforming the culture of complex organizations was beyond my grasp. It was too much. I learned that women physicians had to buy into this change and make it happen, even if only one woman at a time. I was reminded of the words of anthropologist Margaret Mead,
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has,”
I morphed ETI in its approach and took on a new name: Women MD Resources.
Women MD Resources (WMDR) helps women deal with the unexpected barriers, overt and subliminal dismissal of their value, messy medical politics and competing demands on their many-faceted lives. I studied the issues, talked to thousands of women docs, found out what they wanted, expanded my knowledge of social media, and learned about the online information sharing business.
And now, today, I am launching my commitment to women physicians by sharing the tools and giving them guidance to effectively remodel the House of Medicine. Women are different. Women physicians are different. And gender does matter for my patients in the most positive way imaginable.
WMDR asks women physicians to demand more. WMDR helps women physicians open their eyes to what it is they should require from their House of Medicine. WMDR brings them to the discovery of their unique talents and needs. And WMDR reveals to them the secrets to success as a women physicians.
Those closest to me know that I want my epitaph to read, “She made a difference.” And sure, I know I make a difference everyday with every patient I work hard to help. But something was taken away from me, and I won’t let that happen to other women who want all the joys and rewards of taking care of people and working within all the medical care spaces to have it ALL.
I am committed to helping women docs create clarity, build confidence and take control as women physicians. And, by sheer force of numbers and unrelenting purpose, as a result, the House of Medicine will be remodeled. It will change, and those in it will begin to understand the needs of women physicians. Transformation will occur to suit everyone’s needs. Out of necessity, and with clear, confident goals, we will remodel the House of Medicine to be a home with a woman’s touch, a woman’s flair, a woman’s imprint.
With a medical student daughter, I know that it is important to start early. No matter the career stage–whether pre-med, medical student, resident/fellow trainee, fresh out, or seasoned practitioner–now is the time, and I am committed to making WMDR the place.
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