It has been a great experience watching the growth that has occurred for women in emergency medicine.
CHAPTER DIVISION REPORT AAEMLa
Women Leading the Way in Emergency Medicine Meredith Hall, MD FAAEM and Vanessa Piazza, MD FAAEM
The Louisiana Chapter Division of AAEM was guided by an all female executive board for the 2019-2020 term. AAEM’s National Women in Emergency Medicine Section has a purpose to “champion the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in emergency medicine through the pillars of advocacy, leadership, and education.” In October of 2019, Louisiana held its elections for its chapter division of AAEM. For the first time, the executive board consisted of all females. Dr. Meredith Hall, who took the reigns from her friend Dr. Shannon Matthews as President states, “I had served AAEMLa on the board in a minor role, and I felt it important to seek leadership in a primary role. I learned about AAEM from Dr. Larry Weiss, one of the faculty who trained me at Charity Hospital and a former AAEM President. He helped me get involved in AAEM Oral Board Review Courses as a mock examiner, but I had never taken on a leadership role. After working as an At-Large Director and planning our state Residency day the year before, I felt I was in a position to lead. It was important for me to
recruit strong members of our profession. When no one stepped up, I turned to some of my female colleagues, who all accepted the challenge.” The Vice Presidency position was held by Dr. Vanessa Piazza and the Treasurer Position was held by Dr. Christine Butts. All of these women, including Dr. Matthews, trained in New Orleans at Charity Hospital with just a few years separating them. Dr. Piazza states, “I felt honored to be invited by Meredith Hall to the leadership role of Vice President of AAEMLa. As there are several other women on the board for our residency program, I commend Dr. Van Meter, our section head at Charity Hospital, for fostering an environment which promotes female leaders and motivates faculty development. Personally, I believe that doing your best at the moment puts you in the best position for the next moment. Regarding females in leadership roles, I feel women make great leaders because we are strong communicators, flexible, compassionate, good at multitasking, team players, and can leave our egos in check.” Hall added, “My biggest challenge has been to expand our leadership role beyond just faculty attendings. Last year, my personal resident representative was one of our female chiefs, Dr. Jen Oswald. Following that, Dr. Brianna Wapples was elected, and the
membership of our extended board includes other exceptional female physicians, including Dr. Luann Barnett and Dr. Eden Hamyouen.” The female leadership in Louisiana extends even farther as one of New Orleans second year residents currently serves on AAEM/RSA Board for AAEM, Dr. Jordan Vaughan. Recently, Dr. Hall was able to add a medical student back to the board by holding a statewide election which resulted in, yes, another female, Abby Olinde, a student at LSU New Orleans, taking that role. Of course, it goes without saying that the national president, Dr. Lisa A. Moreno, is currently a fellow faculty member in New Orleans. And all of them are guided nationally by AAEM Staff, Mrs. Kathy Uy. September is Women in Medicine month, as recognized by the American Medical Association. The theme for 2020 is: Advancing Equity, Creating Change. Dr. Hall recognizes the changes that have occurred with regards to women in medicine over the past 20 years. “We are respected by our peers for our knowledge, we are regarded as equals, and the births of our children are celebrated. It has been a great experience watching the growth that has occurred for women in emergency medicine. I know we will continue to lead and create a better path for the women who will follow us.”
Personally, I believe that doing your best at the moment puts you in the best position for the next moment. 20
COMMON SENSE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
