March-April, 2012
AWAEMAWARENESS
A bimonthly update to inform you of the current activities of our Academy in an effort to make this organization a strong advocate for women in academic emergency medicine.
Table of Contents AWAEM at SAEM - What’s in store for you!
Introducing Two New Columns! Resident Corner - Male/Female, Same/Different Work-Life Wellness - Got Breast Milk?
Meet the Candidates - Executive Committee 2012
Available Committees 2012-2013
ANNOUNCEMENTS Going to SAEM in Chicago? Don’t forget to register for this year’s Annual Luncheon! Click here to register. We have a new Facebook Page - Check it out! Like us for the latest news and tips for the women in academic EM.
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AWAEM AWARENESS March-April, 2012
AWAEM at SAEM
What’s in store for you!
Discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind..... Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought. - Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
Dear AWAEM colleagues: We have planned some fantastic sessions at SAEM this year. We will be tackling some of the important issues that face women in academic emergency medicine. We hope you will join us – we need your perspective, your wisdom, and your voice to build our strong community. See you in Chicago! Stephanie Abbuhl MD, AWAEM President 2011-12 May 10, 2012 - SAEM Didactic Sessions 9:00-10:00 am - Floodlighting the Hidden Threat of Unconscious Bias (moderated by J. Wolfe) Discuss with expert panel Sandra Schneider, Brian Zink, Leon Haley: • Effective strategies that address unconscious bias • Use of those strategies to promote hiring, mentorship and promotion practices that are free of gender biases
10:00-11:00 am - 2012 Updates in Gender-Specific Emergency Care - A Pecha Kucha Style Presentation (A. McGregor; E. Choo, B. Safdar, M. Greenberg, S. Poznanski, R. Vrees) • Learn how to acknowledge the emerging science of sex differences in acute clinical care and translate this new data into lifesaving outcomes. • This presentation will sprint through 8 organ systems using "PechaKucha", the fascinating lecture style from Tokoyo that has become a world-wide phenomenon for its ability to maintain listener engagement. Bring your seatbelt!
May 11, 2012 - Academy Block 8:00-8:30 am - AWAEM Business Meeting (S. Abbuhl, G. Kuhn) • Learn about AWAEM’s activities and how to get involved 8:30-9:00 am - The Status of EM Gender Research (A. McGregor, E. Choo, B. Safdar, M. Greenberg) • Gain insight into current and future strategies on the inclusion of Sexand Gender- Specific Medicine into EM Research
9:00-10:00 am - Career Development Tailored for Women - Programs for Success ( J. Welch, S. Abbuhl) • Learn how career development programs can help you build a community of peer mentors and succeed in all spheres of your life • Learn about great programs that exist to help you build the skills needed to flourish
10:00-11:00 am - XX, XY and the Art of Asking What, when and how to negotiate (moderated by J. Wolfe) • A short review of the literature on gender differences in negotiation followed by a panel discussion of EM experts. • Chairs Kathleeen Clem, Kate Heilpern & Brent King will share their proven secrets to make you more confident and successful at the bargaining table.
11:00 am-12:00 pm - Poster Session/Networking (moderated by A. McGregor & select AWAEM members) • Mix and mingle with women in academic emergency medicine • Learn what others are doing to promote their careers, research and keys to personal fulfillment.
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May 11, 2012 - 3rd Annual Networking Lunch Proven to be an extremely popular event, our primary goal is for women in academics to meet and discuss items of mutual interest that we feel merit the comments and opinions of all of you...our members! 12:30-2:00 pm - Lunch Events • Networking with members from around the country • Recognition of Academy Award Winners • Facilitated Table Discussions - This year’s list of important topics will be facilitated by a fabulous panel... • Gender Bias (J. Wolfe, A. McGregor) Problems, experiences, and solutions • Gender Research (M. Greenberg, B. Safdar) Gaps, topics needing research, impact of lack of research • Negotiating (K. Clem, G. D’Onofrio) Handling rejection, negotiation for protected time, a new position, or scheduling requests • Leadership (R. Vrees) Tricks of the trade to enhance leadership skills in any situation
These topics deliberately mirror our didactic topics to give members an opportunity to discuss what our speakers have taught and give us a chance to determine how to use what we have learned in our careers and lives. The results of these discussions are then printed in our bimonthly AWAEM eNewsletter so that all members can share in the wisdom and recommendations made during this invaluable gathering.
AWAEM AWARENESS March-April, 2012
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Introducing Two New Columns!
Resident Corner By Leana S. Wen, M.D. M.Sc.
Leana Wen is our newly appointed resident representative. She is the President-Elect of the AAEM/RSA and a third year resident at the Harvard Affiliated EM Residency at Brigham & Women’s/MGH. She has written regular columns for the NYT, The New Physician, and Common Sense. Her first book, on patient advocacy and health policy reform is due to be published this winter. We are excited for her to provide perspective from the academic woman in training. Stay tuned for more from this talented physician.
Work-Life Wellness
By Julie Welch, M.D.
Julie Welch is an Assistant Professor at Indiana University. Her many outstanding accomplishments include the establishment of a well-recognized EM Women’s Mentoring Program, reformation of her physician group’s family leave policy, lead authorship on a paper entitled "Flexibility in Faculty Work-life Policies at Medical Schools in the Big Ten Conference,” and being a mommy to two adorable red-headed boys. Keep a look out for more wellness tips and advice from this supermom on how to integrate all that we do.
Male/female, same/different Full Circle on Feminism
Got Breast Milk? Tips on how to stick with it.
I’m an eighties baby and a proud member of Generation Y. A child of two working professionals who came of age in China’s Cultural Revolution, I grew up with a strong belief in gender equality. Feminism and women’s rights were concepts that I took for granted. Nobody ever told me that there were things I couldn’t do because I was a girl. Because of the battles fought by the generations ahead of me, I grew up sheltered, believing that gender differences and the professional challenges associated with them were relics of the past. My early medical training helped to shield me from the realities of the world. I went to a very supportive medical school, where several of our Deans were women and had regular networking session for female medical students. These sessions were so popular that some men in my class tried to form a “male-only networking group”—an idea that somehow had a different connotation. I can’t recall a single incident of favoritism in my preclinical years. In my clinical years, the biggest challenge was getting visiting consultants and my patients to see me as the medical student—not the nursing student or candy striper. I learned to wear my white coat everywhere, and to laugh when someone would refer to me as “that nice nurse”, or, at one point, “that Oriental home health aide.” It was in the U.K. that I had my first and most significant gender battle. After medical school, I won the Rhodes scholarship and studied at Oxford for two years. In my subject, economic history, we were required to take a beginning statistics class—something I wasn’t particularly thrilled to take, having taught stats on the graduate level before. Our class happened to have all men except for Jana, a Bulgarian girl who was a mathematician in her home country, and me. Continued on page 6.
Becoming a new mom as a practicing EM physician, made me quickly appreciate the awesome, yet time consuming, reality of breast feeding. The miracle of sustaining the life of a newborn quickly met the hassle of lugging around, strapping on, and juggling time for the breast pump. Preparing for each shift now incorporated this round-the-clock responsibility. Not only did I have to coordinate nursing my precious baby just before I left for the hospital, but the number of bags I carried into work tripled. As I rushed out the door with my work backpack, I also hoisted a breast pump over one shoulder and grabbed a cooler filled with ice packs for breast milk, extra bottled water for hydration, and food. (And I learned quickly from an especially colicky infant, to avoid broccoli, cauliflower, and garlic.) I loaded the car, running through the rest of the checklist in my head: breast pads, bottles, lids, milk storage bags, and nipple cream. During each action-packed ED shift, balancing patient care, teaching, answering phone calls, charting, and all the other random duties now included finding time to breast pump. Will I have 15 minutes before the next trauma? What will my colleagues think if I take a “break?” Could I chart or talk to consultants while attached to this rhythmic noisy pump? With all of these competing factors, is it surprising that while 97% of physician mothers initiate breastfeeding at birth and 64% intend to continue until 12 months, only 41% are actually successful? In addition, is it shocking that studies suggest female physicians may actually have lower breastfeeding continuation rates than the general public? If not, then the question becomes, how can we increase these rates, remove obstacles, enhance support, and advocate for other mommy doctors? Continued on page 7.
AWAEM AWARENESS March-April, 2012
Meet the Candidates
Executive Committee 2012 President: Gloria Kuhn, DO, PhD Professor, Wayne State University Department of Emergency Medicine 4201 St. Antoine, UHC-6G Detroit, MI 48201 (313) 745-6492 gkuhn@med.wayne.edu
President-Elect: Esther Choo, MD Assistant Professor of Emergency Brown University, Alpert Medical School Co-Director, Division of Women’s Health In Emergency Care
Professional Interests: Designing interventions for women with histories of Professional Interests: Faculty victimization and substance use; development, improving teaching of incorporating technology into EM medical students and residents, promoting research the position of women in emergency medicine. Past Activities for AWAEM: • Vice-President AWAEM 2011 • Member: SAEM Meeting Initiatives Past Activities for AWAEM: • President-elect 2011, Committee, Guidelines Committee, • Guidelines and Policies Committee, Research Committee, Awards Committee (Chair, 2009-11), Book Chair, Revised Academy Guidelines, Club 2011 • Executive Steering Committee for • Member of Taskforce to examine proposed 2014 Consensus Conference status of women in academic on Gender-Specific Emergency emergency medicine, Medicine • Publication: Kuhn, G.J., S.B. Abbuhl, and K.J. Clem, Recommendations from the Goals for AWAEM: Society for Academic Emergency Medicine 1. Increase national mentorship and (SAEM) Taskforce on women in academic research collaborations among emergency medicine. Acad Emerg Med, Academy members 2008. 15(8): p. 762-7 2. Identify and create new resources that will support the talents and passions of Goals for AWAEM: women in academic emergency 1. Increase number of resident members medicine 2. Help the Academy to achieve the goal of mentoring and guiding women in academic emergency medicine who will then do the same for other women. Vice President: Sue Watts, PhD I believe that this is the real strength of Associate Research Director AWAEM. Dept of Emergency Medicine Paul L Foster School of Medicine Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Past Activities for AWAEM: • Secretary AWAEM 2009, 2010, 2011 • Member: Guidelines and Policies • Coordinated AWAEM Lunch SAEM, 2011 We never know how high we are Till we are called to rise; And then, if we are true to plan, Our statures touch the skies. ~ Emily Dickinson ~
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Secretary: Mary Jo Wagner, MD Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Michigan State University College of Medicine Adjunct Professor, Central Michigan University College of Medicine Program Director and Chair, Synergy Medical Education Alliance Department of Emergency Medicine Career Accomplishments: Editor of PEER Boards Review Series, past CORD President Goals for AWAEM: Continue to expand communication for and among members.
Treasurer: Stacey Poznanski, DO Assistant Professor Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine Director, Emergency Medicine Clerkship Professional Interests: Innovations in Medical Student Education, Wellness & Work-life Harmony, Faculty Development Past Activities for AWAEM: • Treasurer 2011 • E-Communications, Chair • Editor AWAEM Newsletter • Developed AWAEM website Goals for AWAEM: 1. Expand and improve our electronic communications to reach a wider audience, promote collaboration and mentoring, and recruit membership, especially at the medical student and resident levels 2. Promote and facilitate more regional events to allow for greater mentoring and networking opportunities for medical students, residents and junior faculty
Goals for AWAEM: I would like to see AWAEM become the first place that women turn to for career guidance, mentoring, and advice. I would like physicians who are new to academic Continued on page 5. practice to find advice about navigating and succeeding in academic settings. I would also like to see experienced faculty learning from new graduates about how to teach and reach med students and residents.
AWAEM AWARENESS March-April, 2012
Meet the Candidates
Executive Committee 2012 Member-at-Large: Jeanette Wolf, MD Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine Professional Interests: My interests at this point in my career are broadly focused on gender differences: neuroscience, communication & conflict (especially as to how it relates to patient care) and in understanding the roadblocks (unconscious bias and stereotype threat) and solutions to creating gender balance in organizations. Past Activities for AWAEM: • AWAEM 2011/2012 Didactic lecture committee • Coordinated Panel on Gender Bias, AWAEM Didactic Session, SAEM 2012 • Coordinated panel discussion and led AWAEM’s national SAEM 2011 Gender Differences in Communication Lecture • Coordinated panel and led AWAEM’s national SAEM 2012 Floodlighting Unconscious Bias Lecture • Coordinated panel discussion and led AWAEM’s 2012 Gender Differences in Negotiation Lecture Goals for AWAEM: I'd like to see AWAEM continue to mature and become more visible in academic EM outside the regional and national meetings (i.e. consider developing platform talks directed at women residents and junior female faculty that we take to different programs to increase awareness and promote networking.)
Member-at-Large: Dara Kass, MD Attending Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine Staten Island University Hospital Assistant Residency Director Professional Interests: I am interested in innovative residency education and curriculum development as they pertain to both clinical and didactic teaching in the Emergency Department. I also want to help create an environment where residents (both male and female) can try to achieve both personal and professional success simultaneously during their residency years. Past Activities for AWAEM: • Attended AWAEM lunch at CORD, 2011 reported on issues pertaining to nursing women physicians, lead discussion, and is writing an article for the AWAEM newsletter. • Has agreed to chair the AWAEM Wellness Committee. Goals for AWAEM: AWAEM: I think it is important for AWAEM to spear head the discussion amongst the academic community regarding wellness issues for women and men, specifically related to marriage, pregnancy, child rearing and other family obligations. I believe the organization should also serve as a medium for research and best practices related to these topics, in addition to creating an environment for mentorship and advocacy amongst women physicians.
Emergency Medicine Resident Member-at-Large: Leana Wen, MD (RSA) PGY-3 EM resident, Brigham & Women's/Mass General Hospital President-elect, Resident and Student Association, American Association of Emergency Medicine (AAEM-RSA) Past national president of the American Medical Student Association; Rhodes Scholar Goals for AWAEM: Expand networking opportunities; increase involvement of female residents; establish formal mentorship program; and publicize the great work that AWAEM has been doing! Emergency Medicine Resident Member-at-Large: Suzanne Bryce, MD (EMRA) PGY1/intern for 2011-2012, Vanderbilt University Medical Center Position within EMRA: Editor of "What's up in Emergency Medicine" (a monthly e-newsletter) Goals for AWAEM: I am passionate about women's issues as well as academic EM, so I am clearly thrilled to be a part of AWAEM. As a resident Member-at-Large, I am very interested in helping our membership explore gender bias and disparities within our specialty. Furthermore, I would love for AWAEM to form a foundation of information for female EM residents to navigate the ropes of starting a career in academic EM as we graduate from residency. I also believe that highlighting resources for female Emergency Physicians to pursue a rewarding career in academics while also balancing a personal life is essential.
The most effective way to do it, is to do it. - Amelia Earhart.
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AWAEM AWARENESS March-April, 2012
Male/female, same/different Full Circle on Feminism By Leana S. Wen, M.D. M.Sc.
Continued from page 3. After our first exam, the Professor stormed into the room. He gave us a lecture on academic honesty, and then pointed at Jana and me. “What can you say to explain yourself ?” he yelled. “How dare you cheat on your exam?” Apparently, the two of us had received high marks on the test. The 20-odd men, on the other hand, did not do particularly well. It was unacceptable to this Professor that the women—and two foreign women at that—had somehow outscored the men. The only explanation he could think of for this was that we had cheated. The incident got resolved quickly through our department, though the Professor’s only slap on the hand was to mutter a begrudging “sorry” to the two of us. Though this experience was a very small part of my overall (very positive) educational experience, it gave me a great deal of respect for all the women who came before me, who had to face discrimination like this every time they went to class or work. It also gave me additional perspective on other gendered experiences. In my residency, a group of female residents and young faculty attempted to form a women’s support network. Some of our colleagues, both male and female, questioned why it was really necessary to have a women’s group. In this day and age, aren’t issues that are relevant to women relevant to everyone else? Is there really anything to be gained from a network of women in emergency medicine? I’m not sure that I would have known the answer to this before, but my answer now—as a soon-to-be PGY-4, is a resounding yes. Here are just a few of the reasons why:
Practical aspects of work-life balance. It is almost a cliché to talk about work-life balance in a discussion of professional women’s issues. I’m embarrassed to admit that I used to roll my eyes every time we talked about it. Now that I’m married and thinking about starting a family, though, I seek out these discussions with women who have also “done it all”. I want to ask them how and what they did. How did they structure their initial career? What were challenges that they faced along the way, and what are the lessons they have to impart?
Mentorship. Studies have consistently shown that drive, intelligence, and passion are necessary but not sufficient for success; behind every star performer is a star mentor. Women can and should have male mentors, but female mentorship adds an additional critical dimension and nuance. For those of us in academic medicine, I am a believer that we all need not just research and professional mentors, but personal mentors, too.
I also hope to hear from you! This is a new column for the AWAEM newsletter, and I want to address issues that matter to you. For comments and suggestions, please email me, wen.leana@gmail.com.
Unique demands of our work. One of my classmates got fed up with all the talks on work-life balance and famously said that she wants to cut out the life and just talk about work. After all, isn’t work what men talk about? She’s not wrong; there are unique demands of our work, particularly for women going into our very specific field of academic emergency medicine. It’s important to have the space for such discussions. At this point, I have come full circle: from being a millennium child with little sense of gendered experiences, to a feminist with an understanding that being a professional woman continues to yield its separate challenges and requires active work. I plan to explore these and many other issues this year, as the AWAEM resident representative and writer of this column. I am very honored to have the opportunity to represent residents as the AAEM/RSA President and to serve as an advisory board member of AWAEM. I look forward to working with and learning from some really amazing women leaders this year.
A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform. ~ Diane Mariechild
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AWAEM AWARENESS March-April, 2012
Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass... it’s about learning to dance in the rain. -Vivian Greene
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hodac/338724105/
Got Breast Milk?
Tips on how to stick with it. By Julie Welch, MD
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Continued from page 3. I will offer solutions from our experiences at Indiana University. I was fortunate that after 2 babies I racked up a total of 26 months expressing breast milk during my ED shifts. But it was only possible by establishing dedicated lactation space, having supportive colleagues, and keeping a healthy sense of humor through it all. 1. Ask BEFORE you arrive to your first shift back from maternity leave, engorged, temperamental, and stressed WHERE you are supposed to privately use your breast pump. A small bathroom next to the busy ED physician work room is NOT appropriate for breast pumping. Neither is an IV pump storage closet or an empty curtained patient room (although I’ve used each in a pinch, positioned with my back to the door in case someone barged in.) 2. Know the federal lactation law passed in 2010 as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that “requires employers to provide reasonable break time and a private, non-bathroom place for nursing mothers to express breast milk during the workday, for one year after the child’s birth.” And don’t be shy to share this information with your employer, chair, and colleagues. www.dol.gov/whd/nursingmothers/ 3. Advocate for dedicated lactation space in or very near the ED for your physicians, residents, students, nurses, and staff. Do not give up until you get it. 4. Make the lactation space personal and comfortable. Choose a calm hue to paint the walls, hang a cork-board covered in fabric to pin up baby photos, share mothering magazines, and provide a comfortable chair and table close to a wall outlet and phone.
5. In order get milk “let down,” you must relax! Having a photo of your adorable baby often helps. You might not be able to multi-task with charting and phone calls if you really want to pump efficiently (isn’t multi-tasking a myth, anyway?) 6. Nursing bras and tanks are now a crucial part of your wardrobe! Go try on bras and tanks to see what fits you best. Ask other moms what they recommend. Double pumping saves time, so consider getting a bra that allows hands-free pumping. 7. Your accessories will now include: breast pads (plastic backed and stick on), nipple cream (apply religiously early on), milk storage bags, cooler and ice packs. 8. Support and advocate for one another! Mothering can be isolating, so seek out working mothers. Chat about fears, challenges and successes! Resources: Riggins C, et al. Breastfeeding Experiences Among Physicians. Breastfeed Med. 2011 Dec 7. (Epub) Sattari M, et al. Breastfeeding Intentions of Female Physicians. Breastfeed Med. 2010 De: 5 (6):297-302. Sattari M, et al. Review: Physician Mothers: an unlikely high risk group- call for action. Breastfeed Med. 2010 Feb;5(1):35-9. American Academy of Pediatrics website on Breastfeeding
AWAEM AWARENESS March-April, 2012
Available Committees for 2012-2013 Time to get involved! If you are interested in helping with any of these committees, as a member or possibly leadership role, please e-mail the Chair so you can be included. If you do not hear from the Chair within a week (or no Chair is listed) please contact Gloria Kuhn, DO (gkuhn@med.wayne.edu) as sometimes messages do get lost in the cyberspace of e-mail land. We need people like you to keep AWAEM a success!! AWAEM Guidelines & Policies Chair: Esther Choo echomd@gmail.com Co-Chair: Sue Watts Awards Chair: Kinjal Sethuraman kinjal.sethuraman@gmail.com Co-Chair: Priya Kuppusamy Mentor: Michelle Biros E-Communications Chair: Stacey Poznanski stacey.poznanski@gmail.com Co-Chair: Leila Getto Mentor: Gloria Kuhn
Research Chair: Marna Greenberg: mrgdo@ptd.net Co-Chairs: Esther Choo, Julie Welch, Basmah Safdar SAEM Meeting Initiatives Chair: Alyson McGregor amcgregormd@gmail.com Co-Chairs: Esther Choo, Preeti Jois, Basmah Safdar, Julie Welch, Jeannette Wolfe, Tracy Madsen
Medical School Initiatives Chair: Keme Carter kcarter@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu Membership Chair: Neha Raukar nraukar@gmail.com Co-Chair: Tracy Sanson
Regional Mentoring Chair: Angela Fisher Past Chair & Mentor: Linda Druelinger ldruelin@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu Past Mentor: Kerry Broderick
Wellness Chair: Dara Kass darakass@gmail.com Resident Initiatives Taskforce: Co-Chairs: Michelle Lall & Ciera Barclay-Buchanan Leana Wen (Resident RSA), Suzanne Bryce (Resident RSA) Global Emergency Medicine Taskforce Chair: Bhakti Hansoti
“I’m a woman of very few words, but lots of action.”
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Mae West
Many Photos found via Google Images. For a list of Photo Credits, please contact Stacey Poznanski, DO at stacey.poznanski@gmail.com