Introducing Women in Medicine, an MDLinx exclusive
Key Takeaways
Dear readers,
The MDLinx team is excited to launch a new column, Women in Medicine, dedicated to supporting, empowering, and inspiring female clinicians as they navigate their medical careers.
Medicine is a challenging career for both women and men, but it is uniquely so for women practitioners—as evidenced by research dating back decades and fortified by current statistics. Add the personal stories and experiences shared by female medical professionals, and we hear a clarion call for change.
Women now outnumber men in US medical schools, yet nearly 40% of women physicians quit medicine or go part-time within 6 years of finishing their residencies, according to an article published by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
The list of reasons for this alarming exodus is lengthy: Salary inequity, gender bias/discrimination, sexual harassment, lack of advancement, burnout, work-life balance issues, family/parenting conflicts, and more.
These are not new problems, yet despite widespread recognition over the decades, they remain. And the pressures of the pandemic have only made things worse.
"When you invest more than a decade of your life to learn a skill and you’re willing to walk away from that early in your career, that’s more than a red flag. It’s a burning fire."
— Sasha Shillcutt, MD, University of Nebraska Medical Center (AAMC article)
In this series, we aim to support female clinicians by sharing personal perspectives from other women in medicine, offering credible guidance, and sharing skills for navigating their career. Topics include:
Learning to set professional boundaries
Negotiating salary and position
Building a tribe of supportive medical peers
The art of being a successful physician-mom
Getting a seat at the table of decision-makers
What to do when you're faced with sexual harrassment
Preventing burnout: Maintaining a life outside of medicine
Building confidence
We hope this series will help women navigate, survive, and thrive in today's medical world.
We also hope to engage males in medicine to help combat gender inequities and other forms of discrimination against women in medicine, so that all practitioners can provide the best patient care possible and enjoy a rewarding career.
All the best,
The MDLinx Team