IM with Her: Fostering Career Advancement of Female Internal Medicine Residents
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Description
Background: Despite the rising number of matriculating female medical students, a gender gap favoring men exists in multiple arenas within academic medicine. Prior studies suggest that gender-specifc professional networking groups increase the likelihood of women attaining leadership positions.
Objectives: Our goal was to create a multidisciplinary group with a flat hierarchy within the Internal Medicine Department in order to foster mentorship, sponsorship, allyship, and scholarship to ultimately improve professional advancement opportunities for female internal medicine residents.
Methods/Research: A group named “IM with Her” was created at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in July 2018. IM with Her is composed of internal medicine residents and faculty of all genders. The group has hosted monthly onehour conferences called “Monday Mentors” that pair a resident with a faculty member to host a discussion surrounding a topic of their choosing related to adversity and disparity faced by female physicians. Additionally, the group has held periodic evening sessions discussing topics such as salary and contract negotiation.
Conclusions/Impact: The IM with Her group has made significant progress toward its goals. The pairing of a resident and faculty member for Monday Mentors discussions allows for one-on-one mentorship regarding both personal and professional topics. These sessions also provide dedicated time for networking amongst residents and faculty, facilitating sponsorship and allyship. Additionally, the sessions often lead to further initiatives spearheaded by IM with Her members including scholarly projects and examinations of institutional policies (for example those surrounding sexual harassment and lactation room accessibility). In the future, IM with Her will focus on continuing to foster mentorship, sponsorship, and allyship, on advancing research related to gender disparities in medicine, and on developing institutional changes.
Publication Date
9-2020
Keywords
women in medicine
Recommended Citation
Bharel, S.; Hannon, Michelle; Duffey, K.; Redffeld, R.; Greidinger, A.; Onyeali, R.; and Diemer, G., "IM with Her: Fostering Career Advancement of Female Internal Medicine Residents" (2020). Sex and Gender Health Education Summit 2020 – Virtual Meeting. 9.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/sexandgenderhealth/9
