2012 Jun Newsletter

NEWS, UPDATES & UPCOMING EVENTS!

Welcome!

Book Recommendation

The Changing Face of Medicine: Women Doctors and the Evolution of Health Care in America

By: Ann K. Boulis and Jerry A. Jacobs

The number of women practicing medicine in the United States has grown steadily since the late 1960s, with women now roughly at parity with men among entering medical students. Why did so many women enter American medicine? How are women faring, professionally and personally, once they become physicians? Are women transforming the way medicine is practiced? To answer these questions, The Changing Face of Medicine draws on a wide array of sources, including interviews with women physicians and surveys of medical students and practitioners. The analysis is set in the twin contexts of a rapidly evolving medical system and profound shifts in gender roles in American society. Throughout the book, Ann K. Boulis and Jerry A. Jacobs critically examine common assumptions about women in medicine. For example, they find that women's entry into medicine has less to do with the decline in status of the profession and more to do with changes in women's roles in contemporary society. Women physicians' families are becoming more and more like those of other working women. Still, disparities in terms of specialty, practice ownership, academic rank, and leadership roles endure, and barriers to opportunity persist. Along the way, Boulis and Jacobs address a host of issues, among them dual-physician marriages, specialty choice, time spent with patients, altruism versus materialism, and how physicians combine work and family. Women's presence in American medicine will continue to grow beyond the 50 percent mark, but the authors question whether this change by itself will make American medicine more caring and more patient centered. The future direction of the profession will depend on whether women doctors will lead the effort to chart a new course for health care delivery in the United States.

Website Updates

A new gallery has been posted on our front page website HERE. Additionally, videos from the WinC Annual General Meeting in April 2012 have been uploaded in our community under the "Video Sharing" application.

MEMBERSHIP UPDATES

WinC has reached 232 members with 147 Twitter followers; help WinC expand our network to 250 members by referring colleagues and trainees!

JOIN US ON TWITTER AND LINKEDIN!

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and be privy to tweets on leadership, new articles and thought provoking quotes. See the WinC posting board to see what we have been up to and for more information on our social networking accounts.

SUCCESSFUL MENTOR OF JUNE

Joseph Mikhael MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP

Consultant Hematologist, Mayo Clinic Arizona
Vice Chair - Education, Division of Hematology-Oncology
Associate Professor, Mayo College of Medicine
Program Director, Hematology-Oncology Fellowship

Why is Dr. Joseph Mikhael the Successful Mentor of the Month for June?

Dr. Mikhael has a strong record for success in mentoring. As a result of his amazing mentoring skills, the Dr. Joseph Mikhael CAIR Award for Medical Education was created. This award honours those who have contributed to improving undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in Canada. For several years Dr. Joseph Mikhael was a member of the CAIR Board of Directors where he worked tirelessly to represent the interests of all the residents in Canada. His efforts re-focused CAIR’s role in medical education and the Board has created this award in honour of his achievements. Additionally, he is the former president of Professional Association of Internes and Residents of Ontario (PAIRO) in 2003.

Dr. Trinkaus, a haematologist at St. Michael's Hospital nominated Dr. Mikhael for Mentor of the Month for June. Her experiences are outlined below:
"I never thought I would ever become a physician when I was growing up. I always thought I would work with helping others, but never knew in what context until I took my first anatomy and physiology class at Queen's University with the eventual realization that medicine was the right fit for me. As I went through rotations as a medicine resident, I was exposed to many role models, but none stood out quite like Joe Mikhael. I immediately found myself fascinated with the pathophysiology of hematology, and Joe immediately encouraged me to seek out elective and research opportunities to confirm my passion for the discipline. What I appreciated most about Joe was that he ensured I was engaged in my learning, patient care, and research endeavors. At the same time he showed me the possibilities behind a career in hematology, providing me with a great deal of support and encouragement throughout my fellowship. Looking back, I can now say it helped me become the physician and educator I am today. I can't send him enough thanks."

Having worked at many major medical institutions across Ontario, Dr. Mikhael has been an amazing mentor to many in our network. We would like to thank Joseph for his support and look forward to hearing more great successes in his career.

Nominate a Mentor, Mention an Accomplishment for Next Month!

WinC provides a platform to increase visibility of amazing mentors on an international level. If you have someone in mind that has been an amazing mentor to you or people you know OR you have reached a new accomplishment, please email Audrey Wong This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by July 13th.

WinC Art of Leadership Conference Experience

Giveaway Winners:
Congratulations Dr. Caroline Chung and Ms. Samriti Mishra for winning the tickets to the conference. Here is what our ambassadors had to say about the conference:

"I am very thankful for this excellent opportunity to understand how humans think, interact, and network through meeting some of the most successful people in the field." – Samriti Mishra, BSc

"When we are under stress, we will be less creative; therefore, we need to carve out time out of our busy schedules to reflect and calm our minds to be creative and innovative." – Caroline Chung, MD

"The most precious commodity of leadership is authenticity, believing in your mission at work, and having an ability to catch and applaud excellence in the workplace and reflect it back." – Martina Trinkaus, MD

Read more about our WinC ambassador experiences.

ARTICLE RECOMMENDATION

The Intersection of Online Social Networking with Medical Professionalism

By: Lindsay A. Thompson, MD, MS, Kara Dawson, PhD, Richard Ferdig, PhD, Erik W. Black, MA, J. Boyer, MEd, Jade Coutts, MEd, and Nicole Paradise Black, MD

J Gen Intern Med. 2008 July; 23(7): 954–957. Published online 2008 July 10. doi: 10.1007/s11606-008-0538-8

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc2517936/

Aim: To measure the frequency and content of online social networking among medical students and residents.

Methods: Using the online network Facebook, we evaluated online profiles of all medical students (n = 501) and residents (n = 312) at the University of Florida, Gainesville. Objective measures included the existence of a profile, whether it was made private, and any personally identifiable information. Subjective outcomes included photographic content, affiliated social groups, and personal information not generally disclosed in a doctor–patient encounter.

Results: Social networking with Facebook is common among medical trainees, with 44.5% having an account. Medical students used it frequently (64.3%) and residents less frequently (12.8%, p < .0001). The majority of accounts (83.3%) listed at least 1 form of personally identifiable information, only a third (37.5%) were made private, and some accounts displayed potentially unprofessional material. There was a significant decline in utilization of Facebook as trainees approached medical or residency graduation (first year as referent, years 3 and 4, p < .05).

Discussion: While social networking in medical trainees is common in the current culture of emerging professionals, a majority of users allow anyone to view their profile. With a significant proportion having subjectively inappropriate content, ACGME competencies in professionalism must include instruction on the intersection of personal and professional identities.

KEY WORDS: medical education, professionalism, internet, social networking.

Women in Cancer