Georgetown Women in Medicine Hosts Lecture on Career Flexibility

May 7, 2009

Georgetown Women in Medicine (GWIM) presented “Career Flexibility” in the Warwick-Evans auditorium to discuss the importance of work and life balance for women in medicine. Special guests included: Dr. Carole Ward, UC Irvine; Dr. Marilyn Merritt; and, Sharon Masling, Georgetown University Law.

According to Ward, current trends indicate that there are more woman entering the field of medicine than ever before. However, many women in medicine who have a career and family feel tension and battle to find a balance between work and familial obligations. Ultimately, many women in medicine choose to shift from full-time to part-time schedules. “Generation X and Y doctors want a controllable lifestyle,” said Ward. “Many women in medicine face demanding schedules, inflexible work policies and travel.”

Ward encouraged organizations and institutions to meet the lifestyle needs of women in medicine by offering flex and part-time positions.

Merritt stated that many women in medicine have more than one identity—the one as the role of a wife and mother and the other as a doctor. “Women should embrace their identities,” said Merritt. “They shouldn’t feel guilty about doing things that make them happy.”

According to Masling, organizations such as IBM are instituting flexible work schedules. Similarly, policies that the present Administration, as well as the House and Senate, are working on which would mandate companies to offer flexible work schedules for employees. “In DC, employers who staff more than fifty people must give seven paid sick days per year as required by law,” said Masling. San Francisco is the only other city to follow this example.

To further assist women, GWIM started their own career flexibility committee which tackles issues such as part-time tenure track options, flexible schedules, telecommuting and consistent maternity leave policies. The task force works to create alternatives to traditional academic careers while keeping in mind the importance of women in academic medicine.

Interested in attending the next GWIM event? Prospects for the Future Landscape of Medical Education will be presented by American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) Vice President, Dr. Carol Aschenbrener on May 28 from 1:30-3:00p.m. Please RSVP to Elizabeth Chattillion at ec332@georgetown.edu.

For more information on GWIM, please click here.


Submit your news at any time to the GUMC Office of Communications at gumccomm@georgetown.edu.



More Research News

Browse recent items in this category.

More Education News

Browse recent items in this category.