Book Review: "This Side of Doctoring : Reflections from Women in Medicine ” (edited by Eliza Lo Chin, MD, 2003 Oxford University Press) The book addresses the struggles, rewards, delight and distress women physicians in America have faced and continue to face. This remarkable book is an anthology of stories, poems, essays, and quotations capturing the essence of being a woman and a doctor.

More than 140 contributors share their experiences. The book begins with a historical perspective on how women in the nineteenth century began their journey into the medical profession, in the face of hostility, rejection and societal disapproval. Through the years, women in medicine reached many important milestones. Recent AMA statistics for women entering medicine show that for the first time, in the 2003-2004 academic year women applicants (>50%) outnumbered men in applying to US medical schools.

Many essays in the book portray the ways in which women balance a tiring and demanding profession with the pressures of family life. The chapter entitled “Mothering and Doctoring” deals with the guilt which many women physicians feel when they cannot devote adequate time to their young children because of being tired and stressed by their work. In “Making Choices” some women physicians describe lost opportunities and painful personal decisions such as not having children to devote themselves to their profession. “Barriers” presents the stumbling blocks that women have to face, when they try to enter the traditional male specialties. Other chapters reveal the various facets of the lives of women in medicine including stories from families sharing their views on how they look up to these women and more general reflections by contributing authors about their career choices, challenges and rewards. This type of direct sharing offers not only insight into the inner struggles of women physicians but also gives the reader an opportunity to learn from the experiences of others and to find strength, reassurance, and validation of one’s own struggles.
We at AAWR have the wealth of knowledge and experience of hundreds of women who have proven that family and profession can flourish successfully together. Would you share your life experience with other AAWR members? We have implemented an Online Forum to allow AAWR members to interact in a friendly “women’s circle”. We can explore any topic, motherhood and professional life can be just one of them.

Dilemmas of mothering and doctoring are many. We at AAWR can bring together our collective unique experience and compose our own story to the benefit of current and future generations of women in radiology. There are the official, rational and cold analyzes that put us and our lives through the statistical methodology into tables and graphs, and they are important but the real stories from the kitchen and playground (as opposed to trenches) could prove to be even more important as we are trying to attract more women to our specialty. Radiology offers life style opportunities that are beneficial to women trying to balance their medical career and a family, and we can enlighten ourselves and in the same time educate female medical students about our way of living. Please consider contributing to the AAWR and the Radiology at large by sharing the story or two from your life. You can submit your notes via e-mail to our office at admin@aawr.org . Let’s reflect on the life of women in Radiology.