Sandra K Fernbach, MD – 1988 President of AAWR

Mother, Teacher, Friend

I was involved with the AAWR in “the early years”, when membership rosters were small and kept by hand, in folders in our desks. When the Focus was so new it didn’t have a name.

There were fewer choices for women in radiology. Part time work was scarce. Childcare had to be individually arranged. Certain subspecialties had few women and few women were encouraged to enter these: neuroradiology and interventional radiology.

We wondered if there was a need for such and organization as the AAWR and considered the possibility that, if we were very successful, the need for the AAWR would disappear.

How wrong we were!

The need for mentoring, networking, and advancing work related issues has persisted. The courses that we have organized for the annual RSNA have added to our voice. The women we have given awards to, for their years of service, have well deserved the recognition. The residents we honor each year continue our promise that women will be an important force within radiology. We should rejoice!

What has changed about your career and self perceptions since you were younger?

I am much more interested in the service side of my career than I was when I was younger. In the early years, the need to achieve some degree of academic success meant that there was much more time and energy spent finding interesting cases, devising meaningful projects, developing productive collaborations. While I always enjoyed patient care but it always seemed secondary to the peer-reviewed side of life. I was, in capital letters, a PEDIATRIC RADIOLOGIST.

At about the age of fifty, as I saw my parents age and friends deal with serious illness, I had a “Peggy Lee” moment. I wondered “Is that all there is?” I switched jobs, became a part time salaried employee, took on some responsibility for adult patients. While I still do many pediatric studies each day, I also guide adults, many elderly and as frail as the preemies through their fluoroscopies. I consciously take more time with family members, caregivers, and staff; it is a most satisfying change.

The free time that comes with part time employment is also a boon. More time to do things that I enjoy, which may vary with the season and what’s happening in Chicago: a realization that each time slot does not have to be stuffed full.

What would be your most important advice to your junior colleague?

I would suggest that they enjoy their children’s youth as this time passes quickly and many career goals can be achieved later. I would let them know that one can be a good clinician, a good teacher, a good researcher but that no one has to excel in all areas or at least do it all at the same time. Each person should find the part of the job that she can enjoy while doing it well.

Sandra Fernbach AAWR President in 1988	Dolphin Connection at Hawk's Cay Resort

Sandra K Fernbach, MD is Professor of Radiology at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare in Illinois.