B.J. Manaster, MD, PhD – 1996 President of AAWR

Mom, educator, seamstress

For me, it seemed as though the AAWR was always there. I may have been one of the first woman radiologists in this group to have arrived on the scene when the “bad old days” of job discrimination seemed behind us. While we all still experienced the occasional misogynist (or misguided) statements (“what will we do when you go and get pregnant?”), jobs were plentiful and salaries usually not discriminatory. Promotion was fully expected on the basis of productivity and academic time was provided.

We women started to contemplate not only working with the men, but actually running the show. This is where the AAWR helped me tremendously. Networking led to advice from various wise women, and new recommendations for “must reads”. Pat Heim’s wonderful book Hardball for Women became our bible, and we started deliberately taking up space, sitting at the head of the table and expecting to be heard. This is something no one of us could have done alone, but look at the results! Radiology has grown and prospered, in no small measure because of the women contributing their ideas and energy to the field. Most of those leaders are right here with us in this great organization, and I thank my colleagues for their wisdom and encouragement.

If you could go back and speak to your younger self, what piece of wisdom would you share?

This is probably quite standard; I finally realized that while I may have the “right” answers, particularly in an administrative realm, that is less than half the battle. While it is great to bring fresh perspectives, quantitative analysis, and creativity to the table, it is even more important to find a way to bring colleagues to consensus and active support of an idea. These two aspects of management have been suggested as “male” and “female” traits respectively. While I was very good at the male portion, I needed help with the female (consensus) portion. I think I’ve become more even-handed and less polarizing with age and maturity, but it would have made my life and work easier to discover it earlier!

What do you like most about your current life/career?

I have moved back into a primarily educator role. Lecturing, and organizing books and web products about my subspecialty, is what I do best. I now have the time to do this well, which is exceedingly pleasing to me.

B.J. Manaster with husband	“Hanging out with my family in the great outdoors:  the most important thing I can ever do."

BJ Manaster, MD, PhD is Professor and Vice Chairman in the Department of Radiology
at the University of Colorado Denver & Health Sciences Center