Margaret Szabunio, MD, FACR
2017 AAWR President
Professor, Department of Radiology, Surgery & Biomedical Engineering
Division Chief, Women's Radiology
Associate Medical Director, Comprehensive Breast Care Center
Program Director, Women's Radiology Fellowship
University of Kentucky
Hello, my fellow AAWR members!
The AAWR is undergoing a revitalization of the organization, including updating the content and appearance of the website as well as relaunching a robust social media campaign. The newly formed Communications Committee is co-chaired by Dr. Kristin Porter and Dr. Amy Patel. This Committee is comprised of 4 subcommittees: Newsletter, Meeting, Social Media, and Website, with each subcommittee having designated co-chairs and members.
It is exciting to see so many members of AAWR, including young women radiologists, trainees, and even medical students, working hard and with great enthusiasm to make significant contributions and improvements to our organization.
Join us on Social Media
Follow us on Twitter (@AAWR) and Facebook (American Association for Women Radiologists) to keep up-to-date and apprised of future events and to access articles and information of interest and use to Women in Radiology. The same will be occurring on the website as we also hope to showcase Women in Radiology at all levels of training soon. Stay Tuned!
As part of our effort to expand our social media presence and use Twitter as a vehicle for communication and dialog, the "#RadWomen: Chatting about Women in Radiology and the Challenges They Face" tweet chat took place on March 8, 2017, in observance of International Women’s Day (#BeBoldForChange). Held in collaboration with The Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) and The American Association for Women Radiologists (AAWR), the tweet chat was designed to celebrate the contributions of women in radiology, highlight the disparities and challenges in the field, offer solutions for addressing those challenges and discuss ideas to bring more women into the field.
Four main questions were posed by Dr. Elizabeth Morris, outgoing president of SBI with guest speakers Dr. Geraldine McGinty, Dr. Etta Pisano, Dr. Shadi Shakeri, Dr. Vivian Lee, and Dr. Amy Patel providing answers. A robust, one-hour discussion took place, which was a great success.
I would especially like to thank Dr. Patel for participating and representing the AAWR so well in this discussion. Thank you, Amy, for giving more visibility to AAWR.
Be sure to check out Dr. Patel’s article in this newsletter on the twitter chat.
Speed Mentoring is Back!
Finally, the previously successful AAWR Speed Mentoring Sessions at various meetings such as ACR and RSNA will be a part of the main programming for ACR 2017 and be an all-inclusive event of both females and males in collaboration with ACR Young Physician and Early Career Section and The Radiology Leadership Institute. Mark your calendars for this Speed Mentoring event, to be held at ACR 2017 on Tuesday, May 23rd at 12 PM EST. For more information: https://ww2.aievolutio.com/acr1701/index.cfm?do=ev.viewEv&ev=1407
Events
When planning your ACR 2017 meeting attendance, be sure to add the following AAWR events to your calendar. I hope to see you there!
SUNDAY, MAY 21, 2017
10:00 am – 11:30 am Women’s Caucus, Chaired by Dr. Barbara Pawley
MONDAY, May 22, 2017
7:00 am – 8:00 am AAWR Muffins & Coffee featuring: Geraldine McGinty, MD, FACR, MBA “Choosing Wisely: Mentors, Sponsors, and Your Kitchen Cabinet"
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm AAWR session at ACR 2017 “Tips They Didn’t Teach You in Residency” Susan J. Ackerman, MD, Julia R. Fielding, MD, Maria D. Kelly, MD, FACR
TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2017
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm Speed Mentoring
Learn More
Have a wonderful summer!
I am thrilled about the publication of this issue of the Focus newsletter, as it contains contributions from several of the new members of the AAWR Communications Committee. We are trying to increase the reach of AAWR and involve more members, so these contributions are particularly exciting, as they highlight the many ways that members are becoming more involved.
Highlights from the current newsletter include: a report on the recent #RadWomen Tweet Chat that took place on March 8, 2017 by Dr. Amy Patel; a synopsis of upcoming AAWR events taking place at the ACR Crossroads meeting beginning May 21, 2017 by Dr. Michelle Dorsey; and, a personal account of the value of AAWR from a soon-to-be radiology resident by Dr. Yasha Parikh. The Committee has also chosen to highlight AAWR Vice President, Elizabeth Kagan Arleo’s recent article in JACR regarding the paucity of lactation facilities in US Radiology practices.
The energy of our more junior in training and practice members is palpable. I truly have enjoyed watching them contribute this quarter and look forward to working with them to disseminate information to our members.
Many thanks to those who have contributed and please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to participate as well.
Respectfully,
Kristin Kelly Porter, MD, PhD
AAWR Secretary
The Value of AAWR
Yasha Parikh
For my entire life, I have been surrounded by strong, working women. I was raised by a working, physician mother who always emphasized the importance of a career in my life, and this influenced me to become a physician myself and even potentially pursue a field relating to women’s health. Even further, I knew that I wanted to incorporate advocacy for women in the workplace into my work, so when my mentor told me about the AAWR, I knew I wanted to join.
During RSNA, I was lucky enough to attend the Speed Mentoring session, and listening to the successful women surrounding me was inspiring, and I felt their advice was useful for me even as someone just entering residency. It gave me deeper insight into what challenges I may face entering my radiology career and how to tackle them. This, however, was just one small part of the impact the AAWR has had in my life so far.
The biggest impact of the AAWR in my few short months as a member came during my residency interviews. Because I had come away from the Speed Mentoring session with such a positive experience, it was something that naturally came up during my interviews. From where I see myself in ten years to the type of career I want to have, women’s advocacy and contributing to radiological societies were central to my answers. Program Directors and other Interviewers were equally as excited about my experience as I was, and this sparked great conversations. It showed initiative on my behalf to join a group that I am passionate about, and I believe programs noticed this.
Although I can never know why I matched successfully and what contributed both positively and negatively in my application, I can say that as an applicant, I felt that my experiences with the AAWR thus far enhanced my interview experience. With that, I will say thank you so much to my mentors for introducing me to the AAWR and I hope we can continue adding value for many people at all different stages of their respective radiology careers.
AAWR at the Crossroads of Radiology
Michelle Dorsey, MD
The ACR 2017 annual meeting, Power Up at The Crossroads of Radiology, will be offering many educational and networking opportunities for women radiologists in all stages of their careers. The meeting is focused on the following pathways: Advocacy, Economics & Health Policy; Clinical Education; Clinical Research; Governance; Resident & Fellow Section; Leadership; Quality and Safety; Informatics & Innovations; Young & Early Career Physician Section; and Medical Students.
The AAWR is sponsoring a number of informational events at the meeting. On Sunday, May 21st, the Women’s Caucus will be taking place from 10:00 am – 11:30 am at Marriott Wardman Park: Harding. Dr Geraldine McGinty, MD, FACR, MBA will be featured during a Muffins and Coffee event on Monday, May 22nd from 7:00 am – 8:00 am at Marriott Wardman Park: Washington 2. The topic will be “Choosing Wisely: Mentors, Sponsors, and Your Kitchen Cabinet," and advanced registration is required.
The AAWR session, “Tips They Didn’t Teach You in Residency,” featuring Susan J. Ackerman, MD, Julia R. Fielding, MD, and Maria D. Kelly, MD, FACR will also be taking place on Monday from 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm. Finally, on Tuesday May 23rd from 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm a Speed Mentoring session is planned. Using the successful model employed by the AAWR, the collective members of the ACR Young and Early Career Physician Section (YPS) and the AAWR organized a larger scale mentoring session targeted toward all members of the ACR YPS, ACR Resident and Fellow Section and AAWR members-in-training (MIT), with the support of the Radiology Leadership Institute (RLI). Both men and women are invited to attend.
The AAWR Communications Committee will have members in attendance at all these events in order to report back on activities in the next issue of the Newsletter. In the meantime, we hope to see you at one of these interesting events!
Join AAWR at our upcoming events at ACR 2017!
Sunday, May 21, 2017
10:00 am – 11:30 am Women’s Caucus
RSVP and sign up for notifications
Monday, May 22, 2017
7:00 am – 8:00 am AAWR Muffins & Coffee with Geraldine McGinty, MD, FACR, MBA
“Choosing Wisely: Mentors, Sponsors, and Your Kitchen Cabinet"
Register for Muffins & Coffee
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm AAWR session at ACR 2017
“Tips They Didn’t Teach You in Residency”
Featuring: Susan J. Ackerman, MD
Julia R. Fielding, MD
Maria D. Kelly, MD, FACR
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm: Speed Mentoring
Using the successful model employed by the (AAWR), the collective members of the ACR Young Physicians Section (YPS) and the AAWR organized a larger scale mentoring session targeted toward all members of the ACR YPS, ACR and AAWR members-in-training (MIT) with the support of the Radiology Leadership Institute (RLI).
Learn More
Save The Date
SPR: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - Tuesday, May 16th from 7:00-7:45am
AAWR Breakfast Session
RSNA: November 26 - December 1, 2017
AAWR: Celebration Dinner: November 26, 2017
More information about AAWR events at RSNA to follow
Lactation Facilities in US Radiology Practices
Elizabeth Kagan Arleo, MDa, Jay R. Parikh, MDb, Darcy Wolfman, MDc, Edward Bluth, MDd
Abstract
Purpose: Despite federal and state laws mandating lactation facilities for eligible employers, no reliable data exist regarding the
availability of lactation facilities in the radiology workforce. To fill this void, the ACR Commission on Human Resources added new
questions to its annual electronic survey to better understand this aspect of the workforce situation for radiologists.
Methods: As done annually, the Practice of Radiology Environment Database was utilized to identify leaders of radiology practices, who were asked to complete an electronic survey developed by the ACR Commission on Human Resources. Among other questions, leaders were asked, “Does your radiology or radiation oncology practice have a dedicated lactation facility?”
Results: Overall, 579 of 1,815 (32%) practice group leaders responded to the survey. Of 579, 394 responded to lactation question. Of 394, 51 (13%) reported affirmatively that they do have dedicated lactation facilities, and 343 of 394 (87%) responded that they do not have dedicated lactation facilities.
Conclusion: The vast majority of radiology and radiation oncology practices in the United States do not have dedicated lactation facilities; given the numerous benefits to breastfeeding mothers and babies, this impacts not only women but also men given that they too would like to have healthy colleagues with minimal absenteeism.
See Full Article from Journal of the American College of Radiology
Want to praise a fellow AAWR member? Have an announcement to share? Send your " Kudos" to info@aawr.org, with the subject line " Kudos"
The AAWR is pleased to welcome its newest members that joined the Association between Feb 8 - May 15, 2017
Isabelle Boileau
Dani Castioni, MS2
Yun Chen
Michelle Cho, BS
Eve Clark MD
Susan Danahy, MD
LA DE, MD, PHD
Lauren Delgado, DO
Edwarda DeSouza
Jordan Dixon, MD
Kaitlin Ford
Kavita Garg, MD
Stephanie Hanhan, MD
Elizabeth Hecht, MD
Tamara Koritarov, M.S.
Anna Laucis, M.D.
Jasmine Locklin, MD
Grace Ma
Elise Maggioncalda
Anjali Malik, MD
Courtney Masse, MD
Rachel McEachern, MD
Ruby Meierotto, MD
Shari-Lynn Odzer, MD
Holland Ravelle, MD
Jessica Record, MD
Katherine Sterner, MD
Gloria Torres-Cordero
Brianna Vey
Audrey Wallace, MD
Rona Woldenberg M.D.
Tina Zhang, MD
Chief Editor
Dr. Kristin Porter
Spring Editor
Dr. Yasha Parikh
Administrative Editor
Stephanie Huppert