For nearly 150 years, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has helped organize and standardize medical education in this country. That longevity gives them a unique vantage point to track and report on trends. One trend they have been watching is the growing number of women becoming physicians. Just 6 years ago the number of women entering medical school in the US surpassed the number of men for the first time. The number of first-year medical students who are women has since risen to 55%. Nationally, the number of practicing women physicians still stands at about 38%, but the trend the AAMC reports on is clear. We can even see this reflected in subspecialty ratios. From 2004 to 2022, the AAMC reports a rise from 30 to 40 percent of women choosing to specialize in internal medicine. Gastroenterology over that same period found a jump from 9 percent to 21 percent. Cardiology had a slightly smaller jump, also from 9 percent, but to 16 percent.
How closely does Internal Medicine at Iowa track against this number? Currently, in our department about 35 percent of our faculty are women, so we are just a couple points behind the national average. Studies have shown that teams made up of people with unique and wide-ranging experiences and perspectives are critical in producing better outcomes in complex decision-making situations. We are fortunate to be at an institution that has always valued what women bring to medicine. Iowa has plenty of examples in its past and present that they can be proud of. Going all the way back to 1870, eight of the college’s first 37 medical students were women. Today, both in our department and throughout the college, women fill many leadership roles, from fellowship program directorships up through division and department leadership roles and even into UI Health Care’s highest offices.
Photo for reflection
In the pride, the female lion wears many hats. She is the mother of the cubs, nurturing and teaching the valuable lessons that will ensure the pride’s future. But she is also a hunter, using her strength, speed, and craft to acquire necessary resources. What I like about this photo is the community of lions in conference here. The younger one on the left keeps their eyes on the photographer, while the others seem to be offering their advice. We all have our roles to play, depending on any given moment. No matter how far along we are in our careers, sometimes we are the mentor, sometimes the trainee.
Upi’s “OH, WOW” moments
A productive and supportive community can be seen here in our department. When I say that Iowa and our department in particular seem to be a rich environment for women to grow and excel, it is easy to point to a number of recent examples. On the research side, a recent grant win by Dr. Renata Pereira evidences her successes in diabetes research, particularly in uncovering the links between metabolic health and cardiovascular protection. Her work was advanced by another innovative researcher, Dr. Jennifer Streeter, who has built an important connection between donated hearts and researchers with specific needs. Their discoveries will reach translational phases more quickly because of Dr. Streeter’s team’s ability to break down silos.
In education, Dr. Katie Harris and Dr. Katie White have been documenting the stories of Iowa women physician leaders from the past and present in their delightful podcast Heroic Herstories. While they build a community among Iowans and beyond, I was also impressed to see Dr. Colleen Campbell’s leadership in organizing the American Society of Human Genetics Conference, the largest meeting of genetic counselors in the world.
And in patient care, a huge congratulations to Dr. Julia Klesney-Tait and her colleagues in the UI Health Care’s lung transplant program and their remarkable ranking for one-year survival rates. That ranking reflects the team’s continuous search for improvement and their refusal to rest on “good enough.” I encourage you to read that story all the way to the bottom and see the comments from patients with all the praise in the world for their stellar work. Heartwarming.
Finally
Our department’s success relies on each of us bringing our individual best to our collective efforts. What we excel at here is never just the success of one person, and I want to make sure and recognize that the achievements of these women named above are not theirs alone, just as they would. For example, Dr. Klesney-Tait acknowledges a strong partnership with Cardiothoracic Surgery’s Dr. Kal Parekh, since the very first day of the program they have built together. Dr. Streeter’s and Dr. Campbell’s growth as leaders is supported in part by their division director Dr. Barry London. Dr. Pereira has been a member of the multidisciplinary Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center for years, where mentoring is embedded in the culture. So a special shout-out to all the effective partners and supportive mentors who help identify and mitigate roadblocks for faculty, whatever form they take. That spirit of collaboration defines Iowa’s culture, and it’s what makes UI Health Care such a great place to work, learn, serve, and lead. Thank you for gestures both large and small that embody the Iowa tradition that has been here since at least 1870.
