Thread by @RUBraveEnough

Every year at the #BE22 Women’s Physicians CME conference I say I’m going to post a 🧵 where I try and explain the magic of how it’s SO special & changes #WomenInMedicine lives, & every year I’m having too much fun to ✋🏼 so I don’t BUT HERE I TRY:

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These 👩🏻‍⚕️stopped me last pm & told me they went 🛍 & bought that bag they’ve always wanted, those shoes they’ve always wanted bc “Sasha would say, YOU HAVE WORKED SO HARD for this, don’t wait, treat yourself & then don’t keep it in your closet, USE IT!” #BE22 empowers.

Women physicians who have never met one another until the #BE22 conference stop to tell me how they find their people here. They move from isolation in medicine to deep connections, accountability, kindness & normalizing experiences that we go through as women👩🏽‍⚕️👩🏼‍⚕️

Women physicians @ #BE22 take part in activities that remind them they are a whole person. Their health matters. Their 🧠 health matters. Moving their body shouldn’t be a luxury & isn’t selfish. They body scan. They relax. They recharge. They give themselves permission to BE.

Women physicians that attend #BE22 conf get to hear from speakers who are in the battlefield w them. They learn practical tactics in creative deliveries from speakers who are talking “directly to me” - I hear over, & over, & over. There are tears. There is laughter. Change.

Women physicians “bundle friendship” w CME🤗 at #BE22 which has been proven to protect against loneliness, depression, leaving the field of medicine they are so desperately needed in. They meet up w their med school buddies & bring work colleagues & they REMAIN IN MEDICINE

So others can criticize us, or downplay these gatherings as less important to medicine, but I see the proof & value every year in ONE weekend that keeps me motivated, inspired, encouraged & resolved to keep doing this work year, after year, after year. We matter. #BE22