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
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1) #womeninmedicine A Thread: Yesterday I wore this green suit to open up the #BE22 Women Physicians CME Conference. I felt powerful in it, I felt confident in it, & I paired it with some new @kikipriceshoes alternative energy heels. I LOVE a brightly colored suit😍 👇
2) A women not attending the #BE22 conf stopped me on my way back to my room She told me she ❤️the suit; but she could never pull it off. She asked me where I wore it, & I told her I wore it to open up the conference this morning. She said "oh my gosh, I could NEVER do that!"👇🏻
3) Here is my response: "I organize this conf. #BE22 is full of amazing 👩🏻⚕️, all here bc they are exhausted & work in systems that in general do not support women. They are here bc they do not hear messages that say they can be exactly who they are, & can show up as women."👇🏻
1/Medicine is challenging right now. IMO morale has never been lower.
I don’t have all the answers. But I’m sharing what I’ve been doing lately. I’ve had to do ⬇️ so when I get home, I am still able to be a function & not project my stress on my family.
Maybe it will help you.
2/Focus on the Basics. Ie, why you went into medicine.
For me=anesthesia🫀🫁. I can do anesthesia well. I can’t do anesthesia well +also read emails about work force issues or other things that I can’t control that make me have anxiety or anger. As a leader, it’s hard, But Rx.
3/Ignore yesterday. Aka be in the moment.
If I focus on what frustrated me yesterday, I end up projecting anger on the team I’m with today. So hard.I’m forgetting what I can’t control & treating today as NEW. It’s how I’m coping (Pysch docs it may be no bueno but it’s working😂)
Interns! Welcome to the most beloved, heart-stirring , gut-wrenching, beautiful, mind-blowing club on earth: medicine.
I’m so glad you’re here🙋🏼♀️
A few words of wisdom & encouragement as you begin the journey of healing...yourself & others:
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1️⃣No one expects you to know everything. Everyone expects you to show up. Showing up is the most important thing 🙌🏽
2️⃣Approach each day w a growth mindset; if you failed yesterday, it’s ok! That’s data collection right there. We ALL fail. All of us.
3️⃣When in a crisis, be a helper. Help first. Ask later.
4️⃣Grief is the partner of empathy. It’s ok to grieve. It’s not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of your humanity. Nurture it. Share it w others. It will make you resilient.
Medicine: I am concerned. I coach/speak/lead tens of thousands of women physicians.
In the last 3 yrs, I am seeing so many leaders, experts, talented clinicians,& innovators leave medicine.
After decades of training - they leave.
What is most shocking: they tried to stay.👇
2)I know men leave medicine, too. Truth: I know more women who have left.
They are not leaving medicine bc they don't want to work hard.
I repeat: Not one of these women have left medicine bc they are not hard workers.
Many have left because they do not feel valued.👇
3)Women physicians leave medicine bc they are discounted. Because they are undervalued. Because they have an idea, to HELP medicine, & they are ignored. Because they are innovators, or creatives, & their ideas "do not fit".
These are a few of the questions I am often asked by junior physicians, or even peer physicians. I thought I’d share with you some the top 10 pearls I share with others, as we focus on many of these in the Brave Enough Master Class. #tweetorial#medicalstudents#medicalschool