Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Social media: The ultimate tool for women in medicine

Meridith J. Englander, MD
Social media
December 12, 2017
Share
Tweet
Share

There is a movement afoot. I can feel it. I can see it. Women in medicine are no longer going to tolerate the subtle and not so subtle discrimination that has stymied their career growth. They are not going to be complacent while their male colleagues are paid higher salaries, offered speaking engagements and research opportunities and promoted at a greater rate. Women in medicine are pulling together in an incredibly organic way — fostered by social media. Their goal is to help each other achieve their professional goals.

It has been two years since Heather Logghe, a surgical intern first tweeted #Ilooklikeasurgeon. Since that time, this hashtag has received over 2.8 million impressions on Twitter. Women surgeons around the world have been encouraged to post pictures of themselves at work. Women now use it to identify their tweets and build a community.

Last spring, the cover of the New Yorker magazine spurred another social media phenomenon. The #NYerORcoverchallenge was started by surgeon Susan Pitt, also encouraged women surgeons to recreate the now iconic image that challenged the archetypical surgeon. Women continue to post their pictures, and they are retweeted and liked by others, again from around the world.

There have been numerous other hashtags that are creating a community of women in medicine. Other specialties have their own version, including #Ilooklikeapathologist, #Ilooklikearadiologist, and #Ilooklikeananesthesiologist. Radiologists started using #radXX to identify their tweets. Using these hashtags and others allows women physicians to connect with others with a shared interest.

There are groups on Facebook as well. PhysicianMomsGroup has 65,000 members worldwide, with offshoot groups for women with specific interests in research, writing, and entrepreneurship among others. There is a RadiologyChicks group for female radiologists. Medical schools, hospital systems, and state medical societies also sponsor Facebook pages for women members. These forums often serve as a site to seek clinical advice, post job offers and ask research questions, but they also act a casual location to network with other women physicians.

Women are educating themselves about career development — a key step towards achieving gender equity in medicine. Women are mentoring each other and providing accessible role models. When the Association of Women’s Surgeons was founded in 1981 by Dr. Patricia Numann, only 12 women attended the first meeting. Since then, women have made huge strides in increasing their representation and leadership in all surgical organizations. Annual meetings, newsletters and sponsored speakers provide members with tools and resources to achieve more in their career.

Women in medicine groups are forming in the medical specialties and women are joining. Many are organized as offshoots of parent societies. Independent groups in emergency medicine and anesthesia have also formed. A common theme for these groups is a commitment to helping women achieve their best. In addition to helping with skills such as negotiating, office politics and self-promotion, these groups also provide women with access to others who can share their experiences and offer guidance about sensitive topics such as how to handle sexual harassment and discrimination, pregnancy and parental leave issues. Speakers’ bureaus allow women to identify themselves as experts.

Women’s groups take many shapes. Many sponsor events at their specialty’s annual meeting. Some groups offer freestanding meetings with all women panels and speakers. In addition to the educational component, these meetings are a powerful networking opportunity. Women attending these meetings leave feeling empowered and connected to their specialty and other women in their field.

Women are advocating for themselves. With the help of their women members, surgery, OB/GYN, and interventional radiology specialty societies have recently adopted parental leave policies, and one is in the works for anesthesia. Women are drawing attention to disparities in promotion and participation in the specialties. Women are asking for pay transparency. Dr. Julie Silver recently published an article highlighting the lack of women awardees for significant medical society honors in physiatry.

Women cannot create an inclusive workplace alone. Men also have to advocate for their female colleagues and partners. Department and practice leaders need to stop assuming that women do not want to be leaders or that they are not interested in research. Meeting organizers need to be mindful that their panels should reflect who is in the audience. #HeforShe is social media tool to identify male allies in medicine. Together, men and women can create the workplace that offers every physician the opportunity to achieve their best.

There is a movement underway, and it has been growing for a long time. With the power of social media, women are collaborating and using their combined energy to create an empowering community to fight the status quo. Despite the increased pace, change will not happen overnight. But it is happening, spurred on by hashtags, retweets, and replies.

Meridith J. Englander is a radiologist.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

ADVERTISEMENT

Prev

Doctors should start watching more science fiction. Here’s why.

December 12, 2017 Kevin 2
…
Next

Physicians: Understand the the cash flow quadrant

December 13, 2017 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Public Health & Policy, Radiology, Twitter

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Doctors should start watching more science fiction. Here’s why.
Next Post >
Physicians: Understand the the cash flow quadrant

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

  • How social media can advance humanism in medicine

    Pooja Lakshmin, MD
  • Why social media may be causing real emotional harm

    Edwin Leap, MD
  • A physician’s addiction to social media

    Amanda Xi, MD
  • Are negative news cycles and social media injurious to our health?

    Rabia Jalal, MD
  • How I used social media to get promoted to professor

    David R. Stukus, MD
  • How social media leads to a loss of creativity

    Edwin Leap, MD

More in Social media

  • First impressions happen online—not in your exam room

    Sara Meyer
  • What teenagers on TikTok are saying about skin care—and why that’s a problem

    Khushali Jhaveri, MD
  • How social media and telemedicine are transforming patient care

    Jalene Jacob, MD, MBA
  • How DrKoop.com rose and fell: the untold story behind the Surgeon General’s startup

    Nigel Cameron, PhD
  • How I escaped the toxic grip of social media

    Dr. Damane Zehra
  • Why doctors must fight health misinformation on social media

    Olapeju Simoyan, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • When language barriers become a medical emergency

      Monzur Morshed, MD and Kaysan Morshed | Physician
    • A doctor’s letter from a federal prison

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Physician
    • The dangerous racial bias in dermatology AI

      Alex Siauw | Tech
    • A surgeon’s view on RVUs and moral injury

      Rene Loyola, MD | Physician
    • A sibling’s guide to surviving medical school

      Chuka Onuh and Ogechukwu Onuh, MD | Education
    • Are SGLT2 inhibitors safe for type 1 diabetes?

      Zehra Haider, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Rethinking the JUPITER trial and statin safety

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • How one physician redesigned her practice to find joy in primary care again [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • I passed my medical boards at 63. And no, I was not having a midlife crisis.

      Rajeev Khanna, MD | Physician
    • When language barriers become a medical emergency

      Monzur Morshed, MD and Kaysan Morshed | Physician
    • The measure of a doctor, the misery of a patient

      Anonymous | Physician
    • A doctor’s struggle with burnout and boundaries

      Humeira Badsha, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Are SGLT2 inhibitors safe for type 1 diabetes?

      Zehra Haider, MD | Conditions
    • ChatGPT in medicine: risks, benefits, and safer documentation strategies [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • My experiences as an Air Force pediatrician

      Ronald L. Lindsay, MD | Physician
    • Re-examining the lipid hypothesis and statin use

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • How the internship shortage harms Black students

      Jonathan Lassiter, PhD | Conditions
    • How diverse nations tackle health care equity

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 4 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • When language barriers become a medical emergency

      Monzur Morshed, MD and Kaysan Morshed | Physician
    • A doctor’s letter from a federal prison

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Physician
    • The dangerous racial bias in dermatology AI

      Alex Siauw | Tech
    • A surgeon’s view on RVUs and moral injury

      Rene Loyola, MD | Physician
    • A sibling’s guide to surviving medical school

      Chuka Onuh and Ogechukwu Onuh, MD | Education
    • Are SGLT2 inhibitors safe for type 1 diabetes?

      Zehra Haider, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Rethinking the JUPITER trial and statin safety

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • How one physician redesigned her practice to find joy in primary care again [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • I passed my medical boards at 63. And no, I was not having a midlife crisis.

      Rajeev Khanna, MD | Physician
    • When language barriers become a medical emergency

      Monzur Morshed, MD and Kaysan Morshed | Physician
    • The measure of a doctor, the misery of a patient

      Anonymous | Physician
    • A doctor’s struggle with burnout and boundaries

      Humeira Badsha, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Are SGLT2 inhibitors safe for type 1 diabetes?

      Zehra Haider, MD | Conditions
    • ChatGPT in medicine: risks, benefits, and safer documentation strategies [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • My experiences as an Air Force pediatrician

      Ronald L. Lindsay, MD | Physician
    • Re-examining the lipid hypothesis and statin use

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • How the internship shortage harms Black students

      Jonathan Lassiter, PhD | Conditions
    • How diverse nations tackle health care equity

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Social media: The ultimate tool for women in medicine
4 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...