On February 9-10, 2018, UAB’s Chapter of the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) hosted the first ever Region 5 AMWA conference. Region 5 includes Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and the Caribbean, and students, residents, fellows and faculty from schools in all of these areas were invited to attend.
Beginning with a reception at The Wine Loft on the evening of February 9, the conference gave attendees the opportunity to network, share research, and examine germane issues related to personal and professional development.
The formal conference events were held on February 10, at The Edge of Chaos at Lister Hill Library. Nearly 100 faculty, trainees, and students registered for the conference.
A poster session beginning at 8:00 am gave attendees the opportunity to showcase current research endeavors. Following the poster session, the women and men in attendance were welcomed by Mona Fouad, M.D., MPH, Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, and by Lauren Walter, M.D., UAB AMWA Chapter President and Region 5 Faculty Director and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine. Yvonne Chodaba, a 4th year Medical Student and Region 5 Student Director also offered words of welcome.
The Plenary session featured Norma B. Ojeda, M.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, who spoke on the importance of mentoring women in academia. “Our personal and professional lives are so intertwined as women,” she explained, “that we have to take care of both. So when you choose a mentor, try to choose a mentor who will help you from both sides.” The golden rule, she stated, was that you had to be able to trust your mentor.
Dr. Ojeda was followed by Stephen A. Yoder, JD, Assistant Professor and Executive in Residence at the UAB Collat School of Business. He offered insights into negotiation skills for women in medicine. His speech offered insights into the nature of power, and the differences in style and approach that each person brings to the table in a negotiation. Striving to find an arrangement which is in the best interests of all parties involved is crucial to an effective negotiation, he stated.
Ginger Holt, M.D., and Elaine Purdy, M.Ed., MBA, DHA, then discussed quality of work life and work life balance for women physicians, based on extensive surveys and both quantitative and qualitative research. Work-life balance, quality of work, and work satisfaction are essential, they noted, to rates of attrition, productivity, and well-being at work.
The keynote address was offered by Cheri Canon, M.D., FACR, who spoke on women in leadership. She spoke about how both successes and failures could prove essential to personal and professional development. “I remember seeing women leaders,” she commented, “and noticing how put together they looked, how they seemed like they were on top of everything. But let me tell you this – none of that is true. With years of experience, what you get is perspective. You learn not to get overly rattled by things that would have bothered you a decade before.”
Attendees were given the opportunity to attend breakout sessions on numerous topics, including unconscious bias, mindfulness, and mitigating fatigue and burnout.
“The Region 5 conference gave all of us a unique and wonderful opportunity to network, come together across unique and shared experiences, and learn from one another,” says Lauren Walter, M.D., the UAB Chapter President. “The intention was not only to make valuable memories, and to gain meaningful insights, but also to cultivate relationships that will grow and deepen over the years to come.”