AGA’s 2017 Women’s Leadership Conference: Developing Skills in Advocacy and Personal Branding

 

The 2017 AGA Women’s Leadership Conference brought together 38 women from across the United States and Mexico for an inspiring and productive meeting. The group included 21 early-career and 17 experienced track women in GI. Among the attendees were 3 PhDs, 9 private practitioners, 1 pediatric gastroenterologist, and 25 academic gastroenterologists. We were particularly fortunate to benefit from the strong representation of AGA leadership, including Marcia Cruz-Correa, MD, PhD, AGAF (At-Large Councillor) and Deborah Proctor, MD, AGAF (Education and Training Councillor), as well as Ellen Zimmermann, MD, AGAF (Chair of the Women’s Committee) and Sheila Crowe, MD, AGAF (President, AGA Institute Governing Board).

Susan Reynolds, MD, PhD (President and CEO of The Institute for Medical Leadership) led the meeting in her characteristically dynamic and open style. Dr. Reynolds presented content that highlighted key success factors for women physicians and scientists including the ability to build trust, encourage teamwork, and inspire vision.

The program included lively problem-solving sessions and a passionate discussion about negotiating skills. The latter topic was of particular interest given data indicating that pay inequity still exists. The group engaged in animated conversation about advocating for fair pay in academics and private practice.

The early-career track women gathered with Dr. Proctor to share stories of their own mentorship. From this discussion, it emerged that excellent mentorship is critical for successful career development. Women shared examples of how strong mentors can guide us to opportunities, offer important career advice, and provide encouragement. Mentors can provide specific feedback on clinical skills as well as managing relationships with challenging patients and colleagues. Research mentors help guide research projects, identify funding opportunities, and develop grants. Moreover, they can play pivotal roles in finding job opportunities and encouraging a greater work-life balance. Connecting with a mentor, or a group of mentors for different aspects of one’s life and career, can be challenging: Creating space for mentorship through local gatherings with other gastroenterologists or researchers is a key part of success. Women were encouraged to reach out to others to deepen those supportive relationships after returning home.

In addition to strong mentorship, the early-career group discussed the importance of discerning one’s own individual passions. Identifying professional and personal ambitions can allow us to focus our energy and activities. We were encouraged to write down one personal and one professional goal on an annual basis. These goals can offer clarity for a range of decisions such as when to accept new responsibilities and how to structure activities and manage time at work and at home.

The more experienced women GIs participated in a classroom style discussion led by Dr. Reynolds. The topic, “Keys to Association and Career Advancement: Reinvigorating Your Career,” effectively conveyed the concept of leading through shared anecdotal experiences and related strategies. Dr. Reynolds also addressed skills for working with mentees of different generations including open communication and the importance of engagement.

The AGA leaders in attendance shared inspiring stories of their own paths to leadership. These paths were not linear and it was reassuring to discover common themes of finding and developing personal strengths, identifying passions, and building areas of expertise. We learned, how once identified, strengths and passions can be connected to areas of need within a home institution or an organization such as the AGA. Dr. Zimmermann offered moving commentary about her own journey as a clinician, scientist, and mother. She encouraged those in attendance with small children to take the time to be present at home, knowing that there will be opportunities to assume leadership roles in the future. Of course, for others, the time to assume leadership roles may be now, and the Women’s Leadership Conference offered the chance to network and forge new connections within the AGA.

Two important and timely topics were added to this year’s leadership conference. First, the subject of advocacy was presented by Dr. Latha Alaparthi. In this presentation, Dr. Alaparthi explained to the group the meaning of advocacy in general, types of advocacy groups, political action committees, and ways in which we can become involved. Examples of laws affecting our patients, clinics, endoscopy centers, hospitals, medication coverage, payments, and funding for research were shared. Then, Dr. Proctor shared her personal experience at the 2016 AGA Advocacy Day. One conference attendee noted that while she had participated in advocacy as a student, she hadn’t understood that the AGA relies upon its members to meet with representatives at local, state, and national levels. We also learned how AGA’s Governmental Affairs Office manages financial contributions to promote advocacy for high-quality care and utilizes NIH funding to promote research in digestive diseases.

The second new topic was addressed in a powerful session on personal branding by Dr. Cruz-Correa. Personal branding involves identifying and communicating who one is to the world in a memorable way. Dr. Cruz-Correa emphasized that creating a personal brand is essential for leadership and critically important for advancing one’s career. Developing a personal brand should include crafting a statement of one to two sentences that considers both one’s values and the target audience. The statement should be memorable and punchy with an emphasis on solutions. Branding expands beyond indicating an area of interest; a personal brand should demonstrate consistent delivery of high-quality work. An example of a personal brand could be “Physician, fitness fanatic, and fearless foodie empowering patients and colleagues to lead healthy fulfilling lives.” An alternative might be: “Physician, teacher, empowering colleagues, advocating for patients, and evolving with the times.” Creating a personal brand that highlights action and solutions emphasizes a theme of the meeting: Follow-through after accepting responsibilities is critically important.

Once created, a personal brand can be disseminated through professional social media accounts. Tweets can link to websites with additional content such as a summary of a recent presentation or highlights from a published manuscript. Participants were encouraged to closely monitor their professional profiles and, if needed, work with a firm to establish an online presence. These strategies can be useful for connecting with potential patients and collaborators.

In summary, the 2017 AGA Women’s Leadership Conference provided an invigorating curriculum as well as many opportunities for establishing new networks of strong women in our field. Participants were charged with bringing some of the content back home, and we’re already receiving reports about these local events. Be sure to look for future content from the AGA at http://www.gastro.org/about/people/committees/womens-committee.

Acknowledgments: Dr. Garman and Dr. Alaparthi would like to offer heartfelt thanks to the AGA as well as to Celena NuQuay and Carol Brown for their support.
 

Dr. Garman is an assistant professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology at Duke University, Durham, N.C. Dr. Alaparthi is managing partner of Gastroenterology Center of Connecticut and assistant clinical professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine, Conn., and Frank Netter School of Medicine, Conn.

 

The 2017 AGA Women’s Leadership Conference brought together 38 women from across the United States and Mexico for an inspiring and productive meeting. The group included 21 early-career and 17 experienced track women in GI. Among the attendees were 3 PhDs, 9 private practitioners, 1 pediatric gastroenterologist, and 25 academic gastroenterologists. We were particularly fortunate to benefit from the strong representation of AGA leadership, including Marcia Cruz-Correa, MD, PhD, AGAF (At-Large Councillor) and Deborah Proctor, MD, AGAF (Education and Training Councillor), as well as Ellen Zimmermann, MD, AGAF (Chair of the Women’s Committee) and Sheila Crowe, MD, AGAF (President, AGA Institute Governing Board).

Susan Reynolds, MD, PhD (President and CEO of The Institute for Medical Leadership) led the meeting in her characteristically dynamic and open style. Dr. Reynolds presented content that highlighted key success factors for women physicians and scientists including the ability to build trust, encourage teamwork, and inspire vision.

The program included lively problem-solving sessions and a passionate discussion about negotiating skills. The latter topic was of particular interest given data indicating that pay inequity still exists. The group engaged in animated conversation about advocating for fair pay in academics and private practice.

The early-career track women gathered with Dr. Proctor to share stories of their own mentorship. From this discussion, it emerged that excellent mentorship is critical for successful career development. Women shared examples of how strong mentors can guide us to opportunities, offer important career advice, and provide encouragement. Mentors can provide specific feedback on clinical skills as well as managing relationships with challenging patients and colleagues. Research mentors help guide research projects, identify funding opportunities, and develop grants. Moreover, they can play pivotal roles in finding job opportunities and encouraging a greater work-life balance. Connecting with a mentor, or a group of mentors for different aspects of one’s life and career, can be challenging: Creating space for mentorship through local gatherings with other gastroenterologists or researchers is a key part of success. Women were encouraged to reach out to others to deepen those supportive relationships after returning home.

In addition to strong mentorship, the early-career group discussed the importance of discerning one’s own individual passions. Identifying professional and personal ambitions can allow us to focus our energy and activities. We were encouraged to write down one personal and one professional goal on an annual basis. These goals can offer clarity for a range of decisions such as when to accept new responsibilities and how to structure activities and manage time at work and at home.

The more experienced women GIs participated in a classroom style discussion led by Dr. Reynolds. The topic, “Keys to Association and Career Advancement: Reinvigorating Your Career,” effectively conveyed the concept of leading through shared anecdotal experiences and related strategies. Dr. Reynolds also addressed skills for working with mentees of different generations including open communication and the importance of engagement.

The AGA leaders in attendance shared inspiring stories of their own paths to leadership. These paths were not linear and it was reassuring to discover common themes of finding and developing personal strengths, identifying passions, and building areas of expertise. We learned, how once identified, strengths and passions can be connected to areas of need within a home institution or an organization such as the AGA. Dr. Zimmermann offered moving commentary about her own journey as a clinician, scientist, and mother. She encouraged those in attendance with small children to take the time to be present at home, knowing that there will be opportunities to assume leadership roles in the future. Of course, for others, the time to assume leadership roles may be now, and the Women’s Leadership Conference offered the chance to network and forge new connections within the AGA.

Two important and timely topics were added to this year’s leadership conference. First, the subject of advocacy was presented by Dr. Latha Alaparthi. In this presentation, Dr. Alaparthi explained to the group the meaning of advocacy in general, types of advocacy groups, political action committees, and ways in which we can become involved. Examples of laws affecting our patients, clinics, endoscopy centers, hospitals, medication coverage, payments, and funding for research were shared. Then, Dr. Proctor shared her personal experience at the 2016 AGA Advocacy Day. One conference attendee noted that while she had participated in advocacy as a student, she hadn’t understood that the AGA relies upon its members to meet with representatives at local, state, and national levels. We also learned how AGA’s Governmental Affairs Office manages financial contributions to promote advocacy for high-quality care and utilizes NIH funding to promote research in digestive diseases.

The second new topic was addressed in a powerful session on personal branding by Dr. Cruz-Correa. Personal branding involves identifying and communicating who one is to the world in a memorable way. Dr. Cruz-Correa emphasized that creating a personal brand is essential for leadership and critically important for advancing one’s career. Developing a personal brand should include crafting a statement of one to two sentences that considers both one’s values and the target audience. The statement should be memorable and punchy with an emphasis on solutions. Branding expands beyond indicating an area of interest; a personal brand should demonstrate consistent delivery of high-quality work. An example of a personal brand could be “Physician, fitness fanatic, and fearless foodie empowering patients and colleagues to lead healthy fulfilling lives.” An alternative might be: “Physician, teacher, empowering colleagues, advocating for patients, and evolving with the times.” Creating a personal brand that highlights action and solutions emphasizes a theme of the meeting: Follow-through after accepting responsibilities is critically important.

Once created, a personal brand can be disseminated through professional social media accounts. Tweets can link to websites with additional content such as a summary of a recent presentation or highlights from a published manuscript. Participants were encouraged to closely monitor their professional profiles and, if needed, work with a firm to establish an online presence. These strategies can be useful for connecting with potential patients and collaborators.

In summary, the 2017 AGA Women’s Leadership Conference provided an invigorating curriculum as well as many opportunities for establishing new networks of strong women in our field. Participants were charged with bringing some of the content back home, and we’re already receiving reports about these local events. Be sure to look for future content from the AGA at http://www.gastro.org/about/people/committees/womens-committee.

Acknowledgments: Dr. Garman and Dr. Alaparthi would like to offer heartfelt thanks to the AGA as well as to Celena NuQuay and Carol Brown for their support.
 

Dr. Garman is an assistant professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology at Duke University, Durham, N.C. Dr. Alaparthi is managing partner of Gastroenterology Center of Connecticut and assistant clinical professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine, Conn., and Frank Netter School of Medicine, Conn.

 

The 2017 AGA Women’s Leadership Conference brought together 38 women from across the United States and Mexico for an inspiring and productive meeting. The group included 21 early-career and 17 experienced track women in GI. Among the attendees were 3 PhDs, 9 private practitioners, 1 pediatric gastroenterologist, and 25 academic gastroenterologists. We were particularly fortunate to benefit from the strong representation of AGA leadership, including Marcia Cruz-Correa, MD, PhD, AGAF (At-Large Councillor) and Deborah Proctor, MD, AGAF (Education and Training Councillor), as well as Ellen Zimmermann, MD, AGAF (Chair of the Women’s Committee) and Sheila Crowe, MD, AGAF (President, AGA Institute Governing Board).

Susan Reynolds, MD, PhD (President and CEO of The Institute for Medical Leadership) led the meeting in her characteristically dynamic and open style. Dr. Reynolds presented content that highlighted key success factors for women physicians and scientists including the ability to build trust, encourage teamwork, and inspire vision.

The program included lively problem-solving sessions and a passionate discussion about negotiating skills. The latter topic was of particular interest given data indicating that pay inequity still exists. The group engaged in animated conversation about advocating for fair pay in academics and private practice.

The early-career track women gathered with Dr. Proctor to share stories of their own mentorship. From this discussion, it emerged that excellent mentorship is critical for successful career development. Women shared examples of how strong mentors can guide us to opportunities, offer important career advice, and provide encouragement. Mentors can provide specific feedback on clinical skills as well as managing relationships with challenging patients and colleagues. Research mentors help guide research projects, identify funding opportunities, and develop grants. Moreover, they can play pivotal roles in finding job opportunities and encouraging a greater work-life balance. Connecting with a mentor, or a group of mentors for different aspects of one’s life and career, can be challenging: Creating space for mentorship through local gatherings with other gastroenterologists or researchers is a key part of success. Women were encouraged to reach out to others to deepen those supportive relationships after returning home.

In addition to strong mentorship, the early-career group discussed the importance of discerning one’s own individual passions. Identifying professional and personal ambitions can allow us to focus our energy and activities. We were encouraged to write down one personal and one professional goal on an annual basis. These goals can offer clarity for a range of decisions such as when to accept new responsibilities and how to structure activities and manage time at work and at home.

The more experienced women GIs participated in a classroom style discussion led by Dr. Reynolds. The topic, “Keys to Association and Career Advancement: Reinvigorating Your Career,” effectively conveyed the concept of leading through shared anecdotal experiences and related strategies. Dr. Reynolds also addressed skills for working with mentees of different generations including open communication and the importance of engagement.

The AGA leaders in attendance shared inspiring stories of their own paths to leadership. These paths were not linear and it was reassuring to discover common themes of finding and developing personal strengths, identifying passions, and building areas of expertise. We learned, how once identified, strengths and passions can be connected to areas of need within a home institution or an organization such as the AGA. Dr. Zimmermann offered moving commentary about her own journey as a clinician, scientist, and mother. She encouraged those in attendance with small children to take the time to be present at home, knowing that there will be opportunities to assume leadership roles in the future. Of course, for others, the time to assume leadership roles may be now, and the Women’s Leadership Conference offered the chance to network and forge new connections within the AGA.

Two important and timely topics were added to this year’s leadership conference. First, the subject of advocacy was presented by Dr. Latha Alaparthi. In this presentation, Dr. Alaparthi explained to the group the meaning of advocacy in general, types of advocacy groups, political action committees, and ways in which we can become involved. Examples of laws affecting our patients, clinics, endoscopy centers, hospitals, medication coverage, payments, and funding for research were shared. Then, Dr. Proctor shared her personal experience at the 2016 AGA Advocacy Day. One conference attendee noted that while she had participated in advocacy as a student, she hadn’t understood that the AGA relies upon its members to meet with representatives at local, state, and national levels. We also learned how AGA’s Governmental Affairs Office manages financial contributions to promote advocacy for high-quality care and utilizes NIH funding to promote research in digestive diseases.

The second new topic was addressed in a powerful session on personal branding by Dr. Cruz-Correa. Personal branding involves identifying and communicating who one is to the world in a memorable way. Dr. Cruz-Correa emphasized that creating a personal brand is essential for leadership and critically important for advancing one’s career. Developing a personal brand should include crafting a statement of one to two sentences that considers both one’s values and the target audience. The statement should be memorable and punchy with an emphasis on solutions. Branding expands beyond indicating an area of interest; a personal brand should demonstrate consistent delivery of high-quality work. An example of a personal brand could be “Physician, fitness fanatic, and fearless foodie empowering patients and colleagues to lead healthy fulfilling lives.” An alternative might be: “Physician, teacher, empowering colleagues, advocating for patients, and evolving with the times.” Creating a personal brand that highlights action and solutions emphasizes a theme of the meeting: Follow-through after accepting responsibilities is critically important.

Once created, a personal brand can be disseminated through professional social media accounts. Tweets can link to websites with additional content such as a summary of a recent presentation or highlights from a published manuscript. Participants were encouraged to closely monitor their professional profiles and, if needed, work with a firm to establish an online presence. These strategies can be useful for connecting with potential patients and collaborators.

In summary, the 2017 AGA Women’s Leadership Conference provided an invigorating curriculum as well as many opportunities for establishing new networks of strong women in our field. Participants were charged with bringing some of the content back home, and we’re already receiving reports about these local events. Be sure to look for future content from the AGA at http://www.gastro.org/about/people/committees/womens-committee.

Acknowledgments: Dr. Garman and Dr. Alaparthi would like to offer heartfelt thanks to the AGA as well as to Celena NuQuay and Carol Brown for their support.
 

Dr. Garman is an assistant professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology at Duke University, Durham, N.C. Dr. Alaparthi is managing partner of Gastroenterology Center of Connecticut and assistant clinical professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine, Conn., and Frank Netter School of Medicine, Conn.