When I started my career in Alabama after residency, I spent most of my time in emergency departments and EMS organizations where I was the only female emergency medicine physician in my group. I was a new wife and a new mom trying to find my way in academic practice while learning how to lead, how to speak up, and how to trust (and get others to trust) that my voice belonged in the room. Now, almost 25 years later, I have gone from being the young disruptor to the old curmudgeon – and I have affection, gratitude, and a deep appreciation for both the women who opened doors before me (including our most beloved and recently lost, Dr. Nancy Auer – ACEP’s first female President) and for the women coming behind me who will push those doors even wider.
My career has taken me from the bedside in all “flavors” of Alabama emergency departments to leadership in local, state and national organizations (including ACEP Speaker), air medical leadership, clinical governance, quality assurance, and education. Along the way, I have learned that being a female emergency physician is not about fitting into a mold that was not built for us; it is about bringing the fullness of who we are – our precision, resilience, compassion, humor, grit, and perspective – to some of the hardest moments in our patients’ lives. As I look forward to the upcoming day that my “residency-baby” joins me as a fully-credentialled EM physician, I will tell you what I would tell (have told) her. Do not wait until you feel completely ready to lead. Ask the hard questions. Demand a seat at the table. Build a career that fits both your calling and your life. Your partner and your job will be the most important choices that lead to your success – choose carefully. Emergency medicine needs your intelligence, your steadiness, your courage, and your voice. The path will not always be easy, but it is worth it. Make the specialty stronger for the women who follow you – some of them might even be your daughters.