We believe that the doctors caring for our patients should reflect the diversity seen in the patient population we treat. This is especially true of our house staff who interact closely with patients on a day-to-day basis. Accordingly, the Weill Department of Medicine is home to a wide array of diversity initiatives for our residents. Our residents enjoy many opportunities for growth and camaraderie. One of the hallmarks of our residency training initiatives is our affiliation with the Diversity Center of Excellence, which focuses on the goals of minority faculty and housestaff recruitment, health equity and health policy research, cross-cultural education, and community outreach. In 2022, the Weill Department of Medicine formed its Racial Justice Task Force to dismantle segregated care and develop curricula on anti-racism and health equity. We are proud of our trainees who have joined the Task Force and invite our applicants to consider joining.
Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Housestaff Committee is a resident-run group involved in minority recruitment, mentoring and community outreach. The Committee works to increase the number of underrepresented minorities at Weill Cornell through a variety of projects including outreach activities, networking events with staff and medical students, and volunteerism in the community. Three major events are coordinated each year, including the Make Your Match open house for interested applicants, the Minority Dinner and Diversity Welcome Back program in January for prospective residents, and the Welcome Happy Hour each June. Our house staff have also provided support to protests for social justice.
The gender gap in medicine is well known and well documented. Not only does this gap include differences in salary, but also in leadership roles, research opportunities, publications, and mentoring. Our mission is to build a community that empowers women in medicine at NYP-Weill Cornell to have equity in pay, leadership roles, and research opportunities. We aim to spread awareness of the current state of the gender gap, facilitate mentorship for residents, offer skill-building workshops, and highlight the achievements of women in medicine at Weill Cornell.
The Diversity Center of Excellence and Cornell Center for Health Equity, in partnership with the Weill Department of Medicine, including its Residency Program, and the Department of Pediatrics, were delighted to host our annual Make Your Match Residency Diversity Virtual Open House.
Over 500 medical students joined NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center program directors, residents, and fellows for program director and resident panels, as well as breakout rooms for Q&A. We appreciate everyone who participated; thank you for an engaging session!
Gvozdanovic J, Maes K et al. Implicit bias in academia: A challenge to the meritocratic principle and to women’s careers - And what to do about it. LERU Advice Paper. 2018 Jan Vol 23.
Ganguli I, Sheridan B, Gray J, Chernew M, Rosenthal MB, Neprash H. Physician Work Hours and the Gender Pay Gap - Evidence from Primary Care. N Engl J Med. 2020 Oct 1;383(14):1349-1357. doi: 10.1056/NEJMsa2013804. PMID: 32997909.
Koven S. Letter to a Young Female Physician. N Engl J Med. 2017 May 18;376(20):1907-1909. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1702010. PMID: 28514609.
For me, success is like life: fluid and contextual. It is so easy to get caught up focusing on the achievement and miss the richness of the journey getting there. It is seeing the honesty in the reflection.
Success is loving what you do – even most of the time.
To be a successful working mother in medicine you need two things: 1. To try and love some part of what you are doing at all times; 2. To master effective multitasking by taking help where you can get it – including not spending a lot of time answering a question that has been so beautifully answered before:
What is Success?
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
In medicine we have the unique responsibility of caring for strangers. Our patients share with us private and sometimes the most intimate aspects of their lives. Being able to connect with my patients, touch a life, and help make even a small difference is what success means to me.
Success in medicine is:
Success, to me, is knowing that I helped – that today I made the world better for someone.
Sometimes it’s raucous and exciting as we clap when a critically ill patient finally leaves the hospital. But more often it’s a quiet conversation with a patient’s family. It’s feeding a patient her first bite of apple sauce after weeks of tube feeds. It’s the understanding look on a trainee’s face when they finally “get it.”
Success is being able to do what I do at work and get home in time for bedtime. Spending my days consoling grieving families is a constant reminder that my success relies on being a person my children can be proud of (and see once in a while!).
About 10 years ago, I realized my preconceived measures of success did not necessarily align with my priorities or personal strengths. I have tried to stop judging myself and forcing a pathway.
When I feel in resonance with the work I am doing, opportunities arise more naturally. And that feels like success.
Loving relationships with my family and friends.
Work that is meaningful and intellectually and emotionally rewarding.
Advocacy for social change.
The time and energy to be creative, and to play.
To me, success is about kindness, humor, and love.
It is about providing compassionate care to my patients, and helping students, residents, and fellows mature into caring and compassionate physicians.
It is about working with my colleagues to create a fun and supportive place to work.
It is about bringing lightness and laughter into otherwise difficult situations.
In the hospital, we all care for sick and vulnerable patients, but we only have a short time to get to know them and help them through their illness.
Making a connection with the patient and helping make their experience in the hospital a little bit easier is success to me.
I define success as loving what I do – taking care of patients, investigating new lymphoma therapies, working with exceptional people, then going home to spend time with my husband and daughter.
Achieving my goals in a way that lifts others.
To be present for my patients, my team, and my family; to help each other grow.
