In terms of academic leadership, women continue to lag behind their male colleagues. According to a 2002 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), women comprised only 14% of tenured faculty and 12% of full professors. Updated 2004-2005 figures found that women continue to be underrepresented among department chairs and medical school deans. What can be done to improve these statistics? A new published report may have one answer. In the Feb. 27 Archives of Internal Medicine, Jagsi et al of the Office of Women's Careers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) report on the Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards program, which provides competitive, 2-year grants to women junior researchers who also have responsibility for the care of young children. In the 9 years since the award program was begun, 90% of recipients have remained at the MGH and 65% have received academic promotions. In addition, more than 54 awards and/or honors have been received by Claflin awardees. The authors conclude that the Claflin Awards are a practical institutional initiative to promote women’s careers in academic medicine.
Do you think there should be more programs like this? What about the needs of women without children? Sound off on the MedEdMentoring message board here.
Sincerely,
Stephen J. Bartels, MD, MS; Martha L. Bruce, PhD, MPH; Maureen Halpain, MS;
Barry D. Lebowitz, PhD;
Charles F. Reynolds III, MD; Gwenn Smith, PhD; Joel E. Streim, MD; Jürgen Unützer, MD, MPH, MA
A Targeted Intervention for the Career Development of Women in Academic Medicine
Jagsi R, Butterton JR, Starr R, Tarbell NJ.
Arch Intern Med. 2007;167:343-345.
To improve the retention and advancement of its women faculty members, the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) initiated an awards program providing bridge funding to junior faculty women during the child-bearing years.
Viewpoint: A Challenge to Academic Health Centers and the National Institutes of Health to Prevent Unintended Gender Bias in the Selection of Clinical and Translational Science Award Leaders.
Carnes M, Bland C.
Acad Med. 2007 Feb;82(2):202-206.
The Clinical and Translational Science Award from the NIH Roadmap is a prestigious award that will place considerable power in the hands of one principal investigator -- conditions that predict activation of bias in favor of selecting male leaders.
MostViewedPresentations 
General
Postdoctoral Clinical Research Training in Psychiatry: A Model Program
Charles F. Reynolds III, MD
The Research Survival Skills practicum at the University of Pittsburgh is a model for teaching grantwriting and other important skills to postdoctoral clinical research fellows in psychiatry.
Geriatric
Excellence in Mentoring: Skills, Obstacles, and Facilitators
Yeates Conwell, MD
Dr. Conwell discusses the two types of mentorship seen in academic settings -- content and process -- and how excellence can be attained in each type on an individual, dyadic, and institutional level.
MostReadArticles 
General
Women chairs in psychiatry: a collective reflection.
Atre Vaidya N.
Acad Psychiatry. 2006 Jul-Aug;30(4):315-8
This article describes the experiences of women chairs in psychiatry. The author found that women in chair positions come from smaller schools and departments, have clinical and educational backgrounds, have fewer grants than their male counterparts, and are more likely to be recruited from within.
Geriatric
Mentoring for women and underrepresented minority faculty and students: experience at two institutions of higher education.
Kosoko-Lasaki O, Sonnino RE, Voytko ML.
J Natl Med Assoc. 2006 Sep;98(9):1449-59.
The mentoring models for women and underrepresented minority faculty and students at Creighton University Health Sciences Schools and Wake Forest University School of Medicine are described. These programs appear to be quite successful in the short term.
InTheNews
Best Places to Work 2007: PostDocs
The Scientist.com, March 2007
The Scientist's fifth annual survey reveals that postdocs worldwide are mainly interested in getting the training and experience they need to advance their careers.
Junior faculty ID top work environments
gradPSYCH.org, January 2007
A commitment to work and family balance, a collegial environment and good compensation all contribute to satisfied early-career faculty, according to a recent survey by the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education of 42 member institutions.
CareerAutobiographyPatricia Aréan, PhD
Dr. Aréan, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco, discusses her career pathway. Other career autobiographies can be found in the Researcher Roadmaps section.
EventsCalendar
Grant Submission Deadline - Cycle I - Research Career Development all K series Renewal, Resubmission, Revision
When: March 12
Where: N/A
When: March 16
Where: N/A
9th World Congress on Innovations in Psychiatry
When: March 26 - March 29
Where: London, UK
MedEdResources
Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects
CRISP is a database of federally funded biomedical research projects conducted at universities, hospitals, and other research institutions. It can be searched for scientific concepts, emerging trends and techniques, specific projects and/or investigators.
APA Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging)
The APA's Division 20 - Adult Development and Aging - strives to advance the study of psychological development and change throughout the adult years.
Academic Psychiatry
Academic Psychiatry is the only journal to date dedicated exclusively to psychiatric education, professional development in academic psychiatry, and the contributions of psychiatry to academic medicine.
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