Feature
Breakthroughs
Countering cultural barriers to women in IR By Agnieszka Solberg, MD
A
s a female interventional radiologist, I am often asked why I chose a traditionally male-dominated field. After all,
IR was not a field that peaked my interest early on. In fact, I was not even aware it existed until after I started working as an internal medicine hospitalist.
It wasn’t until a mid-career switch to radiology, during which time I was blessed with wonderful and encouraging IR male role models and a supportive physician spouse, when I developed a true interest and passion for the field. Now, as one of only 8 percent of female IRs, I find myself looking around at conferences, asking, “Why aren’t there any women in line to the ladies’ room?”
16 IRQ | SUMMER 2018
Fortunately, recent efforts such as the training paradigm shift to an integrated IR/DR residency, growth of social media, and new societal practice parameters and position statements will help transition IR into an increasingly diverse and equitable workforce. These developments are sure to further benefit the field and improve patient care.
Breaking the glass floor: Introducing medical students to IR Lack of early medical student exposure to IR has served as a “glass floor,” hindering the entry of women into the field. Misconceptions about the field, including the fear of radiation exposure and exaggerated night and weekend call responsibilities, have
been cited by female medical students as barriers preventing their cultivation of interest for the field (Perez et al. 2016).
Because IR has traditionally been a subspecialty of diagnostic radiology, available only as a fellowship after the completion of a residency, the field understandably may seem like a mystery to junior medical students, whose medical school curricula focus on the traditional core topics of surgery, internal medicine and obstetrics.
The impressionable nature of medical students, however, has proven to be a low hanging fruit, as demonstrated in several recently studied and easily implementable methods aimed at the early exposure of medical students to radiology.
• In Indiana, a “Women in Radiology Group” boosted women’s interest in the field by 90 percent (Ladd et al. 2017).
• In Pennsylvania, a series of joint IR/ gross anatomy lectures boosted interest by 40 percent (Depietro et al. 2017).
• In Mississippi, an interactive student interest group doubled the number of radiology applicants in just a single year (Taylor et al. 2018).
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