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Biomedical subjects

Janet Bickel

Publications and source records attributed to Janet Bickel.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Experiences of belittlement and harassment and their correlates among medical students in the United States: longitudinal survey.

OBJECTIVE: To determine medical students' perceptions of having been harassed or belittled and their correlates, for the purposes of reducing such abuses. DESIGN: Longitudinal survey. SETTING: 16 nationally representative US medical schools. PARTICIPANTS: 2884 students from class of 2003. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Experiences of harassment and belittlement at freshman orientation, at entry to wards, and in senior year by other students, by residents or fellows, by preclinical professors, by clinical professors or attendings, or by patients. RESULTS: 2316 students provided data (response rate 80.3%). Among seniors, 42% (581/1387) reported having experienced harassment and 84% (1166/1393) belittlement during medical school. These types of abuse were caused by other students (11% (158/1389) and 32% (443/1390) of students experienced such harassment or belittlement, respectively). Harassment and belittlement was also caused by residents (27% (374/1387) and 71% (993/1393)), preclinical professors (9% (131/1386) and 29% (398/1385)), clinical professors (21% (285/1386) and 63% (878/1390)), and patients (25% (352/1387) and 43% (592/1388)). Only 13% (181/1385) of students classified any of these experiences as severe. Medical students who reported having been harassed or belittled did not differ significantly from those not reporting such experiences by sex, ethnicity, political orientation, or religion. They did differ significantly by chosen specialty and were significantly more likely to be stressed, depressed, and suicidal, to drink alcohol or to binge drink, and to state that their faculty did not care about medical students. They were also significantly less likely to be glad they trained to become a doctor. CONCLUSION: Most medical students in the United States report having been harassed or belittled during their training. Although few students characterised the harassment or belittlement as severe, poor mental health and low career satisfaction were significantly correlated with these experiences.

Aggression↗

Generation X: implications for faculty recruitment and development in academic health centers.

Differences and tensions between the Baby Boom generation (born 1945-1962) and Generation X (born 1963-1981) have profound implications for the future of academic medicine. By and large, department heads and senior faculty are Boomers; today's residents and junior faculty are Generation X'ers. Looking at these issues in terms of the generations involved offers insights into a number of faculty development challenges, including inadequate and inexpert mentoring, work-life conflicts, and low faculty morale. These insights suggest strategies for strengthening academic medicine's recruitment and retention of Generation X into faculty and leadership roles. These strategies include (1) improving career and academic advising by specific attention to mentoring "across differences"--for instance, broaching the subject of formative differences in background during the initial interaction; adopting a style that incorporates information-sharing with engagement in problem solving; offering frequent, frank feedback; and refraining from comparing today to the glories of yesterday; to support such improvements, medical schools should recognize and evaluate mentoring as a core academic responsibility; (2) retaining both valued women and men in academic careers by having departments add temporal flexibility and create and legitimize less-than-full-time appointments; and (3) providing trainees and junior faculty with ready access to educational sessions designed to turn their "intellectual capital" into "academic career capital."Given the trends discussed in this article, such supports and adaptations are indicated to assure that academic health centers maintain traditions of excellence.

Academic Medical Centers↗

Looking for mentor replacement therapy? A coach may be the answer.

How can women physicians address the needs of those they serve until they meet their own needs for balance and fulfillment in their lives and careers? They can't, but there are sources of help. Women physicians can learn from consultants whose professional expertise can help them devise master plans to attain equilibrium, competence, and influence, and they can speak with other women physicians who share similar experiences and have succeeded in attaining stability, proficiency, and authority in their own lives. Career development coach and faculty career and diversity consultant Janet Bickel writes that seasoned professionals offer assistance in planning for productive careers that combine personal and professional goals. To find a coach, ask colleagues about their experiences and for recommendations. When selecting a coach, inquire about their training and credentials; ask for a free consultation and for references. Interview at least three coaches before making a selection. A coach with a similar background may provide the most comfortable working relationship. Ms. Bickel offers suggestions and programs to consider when seeking a career coach. Physicians Julia Files and Janis Blair address the multiple responsibilities of motherhood and medicine. Their experiences and tips from colleagues demonstrate that women in search of harmony benefit from others' knowledge and wise advice. Talking with colleagues lessens the feeling of isolation; all mothers who aspire to be the best at medicine and motherhood worry that achieving a healthy balance may be impossible. Drs. Files and Blair share strategies that worked for them and their colleagues at the Mayo Clinic.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Status of faculty affairs and faculty development offices in U.S. medical schools.

PURPOSE: To collect baseline data and describe how medical schools handle faculty affairs and faculty development responsibilities. METHOD: In January 2000, the authors surveyed faculty affairs designees at 125 U.S. medical schools, using a questionnaire developed in consultation with a group of faculty affairs professionals. RESULTS: The responding 76 medical schools (61%) support over four times as many offices of faculty affairs as faculty development offices. Core functions of faculty affairs offices include administrative support for appointments, promotions, and tenure committees; faculty information and policies; faculty governance processes; and department chairs' recruitment support and personnel management issues. CONCLUSION: While a consensus is emerging about the functions of a faculty affairs office, no school has a comprehensive faculty development system, in contrast to most industries, which must be more forward-looking to compete for talent.

Administrative Personnel↗

Increasing women's leadership in academic medicine: report of the AAMC Project Implementation Committee.

The AAMC's Increasing Women's Leadership Project Implementation Committee examined four years of data on the advancement of women in academic medicine. With women comprising only 14% of tenured faculty and 12% of full professors, the committee concludes that the progress achieved is inadequate. Because academic medicine needs all the leaders it can develop to address accelerating institutional and societal needs, the waste of most women's potential is of growing importance. Only institutions able to recruit and retain women will be likely to maintain the best housestaff and faculty. The long-term success of academic health centers is thus inextricably linked to the development of women leaders. The committee therefore recommends that medical schools, teaching hospitals, and academic societies (1) emphasize faculty diversity in departmental reviews, evaluating department chairs on their development of women faculty; (2) target women's professional development needs within the context of helping all faculty maximize their faculty appointments, including helping men become more effective mentors of women; (3) assess which institutional practices tend to favor men's over women's professional development, such as defining "academic success" as largely an independent act and rewarding unrestricted availability to work (i.e., neglect of personal life); (4) enhance the effectiveness of search committees to attract women candidates, including assessment of group process and of how candidates' qualifications are defined and evaluated; and (5) financially support institutional Women in Medicine programs and the AAMC Women Liaison Officer and regularly monitor the representation of women at senior ranks.

Career Mobility↗