A group of 10 medical associations will host a virtual 18-month curriculum for early- to mid-career women physicians to develop leadership skills, foster wellness and promote equity in medicine.
The Women’s Wellness through Equity and Leadership (WEL) Alliance is launching the second phase of an initiative developed to create more equitable work environments for women physicians. This includes expanding the number of national medical organizations and participants to better represent physicians who have historically been marginalized and excluded.
Funded by the Physicians Foundation, the WEL collaborative started in 2018 as a partnership of six organizations and has been led by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Recently renamed the WEL Alliance, this collaborative offers a leadership development program for early- to mid-career women physicians. This year, the WEL Alliance has recruited a diverse group of 50 women physicians to form a new cohort of “WEL Scholars” who will engage in an 18-month training program around wellness, equity and leadership. In addition to this program, the 10 organizations will work together to foster more equitable work experiences for women physicians.
“The WEL Alliance is a remarkable consortium of 10 major medical organizations,” said Fan Tait, MD, FAAP, AAP chief medical officer. “It is such a privilege to work with, and learn from, leadership from these organizations. The new WEL Scholars are dedicated, passionate and talented, and will help improve and change the face and culture of medicine for all.”
The Alliance’s goals are to change a culture of medicine in which women physicians can face discrimination, salary inequities and structural barriers to their success.
The original six WEL partner organizations are the AAP, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American College of Physicians (ACP), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), American Hospital Association (AHA) and American Psychiatric Association (APA). Joining the alliance as new partners are the American Medical Association (AMA), American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) and National Medical Association (NMA).
“There is implicit bias in the systems and structures built within medicine, because unfortunately women were not at the table when they were originally developed,” said Gary Price, MD, president of the Physicians Foundation. “The Physicians Foundation is proud to partner with these outstanding organizations to advance equity for women physicians while supporting their overall wellbeing and growth as leaders in the field.”
The 50 program participants have been recruited from across the 10 organizations. The new virtual program will kick-off April 2021, and the 18-month curriculum will run through September 2022.
To request an interview, contact AAP Public Affairs.
About the American Academy of Pediatrics
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the optimal health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit www.aap.org.
About the Physicians Foundation
The Physicians Foundation is a nonprofit seeking to advance the work of practicing physicians and help them facilitate the delivery of high-quality health care to patients. As the health care system in America continues to evolve, The Physicians Foundation is steadfast in its determination to strengthen the physician-patient relationship and assist physicians in sustaining their medical practices in today’s practice environment. It pursues its mission through a variety of activities including grant-making, research, white papers and policy studies. Since 2005, the Foundation has awarded numerous multi-year grants totaling more than $50 million. In addition, the Foundation focuses on the following core areas: physician leadership, physician wellbeing, physician practice trends, social determinants of health and the impact of health care reform on physicians and patients. For more information, visit www.physiciansfoundation.org.