Women Physicians in Oncology and Hematology Remain Underrepresented in Leadership Roles

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 46 percent of medical school graduates are women, yet women physicians remain underrepresented in leadership roles. A recent report on The State of Women in Academic Medicine states that women make up nearly 50 percent of medical school applicants but only 21 percent of full professors, 16 percent of deans, and 15 percent of department chairs. This inequity extends into and impacts the entire clinical care team as well. The Leadership Empowerment and Development: Enriching Experiences for Women in Hematology and Oncology (LEAD) Conference will explore the most pertinent advances regarding women in medicine and oncology and will empower women physicians with a greater ability to navigate their careers and achieve leadership roles.

"Empowering women at the LEAD Conference is so important because while there are many women in oncology, few rise to leadership positions," said Dr. Debra Patt, a practicing oncologist and breast cancer specialist in Austin, Texas and an executive vice president of Texas Oncology. "We need to help each other to find balance in leadership and together reach shared goals and advance cancer care."

Women in the medical field often face obstacles to entering into leadership positions, including unconscious or conscious bias towards men, and a lack of professional support. This two-day conference, October 4-5 at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif., hosted by Bio Ascend, will focus on addressing challenges women face in the oncology and hematology fields, and identifying actionable strategies to overcome them. LEAD will also provide women healthcare professionals essential clinical updates, career development workshops, and professional networking opportunities. University of Nebraska Medical Center, Center for Continuing Education and College of Nursing, Continuing Nursing Education Office, will certify the LEAD conference for continuing education credits for physicians and contact hours for nurses.

Participants will leave the conference with skills and knowledge to empower themselves and other women to take on leadership roles, foster leadership opportunities, and seek and provide support among the community of women hematologists and oncologists. This will positively impact their medical practices, empower their care team members, and, ultimately, improve care for their patients.

"During our usual academic interactions, we often don't have time or expertise sometimes to discuss the critical issues that women face in oncology," said Dr. Julie Vose, Co-Chair of the LEAD Conference. "This is a unique opportunity to interact with women in oncology from a variety of backgrounds and experiences."

The LEAD conference is being co-chaired by Julie Brahmer, MD, MSc; Nina Shah, MD; and Julie Vose, MD, MBA. Dr. Julie Brahmer is a board-certified medical oncology physician and a Professor of Oncology in the Department of Oncology, Upper Aerodigestive Cancer, and Director of the Thoracic Oncology Program at Johns Hopkins University Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. She also serves as the Co-Director of the Upper Aerodigestive Department at the Bloomberg–Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at Johns Hopkins University, and in several other leadership roles. Dr. Nina Shah is a board-certified hematology and medical oncology physician and an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco in San Francisco, California. Dr. Shah also serves as Contributing Editor of the Journal of Patient-Centered Research & Reviews and is an editorial reviewer for at least seven peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Julie Vose is a board-certified hematology and medical oncology physician on faculty at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Dr. Vose is the Neumann M. and Mildred E. Harris Professor and Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and is a leader in Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma and previous American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) president. The three co-chairs will also be featured keynote speakers at the conference.

All women who work in hematology or oncology are invited to attend the LEAD Conference, including community and academic physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses and any other women who treat patients with cancer.

Learn more and register for the LEAD Conference at www.LeadOncology.com.

About Bio Ascend: Bio Ascend is an independent medical education company committed to supporting health care providers in their efforts to translate innovative science into clinical practice.

The Bio Ascend team has deep oncology and hematology expertise with a proven ability to distill complex scientific ideas into their essential components as well as extensive experience in planning, executing, and assessing meaningful education for clinicians.

About University of Nebraska Medical Center: UNMC, a comprehensive cancer center, is currently conducting 125 clinical trials for patients with cancer. UNMC/CCE certifies approximately 800 activities for continuing medical education (CME) credit annually resulting in more than 50,000 interactions per year with healthcare professionals. UNMC CON CNE provides an average of over 750 activities annually, resulting in an average of over 15,000 interactions per year with nurses at all practice levels. About 10 percent of the focus is on oncology.

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SOURCE Bio Ascend