In Women in Psychiatry, 21 accomplished women psychiatrists in private practice, teaching institutions, hospitals, public health treatment programs, and leadership positions reveal both the challenges and rewards of being in a wide array of professional positions. The stories are heartfelt and personal as well as professional accounts of obstacles overcome and milestones achieved. In a field once completely dominated by men, nearly one-third of physicians who identified themselves as practicing psychiatry in the U.S. were women, and the diversity of their approaches to the practice of psychiatry is encouragingly illustrated in this book. Women in Psychiatry clearly demonstrates where an interest in science or medicine can lead when combined with determination, guidance, experience, mentoring, perseverance, and organizational support. The featured women represent diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, positions, career pathways, and accomplishments. All the authors share lessons learned and provide recommendations on what they found helpful in achieving their goals of personal and professional fulfillment. These chapters present many common themes among women professionals both within and outside of psychiatry, including handling pregnancy and motherhood while building a career, the potential strain between women and men in the field, and some of the income and leadership role inequities that still exist. Features and benefits of Women in Psychiatry include: Insights into career paths through descriptions of pivotal events and decisions that shaped their careers as scientists. Perspectives and advice on how to balance personal and professional responsibilities, both in training and in practice. Illustrations of the role played by cultural and linguistic background, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, subspecialty, place of employment, and work setting. The importance of mentorship throughout the process, first as a recipient and ultimately as a mentor to other women entering the field. Strategies these authors used to accomplish goals and the various styles of leadership that helped them reach those goals. The historical context for understanding that until recent decades, despite irrefutable evidence that women in the biomedical professions are capable, there were few in most fields with the exception of nursing, dental hygiene, and elementary science teaching. Women in Psychiatry is the ideal book for women who are considering a career in psychiatry or other areas of medicine. It is also a book for partners and spouses of women in medicine and psychiatry. It is an inspirational and educational document that women and men, whether in medicine or other, nonrelated careers, can value and appreciate through the recounting of personal and professional experiences that made a difference.
ContributorsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsForewordIntroductionPart I: The Early YearsChapter 1. Embarking on a Career Path: Persistence, Process, and PsychiatryChapter 2. A Woman of Culture and Compassion From the CarolinasChapter 3. Emerging From the Shadow and Exposed to the LightChapter 4. An Early-Career Perspective on Work, Parenthood, and Leadership: You Can Have It All, You Just Can't Have It All Right NowPart II: Mid-Career and Beyond: A MosaicChapter 5. Farmer's Daughter Excels in PsychiatryChapter 6. Finding My Way: A Nontraditional Career in PsychiatryChapter 7. Getting to the Inner Circle: The Long, Hard RoadChapter 8. An Adventurous Journey: From the Holy City to the Windy CityChapter 9. Mission Driven and Road Tested: A Career Path in PsychiatryChapter 10. A Community Psychiatrist Straddling Worlds and Bridging ChasmsChapter 11. Administration, Advocacy, and Academics: One Woman's ExperienceChapter 12. Specializing in the Wholly ImpossibleChapter 13. The Challenges of Leadership: A Woman's PerspectiveChapter 14. Having the Courage and Conviction to SucceedChapter 15. Army PsychiatristChapter 16. A Serendipitous Career: From Cowboy to Out Lesbian Faculty PsychiatristChapter 17. Another Immigrant's Tale: So Near and Yet So FarChapter 18. Receiving Effective Support While Making Culture and Language ChangesChapter 19. Unexpected Adventures Behind the WallsChapter 20. My Partly Planned Journey: What Has Worked for MeChapter 21. CenteringIndex
