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EP on EP Episode 48 - Women in Electrophysiology
EP on EP Episode 48
EP on EP Episode 48
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Video Transcription
Hi, this is Eric Prystowski. Welcome to another segment of EP on EP. And with me today is Dr. Anne Gillis, former president of HRS and professor of medicine at the University of Calgary in Canada. And not long ago, Anne, you were at the 2019 Annual Scientific Sessions for HRS. And I know you were involved in a lot of stuff. Give us some of your major takeaways. Well, Eric, you know, it was a great meeting, a lot of excellent scientific comment, but I'm going to use this opportunity to talk about one issue that is extremely important to me. So annually at the meeting, we have a women in EP luncheon, and it enables the women in EP, along with some of our male colleagues to join up with dialogue, but specifically to talk about issues that women at different levels in their career are confronting. And it's an important issue because at present, 50% or more of medical students are female. And yet, probably only around 20% are pursuing careers in cardiology, which means even less than 20% are pursuing careers in electrophysiology. And if we don't make women medical, female medical students more aware of career opportunities in cardiology and electrophysiology, we're going to suffer a significant work shortage in the coming years. So this is a problem. I mean, I run a training program, and we like to be sure that we have a balanced program. And we will actively try to recruit women, but there are often not that many out there to be recruited, especially in electrophysiology. So why? Why do you think people are... I mean, I love this field. You and I have been in it for years. You cure patients. I mean, it's a wonderful field. Why do you think people are shying away? I think part of it is the long duration of training from finishing medical school through residency in internal medicine, cardiology, and then another two or three more years of training in electrophysiology. And then on top of that, if you want to pursue an academic career, you may have to do another couple of years of research training. So one of the discussions we had at this meeting is, is there a way to shorten some of the training components, cut a year in internal medicine? You need to know, I was chairman of the board writing committee in the United States for four years. And there's clearly a way to do it, but you have to convince the other part, the medicine and cardiology part, to shave off things and they won't do it. Well, it's something I think that we're going to need to work on if we want to address this issue. Yeah, I agree. I agree. And then once we have women in cardiology, we need to provide them with mentors to make them aware of how attractive the field of electrophysiology is. In part, maybe we need to provide trainees, even maybe before cardiology, with opportunities to come to our meeting to see the excitement around our field, the varied opportunities within our subspecialty. I mean, it's such an exciting field, the emerging technology, the opportunity, as you say, where we actually cure people of their heart rhythm disorder. We make an impact. And I think if we can expose medical students, internal medicine residents, at an early level to the excitement of our field, we can attract more women. Well, I think this is a major problem. And I'm glad that somebody at your level and your prestige is going to take it on. Over the years, I've done my best to try to recruit, and I feel fortunate that I've trained quite a number of women in electrophysiology. There's clearly not a difference of intellect and technical abilities, but go find them. So I think somebody like you and maybe the Heart Rhythm Society has to get the word out to women in training that this is a cool field, and they should look at it. And we have the opportunity in the coming two years, because Christine Albert is the current president, or correction, Andrea Russo is the current president, who will be followed by Christine Albert. And I think both are committed to elevating the profile of women in electrophysiology, and we certainly have the support of the leadership to do that. And we should also mention that our new CEO, Pat Blake, is a woman. So the time is ripe. It's perfect. We'll continue to figure this out, but I think that's, I did not know that was what you wanted to discuss, but you know what? It's a really important area, and I hope you guys can figure it out. This is my bully pulpit. Good to see you, Anne.
Video Summary
Dr. Anne Gillis discusses the underrepresentation of women in the field of electrophysiology (EP) and the potential impact on future workforce shortages. With only around 20% of medical students pursuing careers in cardiology, and even fewer in EP, efforts need to be made to make female medical students more aware of the opportunities in these fields. Dr. Gillis suggests providing mentors and early exposure to the excitement of EP to attract more women. The Heart Rhythm Society is committed to elevating the profile of women in EP, and with female leadership in place, now is the perfect time to address this issue.
Keywords
women in electrophysiology
underrepresentation
workforce shortages
medical students
mentors
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