Thriving as a woman in academic medicine requires blending resilience, authenticity and community while nurturing passions and people, said Dr. Helen W. Boucher, dean of Tufts University School of Medicine and chief academic officer of Tufts Medicine, in her keynote address April 10 for Weill Cornell Medicine’s seventh annual Diversity Week.
Dr. Boucher, who is also a professor of medicine at Tufts, delivered the Women in Medicine and Science lecture, “Off the Beaten Path: Thriving in Academic Medicine,” in Uris Auditorium. Her speech was part of a series of events to mark Diversity Week, which celebrates Weill Cornell Medicine’s commitment to greater equity, diversity, and inclusion in academic medicine and health care.
Weaving together data and personal reflections, Dr. Boucher contended that while women in medicine have made meaningful progress over the past several decades, significant gaps and challenges remain, from pay inequity to underrepresentation in senior roles. She highlighted the need for multidirectional mentorship as well as the importance of saying yes to opportunities even amid uncertainty.
