Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Networking Best Practices That Empower Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM and ADIEM Sponsored)

This is a ticketed event. Despite a decades-long increase in the number of women entering the medical field, the rise of female leaders, especially those from underrepresented in medicine (URiM) backgrounds, has not been proportionate. Join us to explore effective networking strategies, a vital catalyst for women's professional advancement in academic EM. We'll focus on the essential skills of networking and efficiency, addressing the specific challenges that women encounter and providing tailored solutions. Discover how to build a diverse network within academic EM and master efficiency practices essential for sustaining women in leadership roles.

Presenters:

  • Sara M. Krzyzaniak, MD
  • Melissa Parsons, MD
  • Cassandra Bradby, MD
  • Ynhi Thomas, MD, MPH, MSc
 

 

Authors

  • Sara M. Krzyzaniak, MD

    Program Director, Emergency Medicine Residency Clinical Associate Professor

    Department of Emergency Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine

    Sara Krzyzaniak MD is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Stanford University where she serves as an Associate Vice Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine as well as the Residency Program Director. She completed medical school at Northwestern University followed by residency training at Denver Health Residency in EM. She has had several leadership roles in medical education for the past decade. Dr. Krzyzaniak is passionate about medical education and enjoys mentoring and working with medical students and residents. Her research interests are in strategies to address the remediation of struggling learners and issues related to gender and race representation in medicine and has authored several peer-reviewed articles on these topics. She is a peer reviewer for several journals and is a guest consulting editor for WestJEM's CORD/CDEM issue. She has lectured nationally on both clinical and education topics.
  • Parsons, Melissa 2021

    Melissa Erin Parsons, MD

    University of Florida College of Medicine Jacksonville

    Dr. Melissa Parsons is a Program director and an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine - Jacksonville. She received a Bachelor's degree in Biology at the University of Florida in Gainesville and attended medical school at UF as well. Dr. Parsons completed her Emergency Medicine residency at the University of Florida College of Medicine - Jacksonville and stayed on as faculty, serving as the Assistant Medical Director at their community hospital prior to transitioning into an educational role as Associate Residency Director and now Program Director for the Emergency Medicine residency program at UF-Jacksonville. She co-chairs the University of Florida-Jacksonville’s Women in Medicine and Science organization as well as organizing the residency program’s simulation and wellness efforts. Her professional interests include gender disparities in medical education, physician infertility and physician wellness.

  • Cassandra Kim Bradby, MD

    President

    Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

    I am a proud graduate of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN. From there, the match brought me to SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY, where I served as the chief resident of education. Since 2014, I have served as assistant professor of emergency medicine at Vidant Medical Center and East Carolina University and now serve as the residency program director after four years in the role of associate program director. I have been involved with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts throughout my seven years in North Carolina, as the vice chair for diversity and inclusion for my department, as well as the chair of the vice chairs for diversity and inclusion for East Carolina University (ECU) Brody School of Medicine. I also serve as the faculty advisor for the ECU chapter of the Student Medical Association and the chair of the GME Committee for Diversity and Inclusion at Vidant Medical Center. Through SAEM, I have been involved with the Membership Committee, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM), and the Academy for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Medicine (ADIEM) as a member-at-large, faculty advisor for the Social Media Committee, and the current secretary-treasurer. I hope to continue to work with the ADIEM Executive Committee going forward to continue our momentum in creating education across emergency medicine on DEI and collaborating with other organizations."

    Dr. Cassandra Bradby is an EM physician and Assistant Professor at Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. As a graduate of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN, she has dedicated her career to improving diversity and inclusion in medicine through mentoring and education. After finishing up as the Education Chief Resident at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY, Dr. Bradby headed back south to Greenville, NC where she now serves as the Residency Program Director and Vice Chair for Diversity and Inclusion for the Department of Emergency Medicine at Vidant Medical Center.

  • Ynhi Thomas, MD, MPH, MSc

    Baylor College of Medicine

    Dr. Ynhi Thomas serves as an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, the Assistant Medical Director for the Ben Taub Emergency Center, and the Assistant Director for Health Equity and Community Engagement for the Henry J.N. Taub Department of Emergency Medicine. Her multidisciplinary work is at the intersection of behavioral health, sex and gender medicine, and health equity. Her clinical training extended beyond the traditional scope, including fellowship training in Emergency Department (ED) leadership, operations, quality improvement, and health system development.

    She has pioneered initiatives aimed at enhancing patient care and safety, specifically targeting our hospital’s behavioral health population. Among these are the development of a Behavioral Health Sorting Tool, influenced by trauma activation codes, that categorizes patient acuity based on presenting signs and symptoms. Recognizing the need for specialized care for patients with acute agitation, she also instituted a multidisciplinary Crisis Intervention Team, consisting of Emergency Medicine providers, psychiatry specialists, nursing staff, and security personnel. Further, she has formulated guidelines for a structured, team-based approach to the use of physical restraints, delineating clear roles and responsibilities to minimize risks to patients and staff. These endeavors have fortified her capabilities in team management and operational planning within the high-stakes, fast-paced environment of the ED.

    As a physician-scientist, Dr. Thomas' contributions have been multifaceted, encompassing sex and gender medicine, healthcare inequities, interprofessional communication, team dynamics, and educational material development. Most recently, her focus has been directed towards behavioral health-centric studies, including investigations into sex and racial disparities in the use of physical restraints, as well as gender-specific variations in mental health screenings and post-injury trauma outcomes.

    Dr. Thomas completed her Emergency Medicine residency and fellowship training in Leadership, Quality, and Administration at Baylor College of Medicine. She obtained MD at the University of Alabama School of Medicine and her MPH at the University of Alabama School of Public Health. She also has a Master of Science in Medical Anthropology from Oxford University. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons.

Related Media