A Discussion of “Cents and Sensibilities” at Annual Faculty Development Day

“Cents and Sensibilities” was the theme of the 22nd annual Temple University School of Medicine (TUSM) Faculty Development Day – sponsored by the school’s Committee on the Status of Women Faculty.
 
“And we didn’t pick the theme just because I’m a huge Jane Austen fan,” joked Committee Chair Mary Kraemer, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and an undergraduate Philosophy/English major. “We’re here today to celebrate women and discuss women’s leadership roles both at Temple and throughout the medical field.”
 
The “Sensibilities” part of the half-day program kicked off with a review of gender data by Helen Pearson, PhD, Associate Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs at TUSM.
 
According to Dr. Pearson, women make up about one-third of the 144,000 medical school faculty members in the U.S. At the instructor level, the number of men and women are about evenly split. But as you rise through the ranks, the proportion of women decreases. At the full professor level, only 20 percent are women. The numbers at TUSM closely track the national numbers. Out of 550 faculty members, 184 are women and 18 percent of full professors are women.
 
Attendees later watched a video in which Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg talks about “leaning in” – the idea that women, if so inclined, should seek challenges and pursue their career goals without giving into the fear of what repercussions their ambition might bring. Following the video, a panel of nine Temple faculty members shared their career experiences and personal thoughts about “leaning in” with attendees.
 
The “Cents” part of the program focused on the finances and structure of the healthcare enterprise. Tom Kupp, Vice Dean for Finance and Administration for TUSM and Chief Financial Officer of Temple University Physicians, spoke to attendees about how budgets are allocated and Temple’s move toward Responsibility Centered Management – a model that shifts budgeting decisions from central administration to the schools and colleges.
 
Prior to the presentations, Kathleen Reeves, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs at TUSM and a Director of the Center for Bioethics, Urban Health and Policy, received the Women in Medicine Mentoring Award. Dr. Reeves was lauded as being “a true role model for balancing personal integrity and fulfillment with professional success.”