A Women in Medicine Trainees’ Council: a model for women trainee professional development

Abstract

AbstractWomen physicians are promoted less often, more likely to experience harassment and bias, and paid less than their male peers. Although many institutions have developed initiatives to help women physicians overcome these professional hurdles, few are specifically geared toward physicians-in-training. The Women in Medicine Trainees’ Council (WIMTC) was created in 2015 to support the professional advancement of women physicians-in-training in the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Medicine (MGH-DOM). In a 2021 survey, the majority of respondents agreed that the WIMTC ameliorated the challenges of being a woman physician-in-training and contributed positively to overall wellness. Nearly all agreed that they would advise other training programs to implement a similar program. We present our model for women-trainee support to further the collective advancement of women physicians.