GWIMS Progress Notes Feature

Students:

Zoya Amer, Medical Student:
To me, being a woman in medicine and science means carrying forward the strength, sacrifice, vulnerability, and humanity that have shaped my family’s understanding of medicine.

My first understanding of what it meant to be a woman in medicine came from my grandmother, who was a physician in Pakistan. At a time when opportunities for women in medicine were far more limited, she built a career rooted in service and perseverance. When my father began medical school, she made the incredibly difficult decision to send him to live with her sister-in-law for the first year of his life so that she could continue pursuing her education and training. As a child hearing this story, I saw both the immense strength required to challenge expectations and the sacrifices that women have historically had to make to enter and remain in medicine. She showed me that being a woman in medicine requires resilience, commitment, and a willingness to endure hardship for something greater than oneself.

But my understanding of medicine was also shaped by my other grandmother, who passed away from cancer in her early 50s when my mother was only 18. Through her story, I saw the other side of medicine — the side where knowledge, skill, and compassion cannot always prevent loss. I witnessed the lasting impact of losing someone so central to a family, but I also witnessed the incredible beauty that emerged from that pain. My family rallied around one another, creating a foundation of love, support, and connection that continues to shape who we are today.

To me, being a woman in medicine means bringing these two stories together. It means embodying the determination and sacrifice of my grandmother who fought to create a place for

herself in medicine, while also carrying the vulnerability and deep human connection that came from experiencing loss. Science gives us the tools to understand disease and improve lives, but it is our humanity that allows us to truly care for the people who entrust us with their stories.

I believe women in medicine bring a powerful ability to hold both of these truths: the strength to lead, innovate, and push boundaries, and the sensitivity to recognize suffering, uncertainty, and the profound experiences that define our patients’ lives. That combination is not a weakness — it is a source of healing. It is the legacy I hope to carry forward as a physician and scientist.

Ranya Ridha, TBMH Student:
To me, being a Kurdish woman in medicine and science means carrying both opportunity and responsibility. I come from a culture with a long history of resilience and courage, where generations of Kurdish women have faced hardship with remarkable strength. They have protected their families, held communities together, pursued knowledge, and fought to have their voices heard and their potential recognized. Growing up with that history has shaped how I see my own place in medicine and science. Their courage reminds me that the opportunities I have today are not something I should take for granted, but something I should use with purpose.

Being in this field means more than pursuing my own education or career. It means using the opportunities I have to help create opportunities for others, especially for people whose language, culture, or circumstances can make medicine and science feel distant or inaccessible. My background has taught me that knowledge is most powerful when people can understand it, trust it, and use it.

As a Kurdish woman, I hope my presence also carries a message to younger women who may not often see someone from their background represented in these spaces. You belong here. Your perspective matters. Your voice deserves to be heard, and it can help shape the future of medicine and science.

Faculty

Julie Zielinski, MD
Being a woman in medicine is a profound journey of breaking barriers, leading with strength, and offering deep compassion. It means standing as a visible role model for future generations while reshaping outdated professional norms to create a healthier, more inclusive healthcare environment.

To lead as a woman in medicine is to step past old barriers that historically labeled this field as a space mostly for men. Women leaders consistently demonstrate that true authority pairs beautifully with empathy, active listening, and open collaboration. By rejecting toxic workplace traditions, these leaders are redefining professional success and building supportive cultures where everyone can thrive.In this role, visibility is everything because female physicians and

medical students show young girls that a medical career is fully within their reach. Through dedicated mentorship, women guide the next wave of medical trainees by providing personal support and sharing hard-earned wisdom. Standing up confidently in high-stress environments proves that diverse voices belong at the decision-making table.Furthermore, women bring a powerful dedication to compassionate care by prioritizing patient stories, fears, and lived experiences. This holistic approach ensures that healing goes beyond just treating a disease to supporting the whole person and their family. Ultimately, this deep compassion builds lasting trust, helping patients feel safe and truly heard during their most vulnerable medical moments. Medicine is being permanently transformed by the strength, resilience, and heart that women bring to the field every single day.

Stephanie Nagy-Agren, MD
It has been a privilege to contribute to the body of research literature in a variety of areas including management of COVID-19 in the ACTIV-3/TICO and STRIVE network NIH trials, and women physicians and the medical workplace. Women are shown to bring distinctive characteristics to the workplace including more patient centered preventive care and counseling, following guidelines better which leads to improved outcomes, and demonstrating values such as empathy that enhances the patient experience but doesn’t align with existing productivity measures. Perhaps it has been these characteristics that have brought my greatest joy in work, that of managing patients with infections who come from marginalized backgrounds. I’d like to quote Ada Adamora from her 2020 Kass lecture titled All Policy is Health Policy – “The racial inequities in HIV and COVID-19 are not inevitable … but are driven by the social, economic and political forces that shape people’s lives;” and Louise Ivers from her 2021 IDWeek talk on Global Inequities “Infectious Diseases are social events. Infections lay bare our social fabric.”

Tracey Criss, MD
In 2017 I represented Carilion Clinic in the inaugural class of the Carol Emmott Fellowship, a national fellowship for women leaders in healthcare. During one of our convergences, each fellow was engaged in an interactive session with a female executive in healthcare with the goal of creating a legacy statement for her career. In my statement I wanted to focus on the patients, the ones whom we are so honored to serve. Here is my legacy statement:

"I am a kind and compassionate person who will treat my patients with kindness and compassion. I will utilize my energy, enthusiasm, and listening skills to model this for students, residents, and attending physicians with the goal of making better the lives of those who seek comfort and care."

I encourage all women in medicine and science to create a legacy statement, which focuses you on your mission as you practice the science and art of medicine.

Lubna Wani, MD
To treat my patients with kindness and teach and nurture my students with motherly love.

Angela Venuto, MD
It means to have the privilege of serving others: having a sacred relationship with patients of mutual honesty and trust... as a woman it means shining kindness, and care for others in the most basic of human ways... it means having an opportunity to elevate our education and responsibility to give other minimalized peoples hope of attaining higher education... it means championing all little girls and young women into support for roles they can attain now, despite historically being marginalized. it means lifting up those around us and instilling that anyone, anywhere, can surely work hard enough to become someone that helps others, as a Physician- no matter their gender, race or creed.

Angelica Witcher Walker, PhD, MBA
To me, being a woman in medicine and science means embracing the responsibility and privilege of contributing to fields that have historically not always provided equitable opportunities for women. It means bringing my expertise, lived experiences, and perspective to the work while recognizing that diversity strengthens scientific inquiry, clinical practice, education, and innovation.

Being a woman in medicine and science also means creating pathways for others. I view mentorship, sponsorship, advocacy, and intentional leadership as essential components of my role—not only to support the advancement of women, but also to help cultivate environments where individuals from all backgrounds can thrive. I believe that representation matters, particularly when it allows students and colleagues to envision themselves as future physicians, scientists, educators, and leaders.

Ultimately, being a woman in medicine and science means using my position to advance knowledge, improve the experiences and outcomes of those I serve, and contribute to a more inclusive and equitable academic and healthcare community. It is both an accomplishment and an ongoing responsibility to ensure that those who follow have greater opportunities, broader possibilities, and fewer barriers than those who came before them.