WPS members and news highlights

April 2024

Aleesha Shaik, MD, MPH

From WPS Chair Aleesha Shaik, MD, MPH

While Women’s History Month is technically over, we continue to recognize and celebrate the contributions women physicians make silently every day in the clinic, in the lab and at home. Thank you for all you do.

This year’s theme for National Women’s History Month was “Women who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.” If you missed the WPS fireside chat with leaders from the AMA Center for Health Equity on March 28, the recording is now available. 

Spring means not only blooming flowers, but also the upcoming AMA Annual Meeting! Your WPS Governing Council is hard at work preparing for the section’s events and policy positions. This meeting, we are excited to be continuing our annual Speed Mentorship Program, as well as the WPS Buddy Program that we launched at the 2023 Interim Meeting. Even if this is not your first AMA meeting, you can sign up to be paired with a senior member of the WPS for some additional mentorship. Watch for more information about these initiatives in the coming weeks.

Last month, we discussed several TED Talks: examining the glass cliff that comes after the glass ceiling (by Sophie Williams), the unique challenges women of racial minorities face in leadership (by Jodi-Ann Burey) and the likeability problem many of us are probably all too familiar with (by Robin Hauser).

Minali’s Book Club selection

This month, we will change it up with a journal article discussing misconceptions about women in leadership in academic medicine and recommendations for individuals and organizations. Join us on the GroupMe at the end of the month to share your thoughts and experiences.

April is National Minority Health Awareness Month! As we all know, patients of minority backgrounds tend to have disproportionate disease burdens and this is further exacerbated in women. You can find more resources on health disparities as well as what the AMA is doing to address them on the AMA’s Center for Health Equity website.

Shannon Zullo, MD

This month, in recognition of National Minority Health Awareness Month, we are honored to celebrate Shannon Zullo, MD, chair of the AMA Minority Affairs Section, as well as the alternate delegate and Resident and Fellow Section representative. Dr. Zullo is a dermatology resident at the University of California, San Francisco. She received her medical degree from the University of Arizona College of Medicine after completing a master’s degree pathway program for rural minority students.

In addition to her work with the AMA, she also serves on the American Academy of Dermatology’s Diversity Champion Workshop Council and is passionate about improving health disparities. Dr. Zullo is a member of the Navajo nation and is one of the few reservation-born physicians in the country today. She was named as one of the National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) 40 Under 40 Leaders in Minority Health for 2023.

You can watch her fantastic episode of the AMA Prioritizing Equity series where she discusses the impact of COVID-19 on Native Americans. You can also read more about her experiences growing up on the Navajo Nation reservation and her observations on unmet health care needs in her community. Dr. Zullo, you are an inspiration and we are so grateful to have you as a member of our section and a leader within the AMA!

Have information about WPS members doing great work? Email us at [email protected].