By Christie Nguyen, MD2

Women in MSTP has been going full steam ahead since our official launch in the spring of 2015! As a group, we aim to advocate for and support the success of women in the Medical Scientist Training Program at ISMMS through mentorship and educational efforts.

In our first years as a student organization, we have hosted numerous events for different audiences. With the support of Student Council, we have sponsored social hours in which students from every program are invited to discuss relevant topics including civil engagement, male feminist allies, imposter syndrome, and wellness. This past March, we collaborated with the school’s chapter of the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), and Women in Science (WIS) to hold a second Negotiating Skills Workshop that expanded upon our inaugural event. The Workshop received an overwhelming amount of support and was able to bring together over 100 people at all stages in their careers throughout the Mount Sinai Health System. We are already hard at work on planning future large-scale events in collaboration with the Office of Women’s Careers and other student groups.

WiMSTP executive board members
march for Science! From Left: Jenny
Long, MP5, Rebecca Hamlin, MD4,
Dr. Miriam Merad, MD/PhD, Fiona
Desland, MP3, and Jessica Tan, MP1.

We have also hosted a number of events for students in the MSTP. One special event was a mixer for the incoming MSTP class and their FlexMed colleagues. We also set up a program-wide mixer that was attended by students in every year of the program. In addition to engaging the Sinai community, we also walked in New York City’s March for Science to advocate for all women in research and medical fields. Please look forward to our upcoming social and educational events where we will discuss issues important to women students, physicians, and scientists. We welcome participation from both women and men! We recognize that everyone has a vital role in advocating for gender equality. We hope to see you at a Women in MSTP event this year. If you’re interested in becoming more involved, feel free to contact us about open positions or tell us your ideas for further events!

We also have a research team that is investigating the underlying causes for the gender disparity in MD/PhD programs in collaboration with a similar group at the University of North Carolina. You can check out data from a pilot study here.