The first ever “National Women in Medicine Day” is Thursday and Chicago-based Dr. Shikha Jain, an oncologist at UI-Health, founded the organization that spearheaded the national day of recognition.
“I never thought I would be in this role. This is not where I saw my career going. We joke that my autobiography is going to be, ‘how I accidentally started a nonprofit,'” said Jain, who’s also an associate professor of medicine at the Illinois Cancer Center and the founder of Women in Medicine (WIM).
WIM is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that aims to advance the careers of women in healthcare.
“When I entered medicine I actually did not think there was gender bias because I had been raised in a home with such a strong male figure who showed me that women could be anything,” said Jain. “For me, it was really eye opening when I started experiencing the negativity, harassment, some of the bias.”
Jain grew up shadowing her father, a vascular surgeon, during rounds on the weekends. She said most of the doctors at his practice were men, but it was still her dream to follow in her father’s footsteps.
“I knew it was possible. I just knew that it might take a lot harder work because that wasn’t necessarily the way medicine was built,” she said.
She accomplished that dream, and is now using her success to inspire others, even though achieving it wasn’t always easy.
“I had people tell me no one would marry me if I decided to become a doctor. I had people tell me I could never have kids. I had people tell me when I got pregnant, I would never be a leader because I decided to prioritize family,” said Jain.
Jain is a wife and mother of three.
“I tell my mentees, you can have it all, you just may not be able to have it all at once. Sometimes it’s about prioritizing and figuring out what are your priorities in that moment. It doesn’t mean you cant have a family, a fulfilled life,” she said.
WIM was established in 2021, after several successful “Women in Medicine” summits. The demand after the seminars was so great, the nonprofit expanded to offer leadership networking opportunities and mentoring programs.
“It’s very easy to feel like this imposter syndrome that, you know, maybe you’re only here because of X, Y, and Z, but I think having women leaders inside and outside of medicine has really helped shape me and move me forward,” said fourth year medical student Aishwarya Tallikar.
Jain introduced Tallikar to a physician leadership development program through WIM.
“And through this opportunity, I was able to coordinate with physician researchers and learn leadership skills from them as well. And so that has been invaluable to me,” said Tallikar. “It means everything to me. Seeing people like me motivates me to be the best physician that I can be.”
Women comprise more than 50% of medical school applicants, first year enrollees and all enrolled medical students, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. However, they represent a much smaller role in leadership.
“The problem is there are so many barriers that exist. There’s biases that exist. They’re not being tapped on the shoulder for these opportunities, so eventually they’re leaving medicine because of their frustration,” said Jain.
Women also left the medical field in droves during the pandemic, facing burnout on the front lines and at home.
“Until we start seeing a change there, we’re going to keep seeing the challenges we’re facing,” said Jain. “We need to start intentionally thinking about the people who aren’t in the room because often those are the ones who are going to make a transformative difference and help all of us be healthier.”
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