Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine, PT
Department of Emergency Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
IU Health- Methodist Hospital

Dr. Julie Welch's career as an academic emergency medicine (EM) physician has given her opportunities to serve, educate, lead and advocate for patients, physicians, and trainees.

At Indiana University School of Medicine, Dr. Welch is known as both an educator in EM and an advocate for women in medicine. As an educator, her areas of focus have included Neurologic Emergencies, Racing Medicine, High Altitude and Diving Medicine, and Travel Medicine. She led a hands-on teaching expedition to rural Mexico, coordinated a mass gathering elective, and was one of the first female safety team physicians for the Indy Racing League. Her clinical research interests have included HBO in stroke and acute mountain sickness.

Dr. Welch's other role, an advocate for women in medicine, began out of a need, not a pre-defined career goal. In 2004, with female trainees outnumbering female faculty in her department, she developed a novel mentoring program utilizing a group structured approach to provide mentors who understood the unique challenges of women in medicine. This sustainable program utilizes vertical and peer mentoring for female students, residents, faculty and alumni. She researched and designed a curriculum that continues to tackle the pertinent, tough issues facing women in medicine, and turned it into scholarship for local, national, and international forums.

Her involvement in the Women's Advisory Council for IUSM, Subcommittee on Work Life Policies has led to two notable accomplishments. First, a manuscript was published on the flexibility of work-life policies for faculty at Big Ten medical schools. Second, in 2009, during her third trimester of pregnancy, when her physician practice group (employing 800+ physicians) canceled the paid maternity leave option, she lead the charge in a year-long taskforce which succeeded in implementing a paid family leave policy for both women and men.

Her current project focus is to enhance faculty mentoring in EM and IUSM. She serves as co-chair for two mentoring committees and is currently doing a fellowship within the dean's office to create and implement an institution wide mentoring program.