Letter from AMWA President 2012-2013: Dr. Gayatri Devi
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| Gayatri Devi, M.D. AMWA President 2012-2013 |
Reflections on AMWA, The Woman, The Physician and Me
During all those years of training and for many years after, sitting in the back during grand rounds, I saw row upon row of balding, erudite pates shining from the front of the auditorium, like dozens of extra-large eggs in open cartons. There they were, the chairmen, the division heads and the Grand Poobahs of medicine. They asked intelligent questions as they plucked the remaining hairs from their eminent foreheads. How could I get there, I wondered longingly? Did I really want to get there? And, did I have to look like that to get there?
My road to the pews up front is littered with molted skins of the many alter egos I tried and discarded. Until I found the one that fits me best. A bright shirt, if I wanted. Boots, if I felt like it. And a hug when a patient needed it. I found that my patients thrived the most when I thrived as well. And I thrived when I embraced all of the me-woman and physician and someone who likes to shop as much as she likes reading scientific literature. Oh, what a feeling! The warmth of the sun on my hair more than makes up for the lack of reflection from without my learned and reflective dome. Within, of course, we are all the same and some would even dare say, better.
How did this happen? How did I achieve this level of freedom? Because of my many mentors, the women (and to be fair, men) who lit the way, real-life sages. Physicians, patients, colleagues, teachers, friends and students. My daughter, my sister, my mother, and my grandmothers. What a privilege! How glorious, this sorority with half the world. And that is what AMWA has provided for nearly a century and what it will continue to provide, in the century to come. The raw power of support.
AMWA’s mission is more relevant now than ever before. A woman’s right to choose is unbelievably, back on the table. How did this happen? Global warfare has left girls as young as 8 and 9 with vesico-vaginal fistulas from rape and abuse. Small children are being trafficked as sexual slaves. Women physicians are more likely to successfully commit suicide and less likely to earn a salary commensurate with a male physician. All this and much more point to the continuing need for a vibrant AMWA.
We have a lot of work to do. And, because we are women, we sure will do it!
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the excitement that is AMWA.
With fondness and in gratitude,
Gayatri Devi, MD
AMWA President 2012-2013
Founded nearly a century ago, the American Medical Women’s Association is an organization of women physicians, medical students and other persons dedicated to serving as the unique voice for women’s health and the advancement of women in medicine. This is achieved by providing and developing leadership, advocacy, education, expertise, mentoring, and through building strategic alliances. The association functions at the local, national, and international level to advance women in medicine and improve women’s health and is an active participant in setting national health care policy and influencing legislation on women’s health issues. Become a member now!
