Emily Gottenborg, Christine Jones, Marisha Burden and Anna Maw are Hospitalists at the University of Colorado and all have had children at some point during their careers. They came on the podcast to discuss their paper “You Can’t Have It All” which looks at the inequities and problems women face when they have children while practicing medicine. An unsparing and inspiring conversation, just like the paper itself.
Note: co-authors Li-Kheng Ngov & Anastasiya Ponomaryova were not able to join this interview
Key Learnings
The origins of this incredible paper, especially their shared memories around parental leave (or lack thereof)
Framing the paper as a scientific article, then rapidly evolving to one sounding an alarm
Using qualitative research and allowing the stories to guide the conclusion
The emotional rollercoaster of collecting data, doing the study and identifying inequities in the system
The impact of feeling like having children is a choice therefore all the inequities that followed are the fault of the mother for making that choice
Releasing the article and embracing the response and the catharsis
Dealing with the fear of losing jobs around bringing this material forward and moving past just “being a good soldier” and being a “troublemaker”
The unique challenges of being in medical training and starting a family
Immediate feedback when the paper was presented at Grand Rounds
Progress around paid time off, resources and space for pumping, and work still to be done
Crossing from publishing research into becoming activists
Moving forward into progress on a huge problem, finding solidarity and sharing information
Creating connections across the country through different parts of the work moving forward and where do we find examples of places doing this work well
Attrition of great minds and talents from medicine due to gender inequity
Links
The article “You Can’t Have It All” https://www.journalofhospitalmedicine.com/jhospmed/article/189543/hospital-medicine/you-cant-have-it-all-experience-academic-hospitalists
Division Of Hospital Medicine at University of Colorado: http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/medicalschool/departments/medicine/GIM/ClinicalCare/HospitalMedicine/Pages/HospitalMedicine.aspx