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The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Division of Digestive Health and Liver Diseases shines not only for its commitment to patient care and published research, but also as a beacon for advancing the careers of female physicians. The division celebrated the latter during September, which was the American Medical Association’s National Women in Medicine Month.

The Division of Digestive Health and Liver Diseases has a female gastrointestinal (GI) fellowship director and assistant director; its chief fellows in 2022 are all female; six of the 14 faculty are women; and the director of the Crohn’s and Colitis Center and vice chair of research for the Department of Medicine is poised to assume the presidency of one of the world’s largest professional associations, the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), in 2024.

Morgan Allyn Sendzischew Shane, M.D., has been working her way up the ranks of the specialty since graduating as a GI fellow from the Miller School. Today, Dr. Shane is assistant clinical professor of the division and program director of the GI Fellowship Program.

Dr. Maria Abreu and 2022 GI fellows at the Scrubs & Heels 2022 Summit

“When I was a medical student applying for fellowship, we maybe had one woman per year. In 2020, four out of five of the graduating fellows were women,” Dr. Shane said. “While the number fluctuates from year to year, our fellows are generally about 50% female, which is really impressive considering that doesn’t reflect the professional practicing landscape.”

Things are looking up for women in the specialty. Today, the percentage of female division chiefs in GI is about 17%, according to Maria T. Abreu, M.D., professor of medicine and microbiology and immunology and director of UHealth – University of Miami Health System Crohn’s and Colitis Center.

Paving the way for the future of women in GI

Dr. Abreu is the fifth woman and first Latina vice president of the AGA and is in line to be president of the 16,000-member association.

She spoke at the Scrubs & Heels 2022 Summit, a meeting focused on empowering women in GI, about an informal Twitter poll she had taken asking women in the specialty how they envisioned GI’s future.

“I asked women: Did they want to close the gender gap in pay? Did they want to see more women leaders in gastroenterology? Do they want more flexible schedules, or do they want more family benefits?” Dr. Abreu said during an interview with Healio.com. “It turned out [the most important among the options to women were] having more women leaders and closing the gender gap in pay.”

Knowing what women in GI want is important to the profession and for patient care, according to Dr. Abreu.

“For the gender gap in GI to close, the specialty and employers have to acknowledge that we have to make this a great workplace for women,” Dr. Abreu said. “In particular, I think about things like maternity leave. The average amount of maternity leave that most institutions offer is 12 weeks, and most women physicians don’t even take the full 12 weeks. I think there are things we can do to make this better.”

The specialty is in a good position to start making change, as women are increasingly being elected to key leadership roles, according to Dr. Abreu.

“We’re going to have a woman American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy president, Jennifer A. Christie, M.D., from Emory School of Medicine, in 2023. I’m going to be the AGA president in 2024, and the same year Amy S. Oxentenko, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, will be president of the American College of Gastroenterology,” Dr. Abreu said.

Having female role models is important and inspiring to the women who have decided to make GI a career.