Philadelphia Medicine Winter 2017-18x - 4

p h i l a m e d s o c  .org

Letter from the president

Sexual Harassment Isn't Just in
Hollywood or Behind an Anchor Desk

Y
Cadence Kim,
MD, FACS
President

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ou'd have to have spent the last couple of months on a remote island
without a cell phone or any other modern means of communication, to
not be aware of one of the biggest stories of the year - sexual harassment.
Harvey Weinstein, Charlie Rose, Matt Lauer, Roy Moore, and far too many other men
have made sexual harassment a story that has bubbled to the surface, and dominated
news cycles for weeks.

Sexual harassment is not confined to Hollywood, the anchor desk or Congress.
A nationwide Quinnipiac University poll released in November found that 60
percent of women surveyed said they had been sexually harassed. In our cover story,
our editor, Alan Miceli, reports on sexual discrimination in the medical profession.
An online survey of Philadelphia medical students conducted for the article
found that more than half of the 149 students who responded said that they had
been sexually harassed. Almost nine out of 10 of them said the harassment has
taken place in medical school or while on a clinical rotation. The incidents these
women describe are disturbing and a cause for deep concern. Almost half of our
medical school classes are now composed of women.
Despite their high academic achievement, many have or will be subjected to
sexual harassment due to a pervasive culture of sexism which exists even in our
most elite academic institutions. As long as the person in authority has almost
complete control over, for example, a medical student's future, speaking out could
have a devastating impact on that student's career and life. This article should be
a call for action to the deans of our medical schools, the heads of our residency
programs and to the administrators of our hospitals.
We also have an informative and touching story on Alzheimer's disease.
Patti Cruz, a social worker who is married to Dr. Mario Cruz, a Philadelphia
pediatrician, describes what she and her family have gone through to care for her
mother, Rita Barry.
Rita was a very bright, well-educated woman, an avid reader, a school principal,
who spent much of her life being a loving and active participant in the world. Her
imaginative, joyful mind that brought so much light to her husband, children,
friends, co-workers, students and parents, has been hijacked by this terrible disease.

EDITORIAL BOARD
* Michael DellaVecchia, MD, PhD, FACS
* Corina Graziani, MD
* Alan Miceli, MA, Editor

4

Philadelphia Medicine : Winter 2018

* Nicholas E. Nowotarski, MD
* Susan Robbins, MD, MPH, FAAP
* Paul D. Siegel, MD
https://philamedsoc.org/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Philadelphia Medicine Winter 2017-18x
