When Anne L. Taylor went to medical school in the early 1970s, she was one of a very small number of women in her class. Now the Brooklyn native, as professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center and vice dean for academic affairs, is well aware that women continue to lag behind men in advancement in academic medicine, despite the nearly equal numbers of men and women students in medical school.

Somewhere between medical school and the highest levels of leadership in academic medicine we lose women, Taylor said. We have some inkling of the reasons, but theyre not the same as they were 20 or 25 years ago. Back then there were explicit prejudicial policies. Those explicit policies have gone away, but we have still failed to fully recognize the cumulative unintended barriers faced by women in developing careers in academic medicine.

That is one of the reasons why Taylor, who is responsible for programs in support of faculty at the Medical Centers College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S), helped found the Virginia Kneeland Frantz Society for Women Faculty, named for a 1922 graduate of P&S who was the first female surgical intern at what is now New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Frantz was a distinguished faculty member at P&S her entire career at a time when this was very uncommon. The society will empower women faculty to advance in their careers, develop personally and be full participants in institutional growth and vitality, Taylor said.

Taylors own medical research has focused on cardiovascular disease in women and underrepresented minorities, as well as the knowledge gap in diverse communities that is, how well women in different ethnic and racial groups understand their risk for cardiovascular disease.

Her interest in faculty development and diversity has been driven in large part by the recognition that her own success wouldnt have been possible without the superb mentoring she received early in her academic career. The activities and programs of the Frantz Society and the P&S Diversity Task Force will help the Medical Center meet its goal of enhancing diversity. And, for Taylor, achieving true diversity in the College of Physicians and Surgeons faculty goes beyond the recruitment and promotion of women and underrepresented minorities but also fosters inclusiveness and success within the colleges community.

Diversity encompasses culture, ethnicity, disability status, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status she said. The first person in a family to graduate from college and go on to medical school has a very different experience than someone who comes from a long line of professors, physicians and other professionals. The meaning of diversity should encompass all of those things. The College of Physicians and Surgeons is a preeminent medical school with community, national, and global impact. By being diverse and inclusive, we enhance our ability to recruit the best in the world.

A Over the last five years, our professional development office has been presenting a broad set of programs to support all College of Physicians and Surgeons faculty members. Were now starting to drill down and look at faculty subgroups. The Frantz Society was developed to address issues specific to women articulated in 2005, when P&S established a committee on the status of women at the college. It issued a series of recommendations aimed at improving career development for women faculty, yet women facultys career development still did not parallel that of their male colleagues. Having an advisory committee wasnt enough. We needed a larger more proaction group that would establish career development programs to address the unique needs of women. The committee eventually settled on developing a society for women faculty that would be very inclusiveits open to all faculty, trainees and studentsand allow us to look carefully at how to meet the unserved needs of women faculty so we maximize their opportunities to contribute to the institution as well as to achieve satisfying careers.

A Weve launched our first peer-mentorship group for women in the basic sciences, including both junior and senior faculty. We asked them, What would be helpful to you? What are the kinds of things you want to discuss? How can we assist you in achieving your goals? This format is a setting that is very conducive to women expressing things that they may not express in a mixed gender group, of sharing the experiences and successes of more senior faculty. When we poll our faculty, women always express a greater need for networking opportunities. We dont hear this from men as much. The group has outlined a series of discussion topics over the next year. We plan to utilize this format for other groups of women faculty organized around women with common career paths. We expect that the Virginia Kneeland Frantz Society will provide mentorship, but will also celebrate the accomplishments of our women faculty. We want to make sure that were mindful about being inclusivefor example, in invitations to lectureships and nominations for honors and awards.

A The number of underrepresented minorities in academic medicine remains very small, and what we see at the College of Physicians and Surgeons is absolutely consistent with what we see nationally. Additionally, data aggregated from all 130 U.S. and Canadian medical schools show that women and underrepresented minority faculty have slower career progression, are less likely to have high quality mentoring and sponsorship relationships and are less likely to remain in academic medicine. These groups also experience an increased burden of service since they then are disproportionately asked to do academic service. Our diversity committee has helped us to be attentive to the career development needs of these faculty. Diversity is not just about recruiting larger numbers of women and diverse groups; its also making sure of equal mentorship, sponsorship, career development opportunities and meaningful inclusion in the academic community.

A The College of Physicians and Surgeons and its partner hospital offer extraordinary care options to the patients we serve, not just within our very diverse Washington Heights community, but also in the tri-state region, nationally and internationally. Anyone who practices medicine or public health recognizes that to do a good job in the clinical care of patients, you have to understand cultural background, belief systems, and be able to communicate in a meaningful way. In addition, disease burden differs by demographic groups and we need to understand the mechanisms to be able to provide optimal care. Its a reason why healthcare professionals providing patient care should reflect the communities they serve.

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Dr. Anne Taylors Rx for Enhancing Medical Education