Pediatric emergency medicine physicians care for children when they face a medical emergency. If you step through the doors of the Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health emergency department, the physician may be one of the 20 inspiring women pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) faculty at Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine.
Elizabeth Weinstein, MD is a professor of clinical emergency medicine and pediatrics and has been treating children in the emergency department since 2002. She graduated from the Indiana University School of Medicine combined pediatrics and emergency medicine residency program in 2007 and following that joined the department as faculty. Anne Whitehead, MD is an associate professor of clinical emergency medicine and pediatrics and graduated from the Indiana University School of Medicine emergency medicine residency program in 2014. After completing a PEM fellowship, she returned as faculty in 2016.
Over the past year, Elizabeth and Anne worked together to prepare for one of their favorite conferences to be held in Indianapolis for the first time, FemInPEM. Established in 2019, FemInPEM aims to support and uplift women physicians in PEM. Elizabeth has been involved with the organization since the beginning. When the opportunity came to host the conference in Indianapolis, Elizabeth asked Anne to plan it with her. The FemInPEM conference is an opportunity for allies and advocates of women working in PEM to highlight challenges and solutions for promoting equity and advancement of women in the field. Faculty, fellows and residents from all over the United States and beyond gather to share their stories, exchange ideas and create community.
Drs. Anne Whitehead, Lindsey Haut, Elizabeth Weinstein and Hannah DeLuna at FemInPEM conference in 2022.
Anne said, “With FeminPEM, I look forward most to the stories, and the people. It's a relatively small conference, which increases the sense of camaraderie and makes networking easy. I walk away energized, and with a renewed appreciation for the humanity of what we do. And I use the lessons I've learned in my work. For example, last year, we had a wonderful talk by a PEM physician about her role as a child as family medical interpreter and it completely changed the way I ask families about language preference. Another talk changed the way I teach about the importance of family presence at pediatric resuscitations.”
On November 15, FemInPEM and Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine partnered to host the fourth annual FemInPEM conference. The conference has grown to host over 100 women pediatric emergency medicine physicians and allies each year.
Several Department of Emergency Medicine faculty presented including:
- “Where are you really from?”: Mariju Baluyot, MD
- “Why are you being so difficult?”: Jessica Kanis, MD
- “Creating LGBQT Community”: Alex Cheetham MD, and Geoff Hays, MD
- “Building a Peer Support Program”: Jennifer Mitzman, MD and Lindsey Haut, MD
The conference brought together physicians from across the United States, including several from the Department of Emergency Medicine, for an engaging series of presentations and discussions. Key topics included addiction, racism and wellness, providing a platform for impactful learning and connection.
Kathy Boutis, MD, a pediatric emergency medicine physician who traveled from Toronto, Canada and spoke at the conference highlighted the event's importance saying, "It’s an exciting and safe place to share experiences. It’s Incredibly powerful and so humbling."
Contributions from the Department of Emergency Medicine included a session presented by Mariju Baluyot, MD, titled “Where are you really from?”, which explored microaggressions and cultural competence in medicine. Dr. Baluyot expressed, "I hope women in medicine feel supported by other women, men, allies and see events and national groups like this are here to listen."
Drs. Lindsey Haut, Geoff Hays, and Jessica Kanis also delivered compelling presentations, sharing their personal experiences. Reflecting on the event, Dr. Boutis noted, "Being a woman in any workplace provides its own unique challenges and having a venue like this where people can share their most vulnerable experiences provides a place for reflection and reassurance that you are not alone. There is a wonderful community to support you during your most difficult challenges."
The conference sparked meaningful dialogue, encouraged reflection, and built lasting connections, with plans to continue its impactful legacy annually. Dr. Baluyot urged others in the field sharing, "Be brave and tell your story, people want to hear it."
Elizabeth and Anne reflected on the event saying, "In planning the conference this year, we relied on the support from our chair and vice chair team, the PEM division, the Women in EM program, faculty who have given their time and talent to speak and lead breakout sessions at the conference, and Kevin Tamosaitis, who has volunteered a tremendous amount of time and event planning talent to bring the conference together. We are so thankful for all of their support. We are proud to be a part of a group that not only believes in, but puts in the work to advance gender equity in pediatric emergency medicine and emergency medicine."
