December 14, 2001

MGH senior women faculty were treated to a program of delicious food, lively conversation and career networking at the first annual Luncheon for Women Faculty Dec. 7, sponsored by the MGH Office for Women's Careers (OWC). The OWC is a hospitalwide resource for women clinicians and faculty.

Seventeen MGH employees, all either full or associate professors at Harvard Medical School (HMS), gathered in Bulfinch 222 to meet and greet one another, exchange ideas and ask questions. "It was a wonderful experience," says Rebecca Starr, program manager of the OWC. "The luncheon made very clear the fact that women faculty at the MGH want to meet others in their ranks, as well as to share their thoughts about pertinent topics and ways to move forward in their careers."

Starr identified four major issues and questions concerning women faculty that were raised at the luncheon: how to better understand the HMS promotion process; how to bridge the gap between physicians with clinical responsibilities and scientists who are more involved in research capacities; how to master the referral process for program project grants; and how to become more involved with hospital committees and functions. Starr, along with OWC director Nancy J. Tarbell, MD, and the staff of the OWC, is working to address each concern and will bring relevant speakers and other experts to the MGH to provide additional information for women faculty.

A second senior faculty luncheon and a junior faculty luncheon both are tentatively planned for 2002. For more information about the OWC, call (617) 724-5229 or send e-mail to rstarr@partners.org.