H o w To Celebrate
NATI O N A L WO M E N
P HYSIC IA N S DAY
F E B R UA RY 3 RD , 2 017
PROFESSION AL L A B COATS
•
PERFORMANCE SCRUBS
A B O UT
N at i o n al Women Physi ci ans Day
National Women Physicians Day was first observed in 2016, on February 3rd. This date marks the birthday
of legendary female physician, Elizabeth Blackwell, a strong and influential figure who changed the career
of medicine by becoming the first American woman to hold an MD. A true pioneer of her time, Elizabeth
Blackwell continues to be an inspiring role model for thousands of women who dream of becoming a doctor,
and her journey serves as a reminder to us all of how difficult the path to medicine is for women even today.
Today we celebrate the courage of Elizabeth Blackwell and celebrate the accomplishments of female
physicians by setting aside February 3rd as a national holiday to honor these tenacious women and the
obstacles they have overcome. Indeed, there is much to celebrate: in the year 2010 women made up nearly
a third of the physician workforce (compared to 24% in the year 2000 and 11% in 1990), and this figure is
expected to grow. Most recent statistics from the AAMC indicate that 47% of medical students and 46% of
residents are women.
But it’s not enough to simply recognize how far we have come as a society when it comes to removing
barriers for women to enter the field of medicine. Though we have come a long way in improving workplace
equality for women in medicine, there is still much work to be done. The percentage of male physicians
(65%) still considerably exceeds that of females (35%), according to government statistics, and findings from
the MedScape 2016 Compensation Report reveal that men still earn more than women for both primary
care physicians and specialists. Even more shocking, 30% of women physicians have experienced sexual
harassment in the workplace, and nearly 75% have had an experience with gender bias on the job.
Nat i o n al Wom e n Ph ys i c i ans Day 2 017
On National Women Physicians Day 2017, let us come together to honor and support the immense sacrifices
that women in medicine have made for their careers, and let us continue pushing forward as a community to
make medicine a more welcoming field for women across the globe. Join us as we “Celebrate Today and
Pave the Way for Tomorrow!”
Ab o u t P h ys i c i a n M om s G rou p ( PMG)
Physician Moms Group (PMG) was founded in November 2014 by Dr. Hala Sabry in an effort to bring
together women physicians, who are also parents, so that they can collaborate and support each other while
sharing their medical expertise in an open forum. The PMG mission is to provide resources, a platform to
network, and an opportunity to share information with like-minded individuals. The PMG network includes
over 64,000 women physicians of all specialties across the globe. For more information, visit www.mypmg.
com.
RESOURCE G U ID E
N at i o n al Women Physi ci ans Day
P R OF E S S ION A L L A B C OATS
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P E R FOR MA N C E S C R UB S
Nat i o n al Wom e n Ph ys i c i ans Day on s ocia l me dia
Join your colleagues and engage in conversation on social media. Participating in social
media is a great way to spread the message of NWPD and share your story with the rest of
the community.
Hashtag s to use:
#NWPD
#IAmBlackwell
#WomenDocsInspire
Sa m p l e Fa c e book Post :
Happy National Women Physicians Day to the strong females who make up 34% of the
physician workforce! Did you know that on average female physicians make nearly $20,000
less than their male counter parts? Let’s come together to push for greater equality in
the workplace. Lear n more at www.medelita.com/national-women-physicians-day.html.
#NWPD #IAmBlackwell #WomenDocsInspire
Sa m p l e Tw e et s :
National Women Physicians Day: Because gender equality in medicine encourages better health outcomes
for all. #NWPD #IAmBlackwell #WomenDocsInspire
Did you know that women make up over a third of the physician workforce? Happy National Women
Physicians Day! #NWPD #IAmBlackwell #WomenDocsInspire
Celebrate Today and Pave the Way for Tomorrow on Feb 3rd this National Women Physicians Day!
#NWPD2017 #IAmBlackwell #WomenDocsInspire
FAST FA CTS
N ational Wo m e n Phy sic i an s Day
A s o f 2 016 , th e r e wer e
6 1 0 ,014 (6 6 % ) ma le
p hysic ians wi th a n
ac tive license a nd
3 1 1 ,86 6 (3 4 % ) wome n
p hysic ians wi th a n
ac tive license.
C a lifo rnia has the most
fe male do c tor s out of
any state (3 3 ,000).
Over 6 0% o f
p ediatric ians a nd over
5 1 % o f OB GYN s a r e
fe male.
Wo m e n a r e l e s s l i k e l y
than men to hold
jobs in higher-paying
medical specialties,
such as cardiology,
gastroenterology,
urology, and
orthopedics.
4 6 % o f all p hy si ci a ns i n
t ra ining are fema le, but
fe males m ake up only
3 8 % o f the p opula ti on
o f general sur gi ca l
t ra inees.
Wome n make up
only 1/ 3rd o f f ul l -ti me
a ca de mi c me di ci n e
fa cul ty, an d o n l y 1/ 4th o f
spe ake rs at h e al th care
confe re n ce s .
Female physicians
earn, on average,
nearly $20,000 less a
year than their male
c o l l e a g u e s ( th i s vari e s
by r egi o n an d s p e ci al ty) .
Ma r r i e d fe mal e
phy s i ci an s w i th ch i l dre n
spe n d 8 . 5 mo re h o u rs
a we e k o n p are n ti n g
a nd o th e r do me s ti c
a cti v i ti e s th an mal e
colle ague s .
The m o s t co mmo n
i ncom e di s rup te rs
for femal e p hys i ci an s
a r e mate rn i ty l e ave
(36% ) , p e rs o n al s i ck
le ave ( 2 1%) , an d
unem p l oy me n t ( 18 %) .
35 % o f fe mal e
p hys i ci an s re p o rt feel i n g
ove rexte n de d an d
ove r wo rke d, co m pa r ed
to 30% o f mal e
p hys i ci an s .
8 5 % o f fe mal e
p hys i ci an s made ca r eer
ch an ge s fo r th e ben ef i t
o f th e i r ch i l dre n a n d
fami l y, w h i l e o n ly 3 5% of
mal e p hys i ci an s m a d e
s i mi l ar ch an ge s .
Almost 1 out of 3
female physicians
have experienced
sexual harassment in
the workplace.
70% o f fe mal e
p hys i ci an s re p o rted
exp e ri e n ci n g ge n d er
b i as w h i l e o n th e job.
71% of female
physicians are the
‘breadwinners’ in their
f a m i l y.
Ta lk a bo ut N WPD to l oc al m edi a
•
Tak e ou t an ad in a l ocal newspa per o r m a g a z i ne
•
Write a lett er to the editor
•
Su b mit a n ews rel ea se using the sa m p l e p ress rel ea se o n the fo l l ow i ng p a g e
•
Do a rad io Publ ic Ser vice Announc em ent to ed u c ate r a d i o l i stener s a b o u t f em a l e
p hy s ician s and their rol e in our hea l th c a re system .
•
Con tact your l oca l hospital s, school s, a nd l i b r a r i es to a sk a b o u t setti ng u p N W PD p o s ter s,
d is tribu tin g NWPD fa ct sheets, a nd o ther o p p o r tu ni ti es to hel p sp rea d yo u r m essa g e.
Ti ps fo r p itch in g a news r el ease or
stor y to yo ur medi a
•
Be clear an d concise, with one ma i n p o i nt a nd no m o re tha n three m a i n p a r a g r a p h s. Sh ow
con f id en ce in your position a nd state c l ea r a nd a c c u r ate f a c ts to su p p o r t i t.
•
For mat you r pitch with doubl e spac i ng a nd m a ke su re to p ro o f rea d b efo re su b m i tti n g
any th in g for g r amma r and spel l ing er ro r s.
•
Avoid p rof essiona l ja rg on and remem b er the a u d i enc e yo u a re sp ea ki ng to so yo u c a n
exp lain your points a s simpl y a s po ssi bl e fo r p eo p l e to u nd er sta nd a nd rem em b er.
•
Be timely and patient. Submit your sto r y o r p i tch w i thi n a f ew d ays o f yo u r ex p ec ted
releas e. If you don’t hear ba ck or yo u r sto r y i s d ec l i ned , d o n’t b e d i sc o u r a g ed !
“ Celebratin g Today and Pavi ng
th e Way for Tom or row”
N atio n a l Wo men Physi c i ans Day
Pro clamatio n
W he reas, (STATE , COU N TY O R C I T Y NA M E ) i s pro ud t o rec o g ni ze a nd
h onor the servi c es o f wo m en p hy s i c i a ns to o ur s tate;
W he reas, there are c u r ren tly 3 1 1 , 8 8 6 pr a c ti c i ng fem a l e phy s i c i a ns i n the USA
th at cons titute 3 4 % o f th e to tal phy s i c i a n wo rk fo rc e;
W he reas, the m ed i c al f i eld h as been a c k now l edg ed to be unwel c o m i ng a nd
in f lexible for wo m en wh o w i sh to enter the pro fes s i o n a nd therefo re l ea d s to
g reater rates o f bu r n o u t fo r wo m en phy s i c i a ns ;
W he reas, f em ale p hysi c i an s are a n i m po r ta nt pa r t o f the m edi c a l wo rk force;
W he reas, bu i ld i n g a b etter h eal thc a re s y s tem i n the future a nd a fo c us on
compas sionate p ati en t-c en te red c a re w i l l requi re g reater pa r ti c i pati o n from
fem a les in m ed i c i n e;
W he reas, Physi c i an Mo m s G ro up, a s the vo i c e fo r m o ther phy s i c i a ns i n
th e USA, is wo rki n g to p ro m o te cha ng es to c reate a m o re wel c o m i ng wo rk
env ironment fo r f em ale p hysi c i an s ;
W he reas, co m mu n i ty su p p o rt and rec o g ni ti o n o f the i m m ens e s a c r i fi c es fema le
phy sicia ns mu st m ake fo r th ei r p ati ents i s nec es s a r y to s uppo r t thi s g o a l ;
Be I t Re s olved , th erefo re, th at I ( GOV ER NO R NA M E O R EL EC T ED
OFF ICIA L NA ME ) h ereby d ec la re Febr ua r y 3 rd, 2 0 1 7 , a s
Wo m en Phy s i ci a n s D ay i n (STAT E NAME O R C O U NT Y/ C IT Y NA M E,
IF M AYO R A L O R C OU NT Y-LEVEL PRO C LAMAT IO N)
in recog nition o f th e c o u n t less c o ntr i buti o ns that wo m en phy s i c i a ns have ma de.
Signed :______ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
D ate: ______ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
N atio n a l Wo m en Physi c i ans Day
Pre ss Rel ease
Contact Name
Contact Phone Number
For Immediate Release
Celebrate Today and Pave the Way for Tomorrow - National Women Physicians Day
CITY, STATE (Date) - To recognize, honor, and celebrate female physicians and their contributions
to healthcare, February 3rd has been declared National Women Physicians Day. This date also marks
the birthday of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female physician in the U.S., who opened the door for the
hundreds of thousands of female physicians who came after her.
Communities around the nation are asked to observe this holiday to celebrate how far we have come as a
society in empowering females to choose careers in medicine, and to recognize the progress we still must
make to support the development and equality of women in medicine. Female doctors are an integral
part of our patient-centered healthcare system, yet today females only make up a third of the physician
workforce. In a traditionally male-dominated field, female physicians often face challenges that their male
counterparts do not, including unequal pay, gender bias, sexual harassment, and a workplace that tends
to be inflexible to the needs of women who wish to have families and a medical career.
During National Women Physicians Day, efforts will center around honoring the physicians who paved
the way for women in medicine, increasing awareness of the sacrifices and obstacles female physicians
must overcome, inspiring the future generation of female physicians and pushing our society towards
greater equality of the sexes within this field.
(Insert local information.)
Physician Moms Group (PMG) was founded in November 2014 by Dr. Hala Sabry in an effort to bring
together women physicians, who are also parents, so that they can collaborate and support each other
while sharing their medical expertise in an open forum. The PMG mission is to provide resources, a
platform to network, and an opportunity to share information with like-minded individuals. The PMG
network includes over 64,000 women physicians of all specialties across the globe. For more information,
visit mypmg.com.
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