Being Brave

Abstract

If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change our children's birthright... For there is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it" 1 T his month's issue begins with a qualitative study conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Rochester's Department of Family Medicine. This team, led by Holly Russell, MD, MS, explored barriers and facilitators to reporting and responding to gender discrimination and sexual harassment within their own department. 2 This was brave, and inspiring, and-as it was done extremely well-also lays out an educational roadmap for those moved to replicate this important work. The women editors of Family Medicine collaborated on this editorial, after recognizing the strength of shared narrative highlighted by this study. The italicized quotes that follow are reflections from this team.The article starts by describing the pervasiveness of gender discrimination and sexual harassment in medicine, citing studies that reveal most women clinician-researchers and almost all women residents have experienced gender discrimination during their careers, with one-third experiencing sexual harassment. 3,4 Discrimination must be ubiquitous to support such statistics, however the frequency uncovered by this work surprised even some members of Dr Russell's research team and department. This is understandable, as it is easiest to believe that "almost all" means everyone else, rather than the more logical truth that it includes us all. But as this research team demonstrated, and what our society is discovering, is that being brave enough to see also suggests one is responsible to challenge the darkness when revealed.

Sexual Harassment and Gender Bias in Family Medicine: Divergent Experiences of Men and Women

“…6,7 Wendling et al's supporting commentary noted the need to shine the light on our institutions and understand how our people-all of our people-are being treated, for to face that truth is to take our first step toward change. 8 The literature on SH among physicians uses primarily quantitative methods and characterizes the frequency and type of harassment 3 but provides little context or nuance. Further, the few qualitative studies tended to include homogenous gender (primarily women) and position (trainees or faculty) samples.…”