FIX Scholarship Winner - Valerie Pierre

Name: Valerie Pierre, MD
Residency Program: Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center
Graduation Date: June 2021

This photo highlights the importance of mentorship - an integral aspect of my journey in emergency medicine. As I reflect on my matriculation into emergency medicine residency, and the successes, triumphs and failures during my training, I can truly say that my mentors’ support has been a source of encouragement for me. More specifically, I have been fortunate to have strong female mentors who came before me. They continually share their wisdom and experience gained in overcoming the many barriers throughout their journeys in emergency medicine and encourage me to persevere in a primarily male-dominated field. This knowledge that my story is not unique serves as daily inspiration for me.

FIX Scholarship Winner - Natassia Buckridge

Name: Natassia Buckridge, MD
Residency Program: SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Graduation Date: June 2023

There is something so exciting about sizing up a tree, mastering the climb, and looking out at the landscape from atop it. I like to envision my journey to emergency medicine as the ascent up a large, complex, identity-shaping tree. Reflecting on my first few days of elementary school as a new immigrant in New York City, I stood at the base of this tree. I was uncertain about this climb. I remember feeling that sense of otherness too, with my thick Jamaican accent and thrifted clothing. I became a U.S citizen some ten years later and a physician eight years after that. I didn’t always know where the next step up the tree would lead me. I did pick up gear along the way that makes the climb easier– rope (mentors), harnesses (colleagues and friends), and spurs (resilience and grit).

The Wonder Women of WiEM: Why Do Female Superheroes Still Need Support Organizations?

Image Credit: Common Sense

Author: Ashely Alker, MD MSc
AAEM/RSA 2017-2018 President

Whether it is Women in EM (WiEM), AWAEM, FeminEM or Shemergency, women in emergency medicine are uniting to advance shared goals, including equal pay and access to leadership opportunities. This comes at a time when women across many disciplines, from Hollywood actors to D.C. politicians, are standing up against inequality.

Women have been undervalued since before they entered the workplace. A Washington Post article determined that the value of a homemaker’s labor is equivalent to an annual salary of $96,261.[1] This is not an inconsequential sum, as the United States Census Bureau quotes the median household income as $55,322.[2] Meanwhile, a woman with an advanced degree earns $65,000, which is $30,000 less than the median income of a man with the same degree.[3]