Review of Women in Psychiatry: Personal Perspectives, edited by Donna M. Norris, Geetha Jayaram, and Annelle B. Primm

Abstract

[Author Affiliation]Meena Ramani. 1 Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Nassau University Medical Center, East Meadow, New York.Donna Dilmanian. 2 Department of Psychology, Long Island University, Post Campus, Brookville, New York.ISBN: 978.1.58562.408.9. Arlington, VA, American Psychiatric Publishing, 2012, 345 pages.Address correspondence to: Meena Ramani, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Nassau University Medical Center, 2201 Hempstead Turnpike, East Meadow, NY 11554, E-mail: drmeenaramani@gmail.comArecent study by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) (Association of American Medical Colleges 2010) indicates that the number of women applicants at accredited United States medical schools peaked from 10% in 1965 to 51% in 2003. In 2010 and 2011, women made up 47% of the applicant pool at accredited United States medical schools. Impressively, in 2008, 49.3% of medical degrees awarded in the United States were awarded to women, representing the largest national class of women medical doctors to date. Women continue to radiate toward specialties in internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics, and gynecology. The AAMC reports that in 2011, only 6.3% of women residents were in psychiatry. Professionally, women remain grossly underrepresented in the ranks of assistant professor, associate professor, and full professor, as well as in leadership positions such as department chairs and deans.Today, we are living at the crossroads of Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In (Sandberg 2013) and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008. Both women's empowerment and mental health issues are at the fore of our nation's dialogue, but where are the women psychiatrists? Women in Psychiatry: Personal Perspectives seeks to explore this very issue, and to help empower women at all phases of their training and professional development to become effective psychiatrists during this critical juncture in our cultural history.Women in Psychiatry: Personal Perspectives is a compilation of the stories of 21 women in the field of psychiatry. These women offer details of their personal and professional journeys as they traverse an array of social, cultural, academic, and systemic challenges. They discuss the impact that their identities and backgrounds have had on their training and careers in psychiatry. They address topics including cultural background, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, subspecialty, place of employment, and work setting. They share insight into the resources that helped them to shape their paths and overcome obstacles. Most importantly, they contribute to the current cultural dialogue on both gender issues and mental health parity by offering encouragement and support to help women continue to tackle the professional and social challenges that both doctors and patients face in our time.The narratives of Women in Psychiatry address issues at various levels of training and professional development. The authors address the obstacles to deciding on and gaining acceptance to medical school, and the impact of cultural and social biases on women's transition into medical training. The authors discuss how they came to choose psychiatry as a specialty, and address controversies in the medical community surrounding specialization in psychiatry, a topic of utmost importance as we seek to empower psychiatrists of both genders. The authors examine how they came to choose the ways that they would each practice psychiatry: In private practice, hospitals, public administration, organizational and legislative capacities, military settings, and academia.Additionally, the book chronicles the impact of various factors on the professional development of women psychiatrists. The authors discuss the impact of racism, past and present; sexism during training and in professional settings; immigrant status and acculturation; and religious practices and social barriers. …