The Unique Strengths and Leadership of Women in Cardiology in the Context of Team-Centered Medical Care, Academic Medicine, and Biomedical Science

Abstract

Over the past few decades, increasing the number of women in cardiology has been a strategic goal of both the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology. There is an increasing emphasis placed on the role of teamwork within clinical cardiology and in cardiology focused healthcare policy including patient-centered medical homes. Concurrently, studies from organizational and industrial psychology researchers have demonstrated the unique strengths of having women on strategic teams on both the collective intelligence and success of these teams. Social sensitivity likely mediates the association between greater female participation on teams and team success. Despite these observations, women also disproportionately exhibit professional altruism which itself is linked positively with team success but either neutrally or negatively with personal or professional success among women. We believe that these new lines of science will strengthen the case for including and promoting women’s careers in cardiology for overall team success. However, measures to ensure that women not only enhance collective team success but also their own personal success should be both studied and promoted in the future. We believe this to be the key to the future advancement of women in both cardiology and medicine.