At Sutter Medical Group of the Redwoods, 63.6% of cardiologists and advanced practice clinicians are women.
Nationally, women represent 15.5% of practicing cardiologists, and 1 in 4 cardiology fellows.
“We didn’t set out to build a team based on gender,” Emily Conway, MD, chief medical officer of the Santa Rosa, Calif.-based group, said in a March 24 system news release. “We focused on recruiting excellent clinicians who share a commitment to excellence and patient-centered care. The result has been a team that better reflects the patients we serve.”
Having more women on the cardiology team has led to a number of advantages.
1. More women cardiologists strengthens cardiovascular care for all patients and advances women’s heart health across the system, Michael Pham, MD, chair of Sutter Health’s advanced heart and vascular service line, said in the release.
2. Diverse care teams improve care for women, who often present with different symptoms than men. This improves outcomes and care for patients, the release said.
3. The presence of women in both leadership and clinical roles inspires trainees and can help recruit more specialty physicians.
“One of the reasons I joined this group was the strong female presence,” Nisha Soneji, MD, a cardio-obstetrics specialist, said. “I interviewed at more than 10 programs across the country, but I felt especially comfortable here because of the number of women helping to shape both the work and the care.”
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