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In collaboration with the WNG, NeurologyLive® held a Roundtable discussion with 2 of the conference’s program co-chairs,
In this fourth and final episode of the roundtable discussion, Farmer and LaFaver talked about the evolving landscape for women in neurology, emphasizing both challenges and opportunities in the field. The duo of experts discussed the importance of mentorship, career flexibility, and embracing innovations such as direct-care models and artificial intelligence. Additionally, the 2 women neurologists highlighted that the WNG aims to fosters community, share professional experiences. Furthermore, they noted that the upcoming conference is expanding to invite nurse practitioners and physician assistants, with the goal of strengthening collaboration and support for all neurology professionals.
Transcript edited for clarity.
Isabella Ciccone, MPH: My question for both of you is, where do you see women in neurology heading in the future, whether it’s this group, this conference, personally with you and your colleagues? How do you see the conference helping to address any challenges that women face in their practice?
Kathrin LaFaver, MD, FAAN, DipABLM: Well, I think there are many challenges currently in medicine, as I think we all realize, and health care is really a bit of a crossroads. For physicians who are in employed positions, there’s a lot of time crunches and lower reimbursements from insurance companies, just as one example, and increased administrative burdens. These frustrations with one’s career—because we all enter this field out of passion, feeling passionate about what we do and wanting to help people—can become challenges when we have to navigate things we weren’t necessarily expecting as we entered this profession. I think what this means for the field going forward is that these challenges can help us find new solutions.
Actually, Farmer is one of the groundbreaking pioneers in forging your own path. She changed from an employed position to now being her own boss, which will be one of the topics at the conference, and moved away from an insurance-based model to a more direct-care neurology practice. There are a lot of other opportunities as well. One of the talks I didn’t mention before is actually about artificial intelligence (AI) opportunities in medicine. So, we’re very excited about that speaker.
So, of course, we often mention the challenges, but there are also many opportunities. My hope is that through connecting with the leaders in the field and with people who are at the forefront of technological changes, we can all find ways to move forward. We transform our practices in a way that continues to provide career satisfaction, serves patients effectively, and moves the field of neurology forward.
Jill M. Farmer, DO, MPH: I agree 100%, and my leap into direct specialty care was shepherded by yet another member of the WNG who had done it previously, was a big advocate for it, and served as a wonderful mentor and guide. Again, one of the powerful ways that the connections in this group can have far-reaching impact.
I would like to see the group thrive and grow but not lose touch with its essence. We had thought about trying to get a website together and put it on other platforms, in other ways, shapes, and forms, to help with its growth and outreach. That was honestly just very hard for a group of essentially volunteer admins with full-time jobs and full-time lives outside of this to accomplish. We decided, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. We’ll keep our home as it is, continue with the style of the group, and continue with its focus of championing a community. Through that, we hope to grow and bring in more members to share their stories and learn from experiences. But this isn’t necessarily going to become something that takes on a life of its own like other groups—becoming a brand or something like that. That’s not our goal. We want to keep it true to its roots.
Kathrin LaFaver, MD, FAAN, DipABLM: With that being said, we are also on LinkedIn now. We have a bit of a public face on Twitter—or X, I guess. One thing I did want to mention is that the group itself has traditionally been for physicians only. However, for this year’s conference, we are inviting nurse practitioners (NP) and physician assistants (PA) working in neurology to attend and learn. Part of this is really trying to embrace that our field is changing, and we need our colleagues in these professions to help manage the patient load better. We’re hoping that many of our NP and PA colleagues will join us, enjoy learning neurology updates, and connect. So that’s another opportunity we’re providing this year.
Isabella Ciccone, MPH: Thank you, and I hope that you have a great turnout this year!
Jill M. Farmer, DO, MPH: Thank you very much. So do we!
Kathrin LaFaver, MD, FAAN, DipABLM: Thanks for the opportunity. We’re very much looking forward to connecting in Colorado!