ACP partners with TIME’S UP Healthcare
The collaborative founding partnership will promote safety, equity, and inclusion for those working in health care.
ACP and TIME’S UP Healthcare have formed a collaborative founding partnership to promote safety, equity, and inclusion for those working in health care.
In a commentary published June 18 by Annals of Internal Medicine, ACP Member Lynn E. Fiellin, MD, a founding member of TIME’S UP Healthcare, and Darilyn V. Moyer, MD, FACP, Executive Vice President/CEO of ACP, outlined the findings of a 2018 report by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, which found that up to 50% of female medical students in the U.S. reported being sexually harassed by faculty or staff. The report also found that some female physicians who reported experiencing sexual harassment as medical students also developed severe depression, recurrent troubling memories, and decreased interest in their medical studies, including considering leaving medicine completely.
Beyond sexual harassment, the commentary said, ACP's 2018 position paper “Achieving Gender Equity in Physician Compensation and Career Advancement” addressed gender disparities in compensation and leadership positions and offers potential solutions, such as increasing the number of women in practice, faculty, and leadership positions across all health care settings. TIME’S UP Healthcare's primary goal is unifying efforts to make the health care workplace safer, more equitable, and more inclusive. Through their partnership, ACP and TIME’S UP Healthcare will coordinate efforts, share best practices, and provide support for each organization's educational and advocacy work. ACP will designate a representative to work directly with TIME’S UP Healthcare to advance gender safety and equity, the commentary said.
“For the sake of the more than 13 million persons employed in the U.S. health care field, as well as all the patients they care for, assuring a safe, equitable, and inclusive health care environment is critical,” Drs. Fiellin and Moyer wrote. “The need to implement the goals of TIME’S UP Healthcare is urgent, and the time for action is now.”