2024-03-08 17:51:20
On January 26, Dr. Ana Carolina Sepúlveda Vildósola became the first woman to direct the Faculty of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), following being appointed by the UNAM Governing Board for the period 2024-2028, which is a historic decision with implications for gender equality.
Dr. Ana Carolina Sepúlveda Vildósola
Dr. Sepúlveda shared with Medscape in Spanish his feelings and thoughts around his appointment, as well as his strategies for one of the flags of his work plan: the humanization of medicine.
Management of medical schools in Latin America
In accordance with QS World University Rankings 2023UNAM has been classified as the best university in the country to study medicine, as well as the second best in Latin America, only surpassed by the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil. Leading this institution comes with great responsibility for anyone in the position.
“I feel a great commitment to the entire community, I have prepared myself for this moment, I studied a master’s degree and a doctorate in health education, I want to promote changes and keep the Faculty at the forefront of health education at a national and global level” said Dr. Sepulveda.
Of the ten universities best evaluated to study this career in the region, only the medical schools of USP and the Universidade Federal Rio Grande do Sul, both in Brazil, are being directed by women at this time, a situation to which is added the appointment of Dr. Sepúlveda, who is the first woman to reach this position at the UNAM Faculty of Medicine.
“Feminization of medicine”, but still with few leadership positions
“I also feel a great responsibility with the female community of the Faculty, it has been becoming feminized in recent years. Currently we have around 70% of the enrollment of undergraduate students who are female and I feel a great responsibility with them to be able to pave the way for them. The path that many of us have already taken, one that has sometimes been difficult and rocky, we would like to pave for the new generations, we want there to be greater gender equality in the study and practice of medicine. And, on the other hand, “I feel very proud to be the first woman to occupy this position. I feel very happy, proud and satisfied, but as I said initially, with a great commitment to the community and responsibility towards my gender,” declared the pediatric specialist.
The so-called phenomenon of “feminization of medicine” refers to the increase in the number of women in relation to men in the career and its consequent change within faculties and schools. Until the 1980s, women represented a low proportion of the total number of students entering medical schools; However, this has changed over the past 30 years, during which the proportion of women has increased steadily around the world including Mexico, where the percentage reached 68% in 2018 and continues to rise.[1]
This phenomenon is also observed in the specialization, where women make up approximately half of the student enrollment. In the data reported By the Faculty of Medicine, differentiation occurs by specialties, where some have a clear female dominance, such as clinical nutrition and pediatric endocrinology, called “feminized” specialties, while others continue to be dominated by the male sex, such as urology and neurosurgery, called “masculinized” specialties, and some more where the proportion of men and women remains equitable, such as ophthalmology and psychiatry, which have been called “gender equality specialties.”
In UNAM’s highly specialized postgraduate courses, women make up an average of 44% of the student body. However, although the trend in the increase in women is general, as the academic degree increases, the percentage decreases, a situation that is maintained when analyzing the leadership positions of the Faculty, where it is reported that in 2018 only 44% of full-time faculty were women.
Furthermore, despite the increase in medical graduates, differences continue to exist in monetary income and opportunities to access leadership positions.
Dr. Sepúlveda gave us her opinion regarding her appointment in the context of this trend: “I believe that my appointment is due to two phenomena, the first is a prepared community, with an attitude of openness towards the possibility of female leadership. Yes There have to be cultural changes in our society for these opportunities to open up, but, on the other hand, I think that the appointment itself has nothing to do with whether she is a woman, but with the person. I don’t like to talk regarding gender quotas in the issue of occupying a leadership position, but rather an issue of the capabilities of people regardless of their sex. It seems to me that on this occasion the community was prepared to receive a director, but I also believe that my personal characteristics, my training in the field and my experience strengthened this appointment,” said the doctor of sciences.
“A new style of leadership”
It is said that the appointment of the first woman to the position is a historic decision due to its implications for gender equality, but this goes beyond the achievement of reaching the position.
“I believe that my appointment allows us to analyze all aspects, the substantive functions of the Faculty from a different perspective. Both teaching and research, as well as culture, service seen with a female eye, are different from the male gaze that has been hegemonic in medicine. I think that this will allow us to complement many of these areas with new leadership styles and with a different and fresh look, with respect to the challenges that are presented to us,” explained the specialist in medical education.
In an interview for MillenniumDr. Sepúlveda commented on her intention to place a painting by Matilde Montoya on one of the walls of her office, with the intention of highlighting a female face among the strong presence of portraits of men, so we questioned her regarding how she considers visibility of female characters who have made contributions in the area.[2]
“In fact, yesterday they brought Matilde’s painting and we are going to unveil it on March 8, and it will not be here in the office, because I believe that it is important for the female community to see faces of women who have overcome obstacles and that have precisely opened the doors for us to continue advancing in this field. We are going to put it at the entrance of the main auditorium of the Faculty so that all women, when they come to this auditorium, feel inspired by the woman who opened us to all this path of medicine in our country,” the director told us.
Matilde Montoya in the Woman’s Album. Source: Collection of the National Library of Mexico. Public domain
The entry of women to the university in Mexico was a historical event of the 19th century. Until then, access to higher education was exclusive to men. In 1887, Matilde Montoya graduated as a doctor, becoming the first woman in Mexico to do so, following 334 years since the first medical diploma was issued in the country, taking an essential step for all Mexican women who They have decided to follow this profession until now.
137 years following that historic event for gender equality, another one happens that randomly coincides with the 85th death anniversary of Dr. Montoya, who died on January 26, 1939.
However, Dr. Sepúlveda is aware that there are many more women in Mexico who deserve to be recognized in the community for their contributions to the area.
“We are going to show the faces of different women who have paved these paths, so that medical students and new generations see that in our history there are also successful women, women who have fought for their dreams and for their rights, because Traditionally, in the Faculty, there are men’s faces everywhere, right? The hegemonic vision from a male perspective had made women invisible and there are many who are very valuable, and it is important to highlight their trajectories so that we inspire new generations.” , he added.
Women’s medical practice has been characterized based on communication skills, since they offer emotional support and are more involved in giving understandable explanations to their patients, which is why, for some authors, this sex has contributed to the humanization of the medicine and humanization is precisely one of the flags of the director’s work plan.[3]
“Women have different leadership styles than men. There are studies that show that female doctors have differences in their general behavior. I believe that this also translates to leadership, where women care more, perhaps because of empathy, to see other people as complete people. It is very important that we maintain the spirit of medicine, which is the treatment between people. As time goes by, some issues will become more technical […]Surely in the future some things will be replaced by machines, but what will always persist is the doctor-patient relationship. And I believe that we have to emphasize to our doctors in training that medicine is not only regarding acquiring those technical and methodological skills and competencies that will allow them to reach diagnoses and treatments, but always putting patients at the center of our care. act, understand that we are dealing with human beings who not only have a broken part, but are a whole set of social, psychological, educational situations, that is why I believe that humanism is extremely important in the training of our students,” he described the former president of the board of directors of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS).
Director’s objective: “Strengthen humanism”
The concept of humanization in medicine includes the relationship with the patient, an empathetic and kind contact, it implies seeing them as human beings within a specific context that directly influences their health. The hyperspecialization to which the health system has tended and some technological advances that distance professionals from patients are part of the challenges to be faced in the objective of humanization.
“We have to strengthen the doctor-patient relationship and specific actions to be able to maintain and strengthen humanism in the training of health professionals, first of all. This has to be explicit in the academic programs, granting subject time to be able discuss these soft skills that are increasingly becoming more important in the training of professionals in general,” said Dr. Sepúlveda.
Experiencing situations that generate empathy and connection with other human beings then becomes a priority for the director.
“There are studies that show us that living experiences from a very early stage in training as professionals strengthens this humanism. For example, experiences can be created where students go to a nursing home to accompany them, take them to the park, talk with them, take them to buy their medicines, in short, to connect with another human […] or even in hospitals to perform functions other than medicine, accompaniment, the objective is to connect with another human. These experiences in other places have shown that it helps strengthen humanism,” she proposed.
The example and actions of the medical community that is training professionals is also essential.
“We learn by example, the example that our teachers, our tutors, even other colleagues give us. If we create a supportive community, a community that cares regarding each other, we will ensure that medical practice in the future of these people be humanistic,” concluded the new director.
Dr. Sepúlveda has declared that she has no relevant financial conflicts of interest.
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