Women's Dermatologic Society

  From Dr. Morayo Adisa Staggered employee schedules that consider individual requests and allow for reasonable accommodations. Incentivized subsidized gym/wellness center memberships to promote healthy living and well-being. Mindfulness and respect for boundaries with after-hours texting/communication to maintain a clear distinction between work and personal time.   From Dr. Shawna Flanagan I am a small practice owner with multiple working moms as employees. We are a tight knit group, and everyone does their part to help each other out when things happen with the children. We have employees who stay later so the working moms can pick up their children from school or daycare. When a school play or concert occurs during the day at short notice, everyone chips in and picks up the slack if an employee must slip out of the office for a few hours. Over the years we have had children in the office for short stints when childcare fall through for someone. I think provid...

  From Dr. Shawna Flanagan I used to give my staff a Christmas/Holiday Bonus at the end of the year. Sometimes staff would expect this even if they had only worked in the office for several months. I changed my policy to every 6-month review and bonus structure. Every six months the other staff anonymously evaluates the person who is having their six-month review. The person can get a one-week bonus check if they are doing well in the eyes of their coworkers. My office manager and I also have a sit-down meeting with the person to address any issues they may want to speak about or discuss things they are doing well and address issues that need work. This is better for the practice financially as well as the bonuses are staggered. Each staff member who is performing well gets a two-week extra bonus check per year. I have $5 bills and when someone on the staff goes beyond in the office, they can recommend another staff member for a high five---a $5 “tip” if you will. The staff...

    From Dr. Shawna Flanagan My office staff and I bring joy and fun to the workplace by having fun office dress up events. We love a group Halloween theme and do random themes throughout the year (pajama day, sports team day, Taylor Swift day). Not only does this create a bond with the staff but our patients love our fun energy as well.  Sometimes it’s just little things that bring a joyful boost to the workplace. From Dr. Una Miniter To cultivate joy in the workplace, my office has a potluck celebration for each person‘s birthday. Additionally, four times a year we have a craft night as we have a lot of talented crafters on staff. Lastly, we have numerous patients that come in telling jokes at each of their visits. We all informally compete to see who has heard the best one.   From Dr. Catherine Tchanqu é -Fossuo Creating Joy & Fun at Work is ...

  From Dr. Shawna Flanagan I think achieving career balance is a lifetime juggle! I have been out of dermatology residency for more than 25 years now. At times throughout my career, I have donated a lot more of my time to my children and husband and felt guilty about my career. At other times I have done the opposite and felt guilty about my family. As the late great Barbara Walters was once quoted, “Most of us have trouble juggling. The woman who says she does not is someone I admire but have never met.” From Dr. Mona Sadeghpour As women we are constantly judged for the type of physician, mother, spouse, or leader that we are. We are judged if we work too much or too "little”. These narratives often impart guilt on our conscience and unnecessary stress that we don't always address openly. The truth is that no one creates our life or productivity narratives, but us. Studies have shown that even when women and men dermatologists work similar hours and are "equal...