The annual ACC Arizona Women in Cardiology (WIC) Section event took place at the Omni Scottsdale at Montelucia Resort and turned out to be one of the biggest WIC Section chapter event in the country. Approximately 118 people attended the event including grade school students, high school students, medical students, residents, fellows and cardiology attendings. There was also an impeccable number of male colleagues in attendance to support us, demonstrating that they are behind us in advancing the roles of women in cardiology.

The event opened with remarks from our WIC Section Chair Sarika K. Desai, DO, as she explained the chapter’s mission and importance of community involvement. Our mission is to further the roles of women in cardiology – both within the state of Arizona and nationally – to create a forum where women in every type of practice has the opportunity to speak up. Next, our ACC Governor Christian S. Breburda, MD, PHD, FACC, expressed his excitement to see so many women gathered together with a common goal outnumbering our state chapter meeting attendance.

The keynote speaker, Claire S. Duvernoy, MD, FACC, from the University of Michigan, spoke about the disparities between men and women in cardiology. I was surprised to learn that out of all specialties in medicine, cardiology had the second fewest number of women after orthopedic surgery.

Duvernoy explained that some of the many reasons why so few women do not pursue this path is due to the number of years in training, being a male-dominated subspecialty and concerns about the ability to spend time with family. She noted that although these concerns are valid, many female cardiologists — including herself — have been able to surpass these obstacles and become leaders in their field while also being excellent mothers and wives.

Following Duvernoy’s speech, multiple panelists including Angelica J. Motta, MD; Gina P. Lundberg, MD, FACC; Jennifer L. Cook, MD, FACC; and Ranjini Raina Roy, MD, FACC, spoke about the different paths in cardiology, success as a female academic cardiologist, becoming a female leader in the field and how women can set themselves apart. I was particularly amazed to hear about the vast number of opportunities out there for females to become leaders within their own practices or academic settings.

I am fortunate to have attended such a well-coordinated event. Desai and all the panelists shed a light on the importance of being involved as women in our field and encouraged us to always push to further advance our careers while maintaining balance in our personal lives.

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This article is authored by Carmel Moazez, MD, resident at Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ.