There is a new club for women in pre-medical and other health-focused programs at the UA. Women in Medicine and Science was formed with the goal of providing women interested in medical careers with support and encouragement.
Neuroscience junior Eleni Moschonas founded the organization after interviewing a practicing female neurologist, who said she would have loved to have a club supporting women in medicine in college.
“I thought, ‘Well, this has to exist at the UA,’” Moschonas said. “This is such a big campus; there’s so many pre-med students here, and there wasn’t [a club like this].”
It is critical to support women during their undergraduate education, Moschonas said, since women who are in medical school or are already in the workforce have many similar organizations to join.
Since pre-med students feel pressure to participate in as many activities as possible to get into medical school, without personalized experience, women in pre-med can often feel lost.
WIMS’ mission is to encourage female students to continue on their pre-med path, as well as to empower women who are returning to the workforce by providing them with the resources needed to pursue a new career.
Even though WIMS is one of the newest additions to the UA club roster, it has wasted no time in publicizing its existence and organizing events for its members and community.
WIMS, along with Women in Science and Engineering, has organized an outreach activity for local high school girls to introduce them to science as a career. During the activity, students will test the vitamin C concentration in different fruit juices, using the everyday act of selecting a beverage to demonstrate the vast opportunities open to women in medicine and science.
“WIMS will be a great place for young women to figure out the different steps that need to be taken in order to be prepared for further schooling and advancement in their intended career,” said Devan Arkley, WIMS’ treasurer. “I just remember wishing there were other women in an organization I could surround myself with that helped me gain knowledge about the things I would need.”
While the name might make WIMS appear to only be open to female pre-med students at the UA, students of all genders are welcome to join, provided they carry the requisite 3.2 GPA and a passion for healthcare.
“We need men as well as women to support women in medicine,” Moschonas said.
While the application period for WIMS for the spring is over, the WIMS application for next semester will open in the fall.
Moschonas hopes that WIMS will attract more like-minded students who are passionate about medicine in the next year and will continue to work to change the way women are perceived and treated in medicine.
“I want WIMS to be a chapter promoting support, camaraderie and education for women,” Arkley said. “This group will be purposeful and successful, because we will be the support and the people you need to know with the contacts to help you succeed and look amazing on paper and reach the goals to make you a professional.”
With its vision, passion and focus on specific important issues, WIMS can surely make a mark on the UA medical community.
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