Authors: Meghan Etsey, Aliza Abid, Dr. Yun Weisholtz on behalf of the AMWA Gender Equity Task Force
“Our Voices, Our Future” is a podcast by the Gender Equity Task Force of the American Medical Women’s Association that explores the challenges, stories, and successes of those working to advance gender equity in medicine. Through candid conversations with changemakers, advocates, and leaders, each episode dives into issues like pay gaps, leadership disparities, and inclusive workplace culture. Tune in to be inspired, informed, and empowered to take action. Full episode listening links are available below the transcription.
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Meghan Etsey: Welcome to Our Voices, Our Future, the podcast where we amplify the voices driving change and equity within medicine and beyond. Brought to you by the Gender Equity Task Force, a committee of the American Medical Women’s Association. We’re here to challenge norms, break barriers, and ignite conversations that matter.
I’m Meghan Etsey, and in each episode, we’ll bring you candid discussions with leaders, change makers, and advocates working to create a more inclusive and just world. No more silence, no more waiting. You’re listening to Our Voices, Our Future.
Let’s get into it.
Today, we’re welcoming Dr. Weisholtz, a physician scientist with an MD-PhD from Harvard Medical School, and a deep passion for mentoring future doctors and researchers. Dr. Weisholtz completed undergraduate studies at Stanford University, spent time as a Fulbright Scholar in Germany, and has since combined research, medicine, and teaching throughout their career.
Beyond the lab and clinic, Dr. Weisholtz holds a unique love for collecting Delft pottery from the Netherlands and runs a mentorship-focused platform. Thank you for joining us today.
Dr. Weisholtz: Oh, you’re so welcome. I’m very happy to be here.
Meghan Etsey: Yeah.
So to start off, could you just share a little bit about your journey, what first inspired you to pursue medicine and research, and how mentorship kind of played a role in shaping your path?
Dr. Weisholtz: Oh, certainly. So something cool about me is I grew up in the Midwest, in Kansas and Missouri, but my family is Chinese-American and we’re immigrants. Both of my parents are organic chemists, so we’re a pretty nerdy family, and I was raised in a science-forward household.
I loved math and science from early on, but I didn’t really discover my interest in medicine or at least the human body and anatomy until probably after high school. First and foremost, there are cultural layers to my journey. In many Asian communities, including mine, there can be stigmas and superstitions around medicine, along with language barriers and then a general distrust of the health care system.
So, I remember watching my parents trying to navigate insurance and health care appointments and it was really confusing and stressful for them, and that really stayed with me. Then academically, medicine made sense for me because it merged what I loved in the lab, like doing experiments, problem-solving, analytical thinking with that human connection I was craving. I’m a very big extrovert, I love talking and mentoring, so medicine really hit the sweet spot.
In terms of mentorship, I made a conscious effort in college to seek out female mentors. I double majored in biology and chemistry, so again, continuing that nerdy trend. My academic advisor at Stanford was Professor Sue McConnell.
She was phenomenal, she really encouraged me to ask hard questions about being a woman in science. And then one thing that stuck with me was when her mentor, Dr. Carla Schatz, came to our dorm at Stanford and then actually gave a talk about mentorship. And the key moment was when she pointed out how the word mentor literally has men in it, because all of her mentors from several generations ago were all men.
And she encouraged us to actively pursue female mentors when possible. And that moment shaped how I now think about giving back. So mentorship really wasn’t accidental, it’s intentional for me.
Meghan Etsey: That’s so cool. It sounds like you’ve had a very great early introduction into this such important topic of mentorship that I think it is not very common for women these days, early in their career.
Dr. Weisholtz: Right.
Meghan Etsey: So with this, in your experience, why does the shortage of these female mentors kind of remain a persistent issue within medicine and academia?
Dr. Weisholtz: Oh, that is a great question. If I can answer that with the real answer and a solution, we wouldn’t be here, Meghan. So I think the one big factor is time and work-life balance.
I’m a relatively new mom with a toddler who actually just ran to my office before we started this podcast. And I’m feeling that squeeze daily, just juggling parenting, clinical work, emails, cooking, laundry, it’s all a lot. And while there are certainly supportive partners out there, and my husband is phenomenal, it’s not always an even split.
Many women carry more of this invisible load, which means they’re stressed thin, they’re stressed thin and simply don’t have the time to really formally mentor others, even if they want to. So we also don’t always see women in leadership roles. That’s just an invisibility issue.
And when women aren’t promoted or protected within institutions, they are not in a position to mentor the next generation of females.
Meghan Etsey: That’s very fair. And let me tell you, even with all you have going on, I’ve been super impressed with using your editing services and just talking to you. I feel like you email back so quickly and it’s very impressive how you balance things.
Dr. Weisholtz: Well, thank you very much. I try to be a really good mom too on this side and that’s something I’m proud of as well.
Meghan Etsey: Yeah, you’re doing it. And I mean, it sounds like it started early with some great mentorship, which is amazing.
Dr. Weisholtz: Yeah.
Meghan Etsey: So can you say what kind of challenges do students, especially women and trainees, even more importantly, from underrepresented backgrounds face when they lack these role models or mentors who share their lived experiences?
Dr. Weisholtz: That’s a great question. And that’s very personal, too. In all honesty, I think a lack of confidence is a big one.
Without mentors who’ve kind of been there, done it, made mistakes, you know, succeeded, and who quote unquote get it, students often start to second guess themselves constantly. And it’s not just like students, like undergrads or medical students, but we’re also talking further on when you become a resident, a fellow, and attending. If you don’t have a good, solid mentor, you can start guessing yourself, second guessing yourself at any point in your career.
So, you know, students in this position will hesitate. They start wondering if they should speak up, try something bold or apply to something competitive, like, you know, a competitive residency program or a grant, right? And sometimes as a result, they don’t take those steps.
So, these novel paths are not explored and this cycle continues. Therefore, having somebody there saying, yes, I’ve been where you are and you can do this, and even if you don’t succeed, it’s okay. I think that makes all the difference.
Meghan Etsey: Yeah, I think that’s great. And this mentorship can kind of take many forms. It can be formal, informal, peer-based.
What kind of approaches do you think work best for supporting students and kind of that junior faculty you were talking about in today’s environment especially?
Dr. Weisholtz: Yeah, it took me a while to figure out something like this and get it to work. So I think understanding generational shifts is huge. The way younger students communicate is different.
The way I do it is that I’m a generation older, you know, at least than you, Meghan. There are some small things like voicemails aren’t really a thing anymore, right? I grew up with a phone that is corded and attached to the kitchen, right?
It’s now more about texting, direct messaging. We have Zoom virtual meetings. So what approach works best?
Well, I like to make an effort to meet students where they are. If I can adapt my communication style and I’m always willing to learn something new, especially in the tech area, it’s a little hard at first, but I hit the learning curve. The relationship I have with my mentees becomes that much more fluid and supportive.
Also, I’m a very hands-on mentor. I am not shy about checking in, especially if a student and I have set internal deadlines. I give them a little gentle nudge, not because I’m trying to be a pushy, mom-like person, but because I genuinely care about my students.
And I found that a little structure and support can be incredibly grounding. And that’s often what students are looking for, is that structured guidance, be it in being a pre-med, being a residency applicant, it really matters. And it makes a stressful application process and advising process much better.
Meghan Etsey: So that’s so funny that you say that. I can relate to it so much because my friends and I, I swear, every new process we go through in medicine, we’re like, we wish there was just a rule book. Like there’s no structure to do these things.
And now here I am applying to residency. I’m like, I wish somebody would just tell me how to do this. Where do I send my signals? How many programs do I apply to? Like I just want a rule book. I want some structure, you know.
Dr. Weisholtz: And it’s even more confusing starting probably last year because instead of just ERAS or EROS, there’s also residency CAS. It’s like another platform, but it’s only for certain specialties. And then people are confused about word or character limitations. They have everything prepared. And then when they go to fill out their application, and they’re like nope, you’re over the word limit.
Meghan Etsey: Yeah. So speaking about this, you spent much of your career advising and mentoring.
Can you tell us more about your platform, MD-PhD advising, and how it kind of helps close some of these invisible gaps that we have within mentor?
Dr. Weisholtz: Absolutely. So this all started when I realized how few students even know what an MD-PhD program was. And my mother-in-law worked as an independent college counselor.
So she helped students that had a very successful business, helping high school students apply for college admissions. And it’s a pretty specific niche area. And then I discovered that I was really good at talking with students in undergrad.
I was an RA at MIT in Stanford and Harvard. And then helping them understand what career paths and options there are. There’s like an MD only, there’s MD- PhD.
Oh, there’s my toddler right now interrupting us. So, yeah helping a student get into medical school, watching them grow into like these confident young physicians, and then supporting them again through match season. And it’s just been a really nice privilege.
Of course, that also tells you, I’ve been here for a very long time, season to season, but it’s all been worth it.
Meghan Etsey: Yeah, that’s so awesome. But more in a bigger picture.
So what would you say, what role should institutions play in building this more inclusive and intentional mentorship system?
Dr. Weisholtz: Yeah, unfortunately, you hit the nail on the head. There isn’t a mentoring system. And I think personally that institutions have a responsibility to train and support faculty mentors.
It’s not enough to just expect mentoring to happen. It needs to be resourced and built into the culture. That means institutions have to give faculty time and then tools and training to do it well.
Not everybody actually can be a mentor. They might be a phenomenal Nobel Prize researcher. They can be a great physicians and clinicians. But that doesn’t mean that they’re necessarily going to be inherent mentors, right? So I think institutions can also better support students who struggle, like, for instance, re-applicants to medical school, re-applicants to residency programs. And one of the things I love about working with re-applicants, which I do, is how we can kind of pause, analyze what happened, and then strategize intentionally.
And that’s what a mentor does. We go through every part of their past experiences, applications, and ask what was working, what’s missing, what’s the purpose behind every new element we’re adding to their application or their decision to do a specific rotation etc. And that strategic approach gives them confidence. And often they gain that confidence just because somebody helped them stop and think and provide some rationale. And I’ve seen so many of these students succeed the second time around.
It’s so rewarding.
Meghan Etsey: I think one thing my friends and I commonly say in medical school is like confidence is half of the battle. Honestly, like this thing, it’s hard to become a doctor and do this, but I think really confidence is super important in this journey.
Dr. Weisholtz: Right. It goes hand in hand with intentionality, right? And again, I’ll never forget what Karla Schatz said when I was in college. It reminded me that most of her mentors were men. So it made me realize that intentionality to go seek out a good mentor is everything. So to answer your question one more time, I think institutions must actively recruit, protect, and promote diverse faculty.
Otherwise, these gaps are just going to stay invisible.
Meghan Etsey: So we’ve talked a lot about your journey and advice.
Can you give us a more specific personal story about a mentor who impacted you or a time you recognize the difference your mentorship made a difference for a student?
Dr. Weisholtz: Yeah. So I was digging around in my files when you asked me some thought questions. So I was trying to come up with some good stories.
And one student I had worked with in recent years had been told repeatedly that they were not competitive enough, right? There’s always this factor of like what, how competitive argue. So they had a non-traditional background. They had average test scores. Basically, they were thinking of giving up. And so we worked together.
We framed her story, highlighted her story in terms of resilience because she came from a non-traditional background. It wasn’t a straight path for her. And we put together as a result, a really powerful application with a single theme around resilience.
And that’s kind of what I emphasize is a single narrative or theme. And she ended up getting multiple interviews and ended up matching. So I was really proud of her.
And then I love the joy on any of my students’ faces when they call me or when we’re on a virtual call and I’ll never forget it. That’s what mentorship can do and what makes it worth it.
Meghan Etsey: That’s so cool. I love that you get to have that full circle moment too.
That’s so cool for you as well. It’s probably very fulfilling in what you do, right?
Dr. Weisholtz: Yeah
Meghan Etsey: And so for our listeners, many who are students, residents or early career physicians or even career physicians.
What’s one piece of advice you’d offer about seeking mentorship and building these supportive networks even when it feels like these resources are limited for us?
Dr. Weisholtz: Let’s see. I love talking about advice just because of what I do. I would say the one advice I would have for our listeners is don’t wait for someone to come to you.
Reach out. Just ask for about 15 minutes of their time. So I often give free consultation meetings to students so that there’s a very low barrier. Send the e-mail, make that phone call and be proactive. Don’t worry if you and this potential mentor won’t be a perfect match.
Mentorship builds over time right? Sometimes you aren’t a good fit. But more often than not, it can be and mentorship comes in many forms. You can find peers, supervisors, more professional advisors like myself.
Just find somebody who is willing to give you honest advice.
Meghan Etsey: I love that. Thank you so much for this talk and all of your advice today. It’s really been a very fruitful conversation.
Dr. Weisholtz: Oh, you’re so welcome. It’s a pleasure to have done this.
Meghan Etsey: Yes. Thank you!
That’s a wrap on this episode of Our Voices Our Future.
We hope today’s conversation inspired you, challenged you, and reminded you of the power of raising your voice. The fight for equity doesn’t stop here. Join us in the movement.
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. If you love this episode, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Until next time, stay bold, stay vocal, and keep the conversation going.
This is Our Voices Our Future.
About the Authors
Meghan Etsey, MS4
Meghan Etsey is a fourth year medical student from St. George’s University. She has a Bachelors of Arts in Biology and a Bachelors of Arts in Nutrition and Dietetics from Bluffton University in Bluffton, Ohio. She served as the President of the St. George’s University’s Women in Medicine chapter in St. George, Grenada where she expanded relationships with the community and worked towards educating women and helping the youth. She is also a member of the Gender Equity Task Force and Sex and Gender Health Collaborative Committees within the American Medical Women’s Association. When she is not pursuing medicine, you can find her with her friends and family on different road trips and adventures exploring the world.
Aliza Abid is a medical student with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her academic interests focus on gastroenterology and oncology, with particular emphasis on the gut–brain axis and microbiome mediated pathways. She has contributed to literature based analyses examining microbiome dysregulation in gastrointestinal cancers and postoperative outcomes in pancreatic surgery. This work has strengthened her interest in the intersection of microbial health, systemic disease, and clinical outcomes. Aliza is committed to translating emerging scientific evidence into equitable and patient-centered care. Aliza also served as a Community Volunteer Leader in Central/Western MA with the American Red Cross, where she coordinated local outreach efforts and received a Red Cross Volunteer Award for her contributions to community service. She is also committed to advancing mentorship and representation for women in medicine through her involvement with the American Medical Women’s Association. Outside of academics, she enjoys exploring cafes, planning her next trip, spending time with friends and family, or unwinding with a new Netflix show.
Formatting, publication management, and editorial support for the AMWA GETF Blog by Vaishnavi J. Patel, DO