What We Bring to the Practice of Medicine: Perspectives from Women Physicians (Literature and Medicine)

Personal essays relating key issues and insights from women in medicine

What We Bring to the Practice of Medicine brings together a collection of short essays from women physicians working in diverse fields of medicine around the world. Through compassion, humor, and resiliency, their stories reveal the truth of what life is like for a variety of women in medicine.

While men and women physicians face different challenges and bring different historical experiences to the examination table, the history of medicine has been primarily told by men. Doctors Kimberly Greene-Liebowitz and Dana Corriel compile the pieces in this collection to highlight the many topics of concern for women physicians––some of which may be unknown to medical field outsiders. Topics include the physician-patient relationship, mastery of clinical practice, barriers to career advancement and success, and the challenge of balancing a demanding professional life with domestic responsibilities, an issue brought to the fore by the COVID-19 pandemic.

What We Bring to the Practice of Medicine showcases the experiences of women physicians at every stage of their careers as well―from the beginning of medical school to the brink of retirement. These 40 essays are an expansive, unprecedented examination of what drives clinical and personal decisions and demonstrate how a physician’s character is intricately intertwined with their approach to caregiving and the practice of medicine.

“A necessary and urgent collection of immense wisdom and humor, vulnerability and strength, and, most of all, the voices of extraordinary women.”

―Jay Baruch, MD, author of Tornado of Life: A Doctor’s Journey through Constraints and Creativity in the ER

“If it’s possible for the pages of a book to actually live and breathe in your hands, this is it. These pages move and have a pulse of their own. The prose is exceptional; the stories are absolutely captivating. Each page is a gem in its own right. I will never look at my female colleagues the same way again; I don’t think I appreciated the extra level of heroism required of women in medicine. I’m a better person for having read What We Bring to the Practice of Medicine.”

―Louis M. Profeta, MD, author of The Patient in Room Nine Says He’s God

"Raw, genuine accounts of . . . medical professionals. These are personal narratives by female physicians juggling professional and personal roles, struggling with grief and exceptionally long hours, sacrificing, and facing fear. Each vignette provides a new angle, a new struggle, a new reward.”

―Kathleen O’Shea, author of So Much More Than a Headache: Understanding Migraine through Literature

What We Bring to the Practice of Medicine brings together a collection of short essays from women physicians working in diverse fields of medicine around the world. Through compassion, humor, and resiliency, their stories reveal the truth of what life is like for a variety of women in medicine.

While men and women physicians face different challenges and bring different historical experiences to the examination table, the history of medicine has been primarily told by men. Doctors Kimberly Greene-Liebowitz and Dana Corriel compile the pieces in this collection to highlight the many topics of concern for women physicians––some of which may be unknown to medical field outsiders. Topics include the physician-patient relationship, mastery of clinical practice, barriers to career advancement and success, and the challenge of balancing a demanding professional life with domestic responsibilities, an issue brought to the fore by the COVID-19 pandemic.

What We Bring to the Practice of Medicine showcases the experiences of women physicians at every stage of their careers as well―from the beginning of medical school to the brink of retirement. These 40 essays are an expansive, unprecedented examination of what drives clinical and personal decisions and demonstrate how a physician’s character is intricately intertwined with their approach to caregiving and the practice of medicine.

Kimberly Greene-Liebowitz is a board-certified emergency and urgent care physician. She earned her medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine and trained in emergency medicine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. Greene-Liebowitz has been published on KevinMD and FemInEM and authored a chapter in The Hidden Epidemic: Confronting Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

Dana Corriel is an internal medicine physician turned entrepreneur and digital consultant in health innovation and technology. After attending UCLA, she earned a medical degree in Israel and then trained at Albert Einstein University in NYC. She is currently the CEO of SoMeDocs (doctorsonsocialmedia.com) and has been featured in multiple media outlets, including the LA Times, SELF, and HuffPost.