Provost Antman addresses BUAWD about leadership in medical professions
Dr. Karen Antman, provost of Boston University Medical Campus and dean of Boston University School of Medicine, shared some guidelines for thriving in academic medicine (including dental medicine) during a December 8, 2020, presentation hosted and moderated by the Association of Women Dentists Chapter (BUAWD) at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM).
“As you move up the ladder, you want to become a leader,” Antman said. “You want to recruit the right team, facilitate their success, and you want to be the leader that you wish you had.”
Approximately 50 participants tuned in via Zoom to listen to Antman speak about the path to leadership for women in healthcare professions.
“It was valuable to hear Dr. Antman say that experience has taught her how to approach and manage challenges,” said Andrea Fernandez DMD 21 and president of BUAWD. “Any person who is entering a profession, regardless of which one it may be, can benefit from remembering this.”
In her presentation, Antman focused on the benefits of getting involved in research and accruing not one, but multiple, mentors.
“You’ve got to find your mentorship team,” she said. “You want your own advisory board—because people are good at different things … you need some people who are going to advise you about your career, and they actually can be helping you in your career trajectory.”
Antman also discussed components of effective leadership that are not typically taught in dental education.
“Stuff they don’t teach you in medical or dental school are spreadsheets, conflict management, health law—really, as you get into leadership positions, you have to know [these things],” she said.
Antman also shared advice she received when she was starting out.
“Somebody told me when I took my first leadership jobs—you not only have to be fair, but you have to be perceived as fair,” Antman said. “It’s the people skills that really matter as you move up.”
After the presentation, BUAWD faculty advisors Drs. Kadambari Rawal and Vasiliki Maseli, both clinical assistant professors of General Dentistry, facilitated a question and answer session.
Antman answered questions about a variety of topics, including challenges for women in the workplace, like gender bias, discrimination, and workplace harassment.
“From my prospective, as provost, we want to have a collegial supportive environment for everybody because that will improve learning for everybody,” Antman said. “Given that harassment is not going to disappear we need to do training, particularly bias training, to equip learners, faculty, and staff.”
Prior to her time at BU, Antman served as deputy director of the National Cancer Institute, and before that, taught at Columbia University, as the director of the Herbert Irving Cancer Center, and at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She has a strong research background, and has been instrumental in several studies at Harvard and the National Institutes of Health.
“I think that I have the most interesting job in the world,” Antman said of her position. “And I’ve always thought that…. I get to talk to the most interesting people.”