The Cancer Letter: Let’s stop passing the buck on sexual harassment in academic medicine

“We’ve all heard this story before, just with a different set of names and places. Man harasses woman after woman, eventually someone (usually a woman) is brave enough to report him, a quiet investigation confirms the reports, and he quietly and seamlessly gets hired elsewhere with no one the wiser.

The story is familiar, albeit with different names, institutions and specialties each time. Though the gender identities of those involved may vary, the most common situation is a man harassing a woman, which is the framework we will use henceforth…

Whatever changes we make, we must hold each other and our institutions accountable both when harassment occurs and when the harasser is being passed along to another, unsuspecting institution.

There is simply too much at stake.”

You can read the Guest Editorial here

About Shikha Jain, MD FACP

I am a practicing, board-certified hematology/oncology physician in Chicago. I speak on topics ranging from the impact of social media on healthcare, how physicians can utilize social media, how to write Op-eds in the medical world, gender equity and barriers to career advancement, and topics in GI oncology and immunotherapy. My goal is to explain complicated topics in simple terms. I also enjoy writing and you can find some of my writing on this site. I am a mother to three amazing kids and married to a gastroenterologist. I look forward to connecting with you.

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