Advancing Women Fellows

Women in Leadership and Development (WILD) is a trainee-led program that provides women fellows in the Department of Medicine with a toolkit for career advancement and skills to negate the systemic gender bias and inequities in academic medicine.

Dr. Sylwia Kaeding holds WILD program completion certificate, Dr. Sarah Donohue and Dr. Dana Ley stand on either side of her.

Curriculum

The WILD curriculum is a series of skill-building sessions open to all department fellows. Topics include:

  1. Personal self-reflection: Career Pathway Panel
  2. CV writing workshop
  3. Building your Personal Board of Directors: Shaping Leadership Identity
  4. Negotiating your first contract
  5. Allyship, Advocacy and Empowerment
  6. Financial Power
  7. How to become a physician scientist
  8. From Fellowship to Faculty

Complete three sessions to earn a certificate of completion.

Why It Matters

Although more women than ever are graduating from medical school, women are still underrepresented among academic medicine faculty and leadership, including full professorships, division chiefs and department chairs.

To address these disparities, WILD fosters and promotes:

  • Advancement of women through education, professional growth, and leadership development
  • A collaborative environment among women in medicine at UW
  • Networking and mentorship opportunities for department fellows
  • Professional advancement of women in the institution and beyond
University of Wisconsin Department Chair Dr. Lynn Schnapp presents to a group of participants at WILD session

Leadership

Fellow Leader
Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellow

Faculty Advisor

Program Co-Founder
Faculty Advisor

Fellow Leader
Hematology/Oncology Fellow

Fellow Leader
Gastroenterology and Hepatology Fellow

Program Administrator

Book Club

The WILD book club meets periodically at Leopold’s on Regent Street. Books that have been read to date:

  • Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
  • Letter to a Young Female Physician by Suzanne Koven
  • Lean In by Sheryl Sandburg

Loaner copies of any of these books are available by request. Email kwestmas@medicine.wisc.edu to arrange pick up.

WILD program co-founder Dr. Sarah Donohue speaks to participants
Find Out More

Learn more about the origins of the WILD program in a related Department of Medicine news article.