Experiences of funded women
Table of contents
"How do you feel about the habilitation?" - 4 questions, 4 answers from women supported by the women's habilitation program
Dr. med. Micaela Ebert - Heart Center Dresden
When did you first define habilitation as a goal for yourself?
It was always clear to me that I wanted to work academically. Since the beginning of my medical career, habilitation has always been a goal that I have had in mind and has motivated me to advance my academic work to date.
What goals are you pursuing with your habilitation/where do you see yourself in 5 years' time?
I see the habilitation as a special reward for my academic work to date in the form of teaching and clinically oriented research and as legitimization to continue to be supported on this path. It is important for me to reach this milestone in order to be able to work more independently, for example in supervising doctoral students, and also to motivate other young scientists to follow me on this path. My ultimate goal is to have my own working group with young, motivated colleagues, to encourage them and to accompany, mentor and support them on their path to an academic career, just as I was lucky enough to be encouraged. It was always clear to me that I wanted to work at a university hospital and in 5 years' time, the next step on my path would be to aim for a Chair that I could fill in terms of content.
How does the MFD habilitation support for women help you to achieve this goal?
Creating space for myself alongside my daily clinical routine and family and adapting it to my life situation helps me enormously to pursue my personal goals and focus on my academic career. In this valuable time, I can initiate projects, closely supervise my doctoral students, evaluate my own data and write manuscripts, and be creative in planning and realizing new project ideas.
What advice would you give younger female colleagues with regard to career planning?
You have to be honest with yourself and answer the question again and again and in every situation: what is important to me and what price am I prepared to pay for it? You have to keep asking yourself whether you are still "on track".
If external circumstances, for example due to family reasons/parenthood, make your career path more difficult or slower, then that's okay for a while and may even give you the strength to focus on yourself and your career again! It is essential to create an infrastructure in good time and to focus and structure yourself in order to enable the realization of your own goals alongside the challenges of everyday life. In my experience, it is also extremely important to consider early on how you can involve grandparents or outside help (friends, au pair, nanny...) in order to have more freedom for science and the clinic, for yourself and as a plan B if something "comes up" in our job.
I think, especially in the role of a woman and mother, we often tend to want to please everyone and put our own needs on the back burner. However, this has nothing to do with selfishness, but with self-care and is a bit like in aviation, where you are always required to put on your own oxygen mask before you can help others and provide adequate assistance (!).
In my experience, it is virtually impossible to pursue a scientific career and be a good doctor without external help. It was extremely important for me to have role models or mentors who opened doors and showed me the way. Choosing the right partner is also crucial, because in an equal partnership/family, especially where both partners want to pursue a career, this can only be achieved by working together and supporting each other.
Dr. med. Undine Proschmann - Clinic and Polyclinic for Neurology
When did you first define habilitation as a goal for yourself?
After I had decided to continue to be scientifically active alongside my clinical work after my doctorate, I decided to do my habilitation.
What goals are you pursuing with your habilitation/where do you see yourself in 5 years' time?
The habilitation should enable me to advance my research projects independently and to supervise doctoral students and teach independently. In five years, I would like to be a clinically and scientifically active senior physician and help younger colleagues to "go their own way".
How does the MFD habilitation support for women help you to achieve this goal?
The time off as part of the MFD Habilitation Grant for Women enables me to complete the publications required for the habilitation and write the habilitation thesis in a timely manner.
What advice would you give younger female colleagues regarding their career planning?
Even if it is not always easy to combine clinical work and research, especially as a woman, it is worth sticking with it and not losing sight of your goals. Good mentors, networking and regular time off for research are very important.
Dr. med. Katja Sockel - Medical Clinic and Polyclinic I
When did you first define habilitation as a goal for yourself?
It was actually relatively late (after completing my specialist training) that I seriously considered the topic of habilitation. During my medical training, I was able to participate in various clinical-scientific projects and familiarize myself with the challenges and opportunities of research. After several years of clinical work, however, it was above all the "medical needs" of my patients identified in daily clinical practice that motivated me to independently search for solutions and initiate my own research projects.
What goals are you pursuing with your habilitation/where do you see yourself in 5 years?
The aim of my habilitation is to independently lead scientific projects and supervise doctoral students in order to contribute to improving patient care.
In 5 years, I therefore see myself continuing to work at a university institution where I have the infrastructure and environment to implement my research activities and also have direct access to implement the knowledge gained in everyday clinical practice. I hope to have continued to grow both professionally and personally through a variety of challenges. In addition, I would be delighted if I could motivate and support young doctors, especially female doctors, to become scientifically active alongside their dedicated clinical work.
How does the MFD habilitation support for women help you to achieve this goal?
I think we are very lucky in Dresden to have the MFD Habilitation Grant for Women, which helps us to achieve the often difficult balancing act between good clinical work, research activities and family management. In my case, the 50% partial funding alongside my clinical work as a senior physician enables me to create time resources to complete publications, advance my habilitation and get new projects off the ground. In addition, the habilitation programme offers organizational support and mentoring programmes that help to achieve the goal of a habilitation and a self-confident scientific career.
What advice would you give younger female colleagues regarding their career planning?
If possible, set goals early on, take advantage of opportunities for further education and research, especially abroad. And even if the desire to pursue your own academic career only crystallizes later, it is worth pursuing this plan. It is important to be proactive and actively seek support (not only from the head of the clinic, but above all to acquire material and personnel resources to implement your research projects). Setbacks should not discourage you, but rather be seen as part of the process that drives you forward.