Interventional radiology is synonymous with innovation, and at the heart of that innovation is a partnership between IR care-providers and technology manufacturers. The technology of IR is constantly advancing as physicians expand the possibilities of minimally invasive therapy—but notable disparities still exist at all levels of the field.
During Tuesday’s Compelling Conversation, “Corporate change champions: Navigating to increased diversity in IR corporate consulting roles,” SIR physicians and industry partners announced the launch of the Corporate Change Champions (C3) initiative, a multipronged program designed to support underrepresented SIR members seeking corporate partnership opportunities that drive career advancement and shape the field of IR.
The idea for the initiative happened after recording an episode of The Kinked Wire, said Nishita Kothary, MD, FSIR, the corporate engagement advisor for C3.
“We compiled a panel to discuss corporate relationships and how IRs can get involved,” said Dr. Kothary. “At the end of that conversation I realized that we all felt very passionately about industry, and how it is at the core of everything that happens in the world of IR—and how many gaps there are in opportunities for URM.” From this conversation, the idea for C3 was born.
The initiative, which will formally launch this summer, has three main objectives: eliminating barriers to corporate partnerships, developing resources and tools to help secure these partnerships, and providing sustained and personalized support that leads to new opportunities and measurable success.
“We know from experience and data that having representation of women and URMs at all levels, particularly on boards and at the c-suite level, makes companies objectively better,” said panelist Fred T. Lee Jr., MD. “This is why it is so important to help women and URMs enter a pipeline from the ground level, and actively support their success as they advance.”
Though change is happening, it’s still slow—and must be actively pursued, according to Lindsay Hample, vice president of Global Marketing, Interventional Oncology at Boston Scientific.
“It will not surprise any of you that I am often the only woman in the room,” she said. “I am constantly trying to pay that forward toward my physician colleagues. But I often find that many times when I will ask a woman or URM to join a discussion or partnership, only a percentage of them will agree, as opposed to white men.”
Ms. Hample suggested that this may be because women and URMs are more likely to suffer from imposter syndrome which makes them hesitant to step forward.
“One thing industry can do to change this is to just not take no for an answer,” said James Benenati, MD, FSIR. “If we’ve reached out to a woman or URM for partnership and they say no, we should ask them again and encourage them to say yes.”
Ms. Hample agreed and said that she has begun making calls in advance of advisory boards to support URMS and women she has invited, and encourage them to not hold back in the coming discussion.
This need for diversity extends beyond just women and URMS, though, said Hirschel McGinnis, MD, FSIR, who was in the audience. “When I have engaged with industry, as soon as they discover I’m not at a major academic center or an IR celebrate, there is a lack of interest,” he said. “I would encourage industry to think about another layer of diversity that extends beyond inviting those with patents and academic writing and consider those in private practice or suburban hospitals who have a high volume of patients every day.”
According to Dr. Kothary, this is one area that C3 plans to investigate, to see how they can engage physicians outside of the standard “partnership circle” to diversify ideas.
“To have a good partnership with industry, you shouldn’t have to be the absolute best or the hardest worker or come up with a million patents,” Dr. Benenati said. “But you have to establish yourself as a strong and competent physician, find a mentor, and make everyone aware that you have industry interests. Make people aware that you’re committed to that, and advocate for yourself.”
Ms. Hample agreed. “You have to say the words. It can be very uncomfortable and hard. But once you make it known that you have these interests, you have put yourself on the map.”
She suggested working with department or facility representatives connected to companies, as they are often approached by companies looking for faculty or participants for certain courses.
“At my company, one thing we're very invested in is getting feedback across all levels of IR—not just luminaries,” said Ms. Hample. “We need to talk to early career physicians as well and collect a diverse set of opinions. We want to make sure we’re developing partnerships at the ground level and pulling forward the rising stars in the specialty. We’re almost begging to partner.”
And there’s no reason to not seek these partnerships, said Dr. Benenati. “In IR, we are getting to a point where the application pool is diverse enough that if you are not recruiting and partnering with a diverse population, then you’re deliberately avoiding it,” he said. “Because once you begin to diversify and recognize the richness it brings, you’ll only want to do it more and more.”
C3 will launch this summer. For physicians, industry partners or anyone else looking to participate, visit sirweb.org.
To hear the podcast episode that launched the initiative, listen to episode 27 of the Kinked Wire: Owning Success: The power of partnering with industry.
