Women’s Health: How Can Women Advocate for Themselves at the Doctor’s Office (15 Wellness Points)

Have you ever been to a doctor’s office and felt unheard or disrespected? Unfortunately, this happens too frequently, especially to women. This wellness talk will describe reasons why the concerns and questions of women go unheard and unanswered in the medical arena, give strategies to combat this issue, and stress the importance of self-advocacy and empowerment when interacting with medical providers.

Peggy Burke, B.S., is a first-year psychology master’s student working under the mentorship of Dr. Pamela Geller in the Women’s Health Lab. Peggy is conducting research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) about helping NICU parents combat PTSD symptoms using Virtual Reality (VR) scenarios. Prior to joining Drexel, Peggy received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and minor in Human Development and Family Studies from the Pennsylvania State University and worked as a Research Assistant in Dr. Buss’ Child Development Lab as well as the Penn State College of Medicine Briarcrest Eating Disorders Clinic.

Jennifer Schwartz, Ph.D.,ABPP is a board-certified licensed clinical psychologist, teaching professor, and the Director of the Psychological Services Center (PSC) in the Department of Psychology at Drexel. Drexel’s PSC is a training clinic that serves the Philadelphia community. There, Dr. Schwartz trains clinical psychology graduate students in state-of-the-art therapeutic approaches of patient assessment and treatment.