“Medical school can be a very isolating experience. There is a real pressure to let medicine consume your life, and I’ve found it difficult to be true to my heart with all these voices telling me to ‘work harder,’ ‘choose that prestigious specialty,’ and to ‘be great.’ The Center for Women in Medicine is a place where I can receive much-needed counsel from women who will help me fight for my heart.”
Individual Life Coaching
Coaching provides the context where you are able to take an honest look at your life with someone who is unbiased and who will listen, guide and challenge. Whether it’s issues related to career, relationships, stress and anxiety, or personal growth and development, the coaching relationship invites you to articulate questions that are on your mind and provides an environment that is encouraging and confidential. To schedule a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation, contact our office at 615-370-8684.
House Calls
Sitting in an office talking about life is one thing. Dealing with the reality of the day’s demands as they come is quite another. House Calls provides for a series of “reality” life coaching sessions that happen on the job and/or in your home. Instead of making an appointment to come to our office, we schedule times to come and shadow you as you navigate the reality of your life. You receive the benefit of coaching that is rooted in first-hand experience of the real issues and challenges that you are facing and for which you are seeking coaching. To learn more about House Calls, contact our office at 615-370-8684.
Spiritual Care
Busyness and distraction are the drugs of choice of our culture. Taking time for solitude, prayer or even Sabbath rest can seem “unproductive” or even unnecessary. And yet, “the spiritual life cannot be made suburban.” (Howard Macey) For those who want to grow in their awareness of God and relationship to Him, the Center offers individual spiritual direction as well as spiritual formation retreats for small groups. For more information, contact our office at 615-370-8684.
RENEW
RENEW is a program created for the purpose of caring for the staff and leaders of healthcare clinics that serve the poor and medically underserved. By providing a range of “caring for the caregiver” services for the staff and clinic leaders, the Center for Women in Medicine aims to increase the sustainability of the services offered to these communities as well as to enhance the long-term well-being of the individual staff members and clinic leaders. For information about RENEW services, contact the Center’s office at 615-370-8684.
Medical School Elective Course
The “Let Your Life Speak: Authentic Decision-Making for Your Medical School Career” curriculum is designed to provide medical students with a unique opportunity to consider issues of personal identity, life purpose and foundational convictions, which will serve to guide them through the various decisions before them during these formative years. The premise of the curriculum is that by proactively addressing these foundational issues early in a student’s medical career, her opportunity to be a solid person of influence within the medical community and culture at large will be greatly enhanced. The course is offered during the spring semester each year for first and second year students at Vanderbilt Medical School.
Workshops & Conferences
Debbie Smith, M.A. is available as a speaker for workshops and conferences. Contact the Center’s office at 615-370-8684 to inquire about scheduling.