Charged: Stories from the Women Leading Health Care

When Dr. Inga Lennes was in medical school, she aspired to be a physician that strives to listen to patients’ voices. A practicing thoracic medical oncologist, Dr. Lennes has become a leader in the management of lung and esophageal cancer, enhancing quality and safety measures, and improving the patient experience.

In this episode of Charged, Dr. Lennes explains her approach to caring for patients with a serious prognosis and her passions for practicing medicine and evoking change as an administrator.

According to the NIMH, nearly one in five adults in the US lives with mental illness. As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Luana Marques, believes that everyone should be equipped with the skills to help them manage and overcome mental health challenges.

In this episode of Charged, Dr. Marques shares the anxiety-management skills she learned while growing up in Brazil, what drove her to pursue a career in psychology and how cognitive behavioral therapy can be used to treat many mental health disorders.

Dr. T. Salewa Oseni, breast surgical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, knows that when a team caring for patients of all backgrounds does not also reflect the same inclusivity amongst its members, the quality of care suffers. As the co-director of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee in the Mass General Department of Surgery, much of Dr. Oseni’s work is dedicated to changing the face of medicine, to become more reflective of the diverse patient population it serves. 

On this episode of Charged, Dr. Oseni talks to us about her 13-year background as a surgeon in the Navy, her work to change the face of medicine and how to eliminate health care disparities. 

Miho Tanaka, MD, a sports medicine surgeon, was 11 years old when she knew that she wanted to become a doctor who treats athletes. As a former athlete herself, Dr. Tanaka routinely felt there was one thing lacking in her health care experience: a shared passion and motivation for a speedy return to the sports she loved.

In this episode of Charged, Dr. Tanaka talks about why she chose sports medicine, pursuing a career in a male-dominated field and the importance of research and education for athletes.

As chief of the Mass General Infectious Diseases Division and one of five members on the Boston COVID-19 Advisory Board, Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, has witnessed the transformation of the landscape for viral diseases. Recently, Dr. Walensky was nominated by President-elect, Joe Biden, to serve as the next director of the CDC.

In this episode of Charged, Dr. Walensky discusses how she has worked to help expand access to care for HIV patients and her willingness to understand patients’ struggles.

As an emergency medicine physician and associate chief quality, officer at Mass General, Emily Aaronson, MD, works to ensure that patient safety and clinical quality are implemented across all operations.   

In this episode of Charged, Dr. Aaronson discusses how she helped lead Mass General’s efforts to improve patient safety, her role integrating palliative care in the emergency department during COVID-19 and how communication makes all the difference in caring for patients with serious illnesses.

As associate chief of the Infection Control Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, Erica Shenoy, MD, PhD, focuses on infection prevention and control, with a special interest in preparedness and response to emerging infectious diseases. 

In this episode of Charged, Dr. Shenoy talks about what drove her to pursue a career in infection control, her unique experience of being a key leader and advisor in the hospital’s planning and response to the COVID-19 pandemic, what she and her team have learned since the first surge and how they are preparing for the future.  

Christine Ritchie, MD, MSPH, a geriatrician and palliative care specialist, has worked throughout her career to strengthen the quality of care for patients with serious illnesses and expand the breadth of research on aging and chronic illness in an effort to close the current gaps in care of older adults. 

In this episode of Charged, Dr. Ritchie discusses how her upbringing in South Korea ignited her passion for geriatric medicine and research, her experience as a personal caregiver and the impact of COVID-19 on the older population. 

Joan Quinlan, MPA, has dedicated her entire career to advocating for the underserved. As the current vice president for community health at Massachusetts General Hospital and founding director of the Center for Community Health Improvement, Joan has strived to improve the health status of underserved communities and their access to health care.  

In this episode of Charged, Joan shares the unexpected way in which she developed her career in community health, the initiatives that she helped Mass General develop and the thread of social justice that has run throughout her career.