Abstract
This Dissertation in Practice illuminates gender parity in highly competitive medical specialties. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of women training in these fields, with a focus on professional identity formation. This study aimed to provide recommendations to stakeholders to explore opportunities for curricular interventions, enhancements to formal specialty mentorship programs, and further research for faculty development, based on transformational leadership framework. A narrative inquiry approach using semi-structured interviews was used in this qualitative study. This Dissertation in Practice is presented in three sections that together describe how this study was developed, conducted, and the proposed recommendations for practitioners. Section one describes the research proposal, including the study’s introduction, literature review, purpose statement, aim statement, and methodology. Section two presents the submission-ready manuscript, including the abstract, introduction, methodology, study results, discussion, and conclusion. Section three describes how practitioners will benefit from the study’s findings through a practitioner recommendation plan that revisits the study’s aim, the proposed recommendations, and the researcher’s practitioner-scholar reflections and leadership philosophy. Together, these sections collectively support the research inquiry with practitioner recommendations to evolve gender parity in highly competitive medical specialties.