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Our Women in Medicine Group, founded at the then Medical College of Georgia in 2006, is comprised of women physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners from the local area who work together to support the personal and professional development and well-being of each participant. One of the favorite sayings in the group is, "What one of us doesn't know, another one of us does," and a primary tenet is to disseminate knowledge to those in need. As women physicians, we are favorably suited to educating women about health issues from a perspective with which they may best be able to identify. We thus seek to lend our expertise in various fields of medicine to provide accurate information to Women's Studies Symposium participants on a multitude of topics relevant to women's health.

To this end, we have formed a panel of physicians who will each outline 5-7 key points about a given topic. The proposed topics include:

• Age related health screening
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Chronic Kidney Disease
• Diabetes mellitus
• Depression
• Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV )
• Other sexually transmitted infections, including gonorrhea and chlamydia

Following the presentation of main points by each panelist, we will open the session to questions from the audience. Through this interactive session, we strive to strengthen participants' understanding of health issues women face, thus providing a platform to empower women to improve their health and wellness.

As created in the 1940s, William Moulton Marston's gender-subversive Amazons were great scientists of healing, both mental and physical. From Transformation Island, where they provided psychological counseling to criminals, to the laboratory, where their Purple Ray of Healing (based on the real-life ultraviolet ray device) addressed wounds of the flesh, they were portrayed as innovators. Yet in more recent years, writers and editors have abandoned this portrayal of Amazonian health science, turning the Purple Ray into a death-dealing device and the Amazons into battle-thirsty brutes. This paper considers the historical dimensions of this pop culture portrayal of female healers and its implications for women in health sciences today.

Feminist disability theorist Susan Wendell argues that through means of separation, condemnation and ignorance, individuals with disabilities become othered in an able-body oriented society. Furthermore, Wendell suggests that our rhetoric surrounding disability becomes problematized when one's disability is not visibly identifiable. While Wendell cites blindness specifically, one could connect this to a considerable amount of mental disorders, identity issues and even eating disorders. Food and women have shared a cultural unity for some time, yet, conceptualizing eating disorders proves a much more difficult task, particularly in regards to film, a medium already problematized when considering the image of women. Yet, South Korean cinema, within the past decade, has evolved in such a way to serve as a venue for liberating and progressive social discourse, one that considers intersectionality, colonization and even the disabled body, beyond even physical ailments. The purpose of this presentation is to consider how eating disorders exist within two South Korean films, 301/302 (1995) and I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK (2006), both as a problematic social issue, as well as a means of transgression. These uniquely different films allow me to elucidate the differing ways in which eating disorders are discussed within South Korean cinema, both as a personal issue and a problem of institutionalized hegemonic othering. When necessary, I will consider various feminist theorists rhetoric on eating disorders, visual representation of othered bodies and issues of colonization, similarly, when needed, I will draw upon other non-South Korean films incorporating images of women and consumption as a means of transgression.

The objectification of women's bodies is so commonplace that billboards for cosmetic procedures are now a typical sight along highways--even in Mississippi. Cosmetic surgery, once reserved for the very wealthy and celebrities, is now available to anyone with a credit card and access to a plastic surgeon. However, many of the procedures women seek result in complications, ranging from the physiological to the psychological. In this paper, I explore the factors that lead to women's choices to pursue elective cosmetic surgery. These include the influence of mass media, eating disorders and related issues (e.g. body dysmorphic disorder), and ageism. What are the effects of normalizing objectification on adolescent women, young adults, and women over the age of 40? Additionally, I examine the abstract, social construct of beauty in the United States to try and determine where the pressure to attain these standards originates, as well as the factors that enable blatant objectification to perpetuate. Attention is also given to variances in the definition of beauty across races and cultures within the U.S. Finally, I incorporate discussions/interviews with women who have undergone elective cosmetic procedures to assess whether or not they regret their choices and other information they would like to have presented with the guarantee of anonymity. Training in human subjects protections through the MSU Office of Regulatory Compliance and Safety has been completed for this study.

Originally presented as Anthropology project concerning cultural identity, we juxtaposed Country Music's Loretta Lynn's song "The Pill" and Punk's Patti Smith's "Because the Night" to find similarities and differences of characterization of women in the respective genres. Research of existing documentation was performed to review the general history of both musical genres and then the more specific time frame identity representations of women. We chose these two genres because they are starkly contrasting genres, while also representative of 1970s popular and counter culture. The songs portray women's responses to the shifting cultural climate, especially regarding women's agency in their sexuality. While both of these songs musically and stylistically represent the genres being compared, their messages also complicate the ideals characterizing those same genres.

Many uninsured and under-insured women, particularly military veterans, are often unaware of how to receive reliable and affordable healthcare within their communities. This project seeks to bring health care information to all women, especially female veterans. When this project was initially created (Spring 2012), Augusta State University (ASU) lacked on-campus medical facilities, leaving many female students without resources. Regardless of whether the university adopts better on-campus health services as ASU merges with Georgia Health Sciences University, women always benefit from more complete information about how to take care of their minds and bodies. Female veterans on campus are in particular need of more resources because often they may leave the military with inadequate information about how to thereafter benefit from VA health services. With this project, we seek to learn about the specific healthcare needs of female students of any veteran status and to provide them with complete information about how to access health are through various providers within the community. To achieve this goal, our group first disseminated a survey to determine the specific health needs of the ASU female student body, including but not limited to women veterans. We then generated and distributed convenient informational packets containing brochures from area healthcare providers. We also created a quick guide that clearly outlined details about each of these providers including services rendered, costs, and contact information. In order to further develop our goals for the future of this project, we will seek to extend the boundaries of our work beyond ASU in order to demonstrate that female students and student veterans elsewhere share the same need for better healthcare information. Though our work focuses on the health needs of all female students, we plan to address even further the lack of information regarding health options that reaches female service members as they leave active duty. In order to achieve this, we plan to speak directly with more female veteran students and with VA professionals on military bases. Additionally, we hope to collaborate further with VA offices on various campuses to ensure that female veteran students receive the information they need.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) (October 5, 2010) calls for radical changes in health care delivery and recommends elimination of regulatory and institutional obstacles that limit nurses "scope of practice." Georgia Health Sciences University's (GHSU) Nurse Practitioner Program has developed community partnerships in which APRN faculty lead interdisciplinary health teams in providing comprehensive health assessment programs and interventions for women farm-workers. Training, supervision, and implementation of worksite health programs are aligned with the University's mission "To lead Georgia and the world to better health by providing excellence in biomedical education, discovery, and service." This mechanism places the University's footprint in markets and venues that are not imagined and brings notoriety to the students, and health care services to some of the most needed women in our community.

The Women's Preventive Services Insurance Guidelines (HRSA, 2011) require that new insurance plans provide coverage without cost sharing, consistent with the guidelines for group plans and individual health insurance coverage to women of all ages. Knowledge of these services is needed among all sectors of women and parents of females, to empower women in the USA to maximize their personal health status.

Life cycles are critical factors in growth, development, and patient care which have not been sufficiently addressed in women's health. Critical gaps in preventive services for women have been identified by the IOM with recommended measures to ensure women's health and well-being, reduce the likelihood of a disease or condition, or both. These recommendations were adopted and signed into law with passage of the Accountable Care Act (ACA) (IOM 2012). The new ACA rules allow for transformation in health information to engage both patients and clinicians in preventive measures. Dissemination of these rules during regular office visits and community health programs are key to improve and keep American women and their families healthy.

Published in the 30 December 1908 edition of Punch, "A Directoire Frock," one of Jessie Pope's frequent readings of women and the demands of fashion, demonstrates that the much-maligned poet's work is more than the mindless First World War jingoism many contemporary critics continue to see. Along with "A Directoire Frock," several of Pope's poems show a dialogue with Edwardian designer Paul Poiret's directoire style and hobble skirts. In Pope, modern readers can hear a familiar voice—one concerned with freeing women's bodies, figuratively and literally, from restrictive fashions--but what is most remarkable is that Pope succeeds in concealing a feminist agenda within the conservative pages of Punch.

My project examines the female physical body in history as a site of criminality. The female body can be criminalized or criminalize others. The body can be criminalized by those in power, but, in return, women can utilize this criminalization as a means to achieve agency and power within their society.

My specific project utilizes the Salem Witch Trials in order to examine how physical bodies of women become a site of cultural negotiation where language and the body interweave together in order to disrupt a coherent cultural narrative. For example, Tituba, one of the first women accused of witchcraft in Salem, is a performer who utilizes anxiety over bodies to convey a subversive message. Her trial transcript reads like an improvisational spectacle where she is the one in control of the situation. This is in complete contrast to the idea that, as a criminal and slave in Early America, she should be among the powerless. She has control with her words, but also the belief in her power gives her control over people's bodies. Her crimes are ones that manipulate people's bodies against them. Her words also give her the control to attach meaning to her own physical body. Tituba, in part, creates and projects meaning attached to her physical body to the community. From this starting point, I will analyze the ways in which a body or bodies become a site of criminality, anxiety, and power. The Salem Witch Trials represent a liminal moment that demonstrates both a culture's anxiety over the female body and the potential power that can be derived from utilizing that anxiety against that same culture through spoken word.

The influence of the maternal relationship on women with chronic, severe eczema and how they cryptically depict resulting body images in their art have been largely unexamined in gender and disability studies. While feminist psychoanalysts such as Julia Kristeva, Dinora Pines, and Esther Bick have observed such effects on their patients, little application of their theories to the art of women with eczema exists. This essay applies such theories to two artists in particular whose eczema shaped their perceptions of Self and Other (in similar and different ways), and examines how such perceptions are depicted in their works. Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Bishop both suffered from frequent flare-ups of eczema and asthma for their entire lives. The unpredictability of flare-ups accompanied by the influence of social stigmas of skin disease and psycho-physiological effects of medical treatment influence ego development, all of which lead to co-morbid anxiety and depression. In her paintings and in her poetry, Fitzgerald and Bishop trope their self-perceptions in various ways: Bishop through metonymy and metaphor, and symbol and Fitzgerald through paintings of ballerina amputees. Both artists depict the paradoxical wholeness and brokenness, beauty and terror characteristic of a women's life with eczema. Using biography, feminist psychoanalytic theory, disability and cultural theory, this essay first examines Fitzgerald's and Bishop's primal maternal relationships and corresponding eczema flare-ups in order to set up the ways in which these are expressed in their art. By examining these women artists' lives (specifically maternal relations' impact on eczema severity) and works in terms of their eczema flare-ups, their accompanying psychological disorders and treatments, in addition to their feelings of entrapment and frustration with gender norms, we can better understand the labyrinth of social, psychological, and physical stressors in women with eczema.

By integrating an exploration of the underlying causes of health disparities for women and a physician's perspective, this session will shed light on the challenges that women face within the healthcare system, as well as what can be done to build more inclusive health care practices. Representatives from the Office of Diversity Affairs in the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University will present information regarding issues in women's health, with a special focus on topics related to health disparities, LGBT health concerns and the importance of diversifying the physician workforce. Participant interaction will be encouraged through the sharing of stories, ideas and concerns, targeted discussion questions and audience response. This first half of the session will lay the groundwork for a physician's perspective on women's health. As the course director for the Women's Health Intersession, Dr. Brown will share her insight on the importance of building inclusive health care practices for the benefit of women's health.

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The main idea, for this proposed workshop for the Women's Studies Symposium, is how clinical aromatherapy can positively affect women's health. Clinical aromatherapy affects the limbic system of the brain, so it is not only beneficial for physical health, but emotional and spiritual as well.

Many people find that dance can be used as a form of therapy to express oneself and to overcome emotional turmoil. The concept of dance psychotherapy has been used as an adjuvant to traditional therapy since the early 1900s when C.G. Jung first discovered the therapeutic value of mind and body expression. The definition of Dance/Movement therapy by the American Dance Therapy Association (2006) is "the psychotherapeutic use of movement in a process which furthers the emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration of the individual." With the benefits of dance being so evident, shouldn't all forms of dance and modern art be considered for their therapeutic benefits? My hope for this presentation is to showcase the many different types of dance that have evolved within the past few decades that were previously thought to be "taboo." While such art forms as Hoop, Poi and Aerial Silks have little negative connotations, the world of belly dancing and pole dance/fitness have been viewed by many as something that 'respectable' women should not be participating in. My goal is to enlighten the audience about the difficulty involved with these types of dance and how the benefits from this can be just as effective as other types of dance psychotherapy. I will focus mainly on addressing the art of Pole Dance/Fitness since this has by far the most questionable reputation.

The purpose of this research is to understand the relationship of female roller derby players--"derby girls"--to their sport. This is an ongoing research project involving field observation and intensive interviews with the members of a single roller derby team in the Southeast. Interviews have revealed participants' insights into their sport, as well as their body image and self-esteem as it relates to belonging to a team and participating in what many have described as an empowering sport.

Girls on the Run is a developmentally focused youth sports (DYS) program that uses running as a vehicle to influence positive social, cognitive, physical, emotional and psychological assets and development. The curriculum incorporates training for a 5k with lessons that inspire third through eighth grade girls to develop essentials life skills. The topics covered during the 12-week program are based on research which documents problems expressed by students that fall into three classifications: lack of identity, lack of connectedness and feelings of powerlessness over one's own life. The twelve-week curriculum is divided into three parts that foster healthy growth in these three areas.

The first four weeks provide participants with opportunities to examine their own core values and ascertain what makes them unique, learn about their individual strengths while setting personal goals and explore the importance of being physically and emotionally healthy. The second four weeks provide participants opportunities to explore their responsibility to the community, analyze cultural messages girls receive from the media and other institutions, define community and their collective and individual roles in it and to recognize the power they have to change the world in a positive way by implementing a community impact project. There are currently no comparable DYS programs to Girls on the Run. The program is designed for 8-13 year-old girls because children of this age are still receptive to what adults have to say yet they are beginning to feel the pull of peer pressure. These formative years are the perfect time to address important issues and develop skills. An emphasis is placed on independent thinking, the importance of making healthy choices, healthy group dynamics and problem solving. The curriculum stresses peer support and doing one’s best and rejects defeating others or exerting power over others.

Sexuality has become a prominent topic of discussion in America, particularly women's sexuality in lieu of laws, economics, and political power. Candidates from Paul Ryan to Todd Akin voiced stern opposition to women’s reproductive rights, always citing the purity of the unborn and their alleged adherence to tradition and Christian values. Inevitably, the current GOP rhetoric invokes religious, righteous terminology in any kind of discussion related to birth control and abortion. Though heavily criticized by the left as legislating bodies and sexuality, one component to their rhetoric remains ignored: the question of why contraception and abortion are only viewed as sexual, why women's health remains a sexualized topic and not a medical or civil one, never seems to arise. I believe the reason is more sinister than the media suggests; right-wing politicians scapegoat women in a furtive attempt to energize their base. Through creating a common enemy in women and proclaiming that any kind of legislation associated with them violates voters' deepest convictions about morality and sexuality, politicians are able to transform women's health into a controversial, offensive burden, one that will destroy American morality simply through (supposedly) escalating the dissipation of values and tradition. Today, despite the rise of feminism, anachronistic attitudes surrounding women's health remain mainstream. Women's health translates into sexual health, regardless of the actual illness. Politicians, pundits, and even feminists are guilty of this limited perspective. And it is not only a product of political rhetoric. This misconception is also perpetuated by the infusion of economics, political power, and religion. All of these elements pervade social definitions of gender and sexuality, and the medical community absorbs these ideas, leading to misdiagnoses and larger profit margins for drug and insurance companies. Indeed, the traffic in women is not merely represented in marriage or domesticity: it is manifested in the political process and, in turn, the practice of medicine.

In this essay, I argue that women's health needs to be viewed as a medical issue--not an emotional one, not a sexual one, and not a moral one. I will briefly discuss the history of women's illness as sexual malady, both through nineteenth century medical findings and literature, and then discuss the residual effects present today. I will look at the convergence of morality, religion, politics, and medicine within the intersectional oppressions of race, class, gender, and sexuality. I hope to prove that our current definitions of women's health perpetuate women's oppression and halt true progress.

This paper will examine the political, economic, and social conditions that influence the work of two women activists, Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma and Nawal El Saadawi of Egypt. For 30 years, Aung Saan Suu Kyi fought for the establishment of democracy in her homeland of Myanmar. Across the Indian Ocean in Egypt, activist, feminist and writer Nawal El Saadawi promoted sexual, political, and social justice for women and girls, fighting against female genital mutilation, and the oppression of religious fundamentalism. Both women have contributed to the well-being of the people in their respective countries working tirelessly against greater opposing forces. This paper will compare and contrast the experiences of these two activists and identify some of the unique ways in which they were able to mobilize people in their countries to fight the system. Acknowledging the work of these women is important because they both have made great contributions to the political development of their people.

Women serving in the U.S. military face unique personal and professional challenges that their male counterparts do not. Their concerns centered on balancing family life with a military career, inadequate military health care specifically for women, and high rates of sexual assault and harassment are some of the few obstacles women in uniform will encounter. A female soldier today is more likely to be raped or sexually abused than to die in enemy fire. Even though centuries have passed with the advancement of societies, ideas, principles, and ways of living, gender inequality continues to exist worldwide. Proper sexual violence education for both women and men in the armed forces is a key preventative measure to enforce the protection of soldiers' well-being. For important changes to take place that firmly address sexual harassment and sexual assault, all persons must speak up when policies and individual human rights are violated. Empowering females will strengthen the collective resolve that is needed to create positive changes that will benefit all humankind.

Race and economic status are of no importance to it. It strikes at a time that is supposed to be the most joyous for new mothers. At times, it plagues mothers with thoughts of themselves committing unspeakable acts against their babies and compels them to bring these thoughts to fruition. "It" is Postpartum Depression and it is far-reaching. We have heard the struggles of celebrities like Brook Shields, who battled thoughts of suicide and eventually used antidepressants after the birth of her daughter, and we have cringed at critics who argue that these women should "suck it up." This paper will explore the, often times, secret world of postpartum depression and the women it affects. By researching public and private instances of postpartum depression and its most extreme outcomes, I will attempt to shed light on an illness that holds mothers relentlessly in its grasp and leads them down dark roads of despair. Additionally, I will compose persona poems to give voices to those most affected--mothers, their children, and their spouses--by this ailment.

In response to the "pro-life" claim that abortion is a source of emotional trauma, the American Psychological Association (2008) conducted the Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion (TFMHA) to determine if abortion incidence is directly related to mental ill health. After careful examination into the past and present research on the topic, the TFMHA found no conclusive evidence to support the proposition that abortion, in and of itself, causes mental instability. For many "pro-choice" activists, the TFMHA's conclusion was a long-awaited and needed rebuttal in the fight to maintain abortion rights in the United States, where rightwing conservatives have slowly, but systematically, curbed access to reproductive health care for marginalized peoples.

Unfortunately, however, in their deployment of the TFMHA's findings as "proof" that abortion is simply another medical procedure, abortion rights' activists often overlooked the small, but significant, addendum to the TFMHA's findings: "the TFMHA reviewed no evidence sufficient to support the claim that an observed association between abortion history and mental health was caused by the abortion per se, as opposed to other factors [emphasis added]" (p.4). According to the TFMHA, a confluence of different factors--some personal, some environmental, and others social--intersect to produce an infinite series of possible reactions to abortion--some positive and others negative (p. 4). After all, abortion does not occur in a cultural vacuum, and individuals experiencing abortion are forced to do so in a society predominantly hostile to and stigmatizing of abortion. When an individual decides to terminate an unwanted and/or unplanned pregnancy, then, s/he must do so in an environment that demands secrecy and silence, which can lead to an overwhelmingly negative abortion experience. For advocates and organizations working with people as they are experiencing abortion, models of care are required that validate, honor, and center the multifaceted experience of abortion--the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The purpose of this presentation is to present the doula approach as one model of care that can accomplish such a task. A doula is generally a female who provides non-clinical emotional and, if necessary, spiritual support for pregnant, birthing, and postpartum people. Although many medical authorities have expressed doubt and, sometimes, outright hostility toward the doula's work, many scholarly studies have demonstrated the medical, emotional, and social benefits of doulas, including but not limited to a decrease in unnecessary caesarean deliveries, an increase in maternal satisfaction rates, and a decrease in postpartum depression rates. And although there are no official studies conducted on the benefits of doula participation in abortion procedures, given the aforementioned benefits of doula work for pregnancy outcomes, I suspect that a doula framework can offer abortion activists and organizations a way in which to counter the hostility and stigma individuals face when confronting abortion, which ultimately lead to negative abortion experiences. By examining the work Radical Doula, the New York City-based Doula Project, and other groups offering doula support to abortion seekers and providers, my presentation will demonstrate the importance and necessity of incorporating a doula model of care to attend to the holistic nature of the abortion experience and to mitigate the negative effects of abortion stigma upon people having abortions.

Current social work practice has become increasingly concerned with "Best Practices" or "Evidence Based Practice" in all of the areas of the profession. The practice of Social Work is continuing to mature, looking for more proven ways of working with clients. In addition, funding sources at all levels are increasingly expecting proof of intervention efficacy. This presentation will focus on the search for best practice guideline in mental health practice.

Elderly rural women continue to be a vulnerable population by all measures of health, but specifically regarding mental health. By virtue of age, many are either widowed, and/or are care providers for significant others. Their location means that for many, they are too far away from services for ready access. Health issues often mean that they have lost some important levels of independence, and are reliant on friends, family, and neighbors for transportation. Finally, research indicates that they are at risk for various mental health conditions by virtue of their location and their age, which often go unrecognized and untreated.

Historically, mental health services have been delivered "on site," either in community mental health centers or inpatient units. These services are typically located in urban or suburban communities. For the rural elderly population, this presents a problem of access of services, often to the point where mental health concerns cannot even be diagnosed. Reasons for this method of service delivery revolve around efficiency of service provision, making the most of the "professional's" time, and the continued "professionalization" of the practice. Rarely does the location of service provision take into consideration the needs of the client.

"Martha" has received twenty years of mental health care through traditional care venues. This presentation will highlight a strategic shift in the delivery of services on her behalf. As such, this is the presentation of a study of one (an "N" of one) elderly woman, who this clinician chose to visit and treat in her own home. This decision was guided by using the professional values of 'starting where the client is,' and working from the 'strengths perspective.' Data for this study comes from a period of treatment that involved intense life transition. Over a course of 6 months, data was collected from the client, her adult children, and her treating psychiatrist of twenty years as to the progress and changes she made while having the clinician visit her in her own home.

Data from the client, family, and physician will be presented. Discussion will center on how the stages of care are shaped differently by carrying out treatment in the client's home.

My Honors' thesis will be an original semi-autobiographical play, The Bond that We Share (El Vínculo que Compartimos), that will focus on the challenges a recent immigrant from Mexico faces in the post-9/11 xenophobic United States.

The play will take place in rural Holdem (a play on the game Texas Hold 'em and the name Texas chose for their side of the US-Mexico barrier, Operation Hold-the-Line) Texas during the spring semester of 2007, shortly after the Secure Fence Act was signed by President George W. Bush and passed by the Congress of the United States. The play will commence with the student's arrival during the second half of freshman year and will follow the student's progress and metamorphosis for the next six months as she overcomes harsh racial discrimination, culture shock, and learning a new language. Ultimately, she manages to find acceptance and an identity of her own that combines her culture with American culture.

Imee Amaya Martinez, a fifteen-year-old Mexican student, illegally crosses the US-Mexico border with her aunt and uncle during the first week of 2007, just after the Secure Fence Act has been signed into law in the United States. She enrolls in a high school in the small town of Holdem, Texas, and is immediately partnered with Adda Amaya White, a fellow freshman and Anglo-Hispanic. Martinez and White are kindred spirits from the start, but are faced with a challenge in communication since Martinez speaks no English and White can barely say a sentence in Spanish. Besides frustrating language barriers, Martinez must also adjust to the new culture she has been immersed in, deal with discrimination and xenophobic-driven distrust from students, townspeople, and a few faculty members, and must learn to forge her own identity.