Footnotes - Winter 2024 - 21

Best Foot Forward:
TUSPM's AAWP Club Focuses
on Professionalism
By Priya Viramgama, TUSPM Class of 2025
This fall, the TUSPM's American Association for Women
Podiatrist's (AAWP) Executive Board started our professional
development lecture series. This idea came to life after
discussing with upperclassmen their experiences during
clerkships, and how they have crafted their professional
image during these crucial months. This lecture series is
geared towards all third-year students, while maintaining an
intimate setting to make each event more personalized to all
attendees, ensuring all questions are answered. As the Vice
President and executive member spearheading this series,
my goal is to inform members about professionalism in
the workplace, cover etiquette in the workplace and during
interviews, and of course, get a head start on learning how
to present ourselves as we begin making connections with
various residency programs that we are interested in.
Our first event focused on makeup in the workplace and
what amount/type of makeup is considered professional
in the medical field. This roundtable event allowed all the
attendees to ask questions directly to fourth-year students
about any appearance related topics, with a heavy emphasis
on hearing about the experiences of the female students who
have been on clerkship rotations and if they felt they were
treated differently if they chose to wear makeup compared to
when they wore none. Additionally, students were able to talk
to Dr. Jane Pontious about her experiences during residency
and how the field of podiatry has progressed throughout the
WINTER 2024
Temple students attending the AAWP Conference in
Alexandria, VA
years. This conversation tackled a range of topics from family
planning to body piercings/tattoos through the lens of an
attending. With such a great turnout and positive feedback
about the event, we quickly began brainstorming ideas for
future events.
21
Footnotes - Winter 2024

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