Chapter 23: Refining Policies While Serving on Executive Committee of the Medical Staff

Chapter 23: Refining Policies While Serving on Executive Committee of the Medical Staff

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Description

Dr. Escalante reviews her decade of service on the Executive Committee of the Medical Staff and notes the networking opportunities it offered. She explains how the Committee works and lists some of the issues addressed.

Identifier

EscalanteCP_03_20140523_C23

Publication Date

5-23-2014

City

Houston, Texas

Topics Covered

The Interview Subject's Story - The Administrator; The Administrator; MD Anderson Snapshot; Understanding the Institution

Transcript

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:

So I always want to ask people if there’s anything else they want to add. I guess I was curious, is there anything kind of outside of your professional life that people don’t know about you, that’s uniquely you, that’s kind of surprising or—

Carmen Escalante, MD:

Surprising? Anything about me? You know, I don’t know. I’m pretty private regarding my friends. And right now because I have family, I mean, everything right now is about my family and my kids, and I’m very busy with that part of my life right now. But, you know, I’m very private. I don’t like doing Facebook and all those things, because I feel like the things I want to share, I’m going to share with the people that need to know regarding—you know, I don’t post pictures up on all these websites and stuff like that. But I feel, I guess, some of my passions, I think we’ve talked about the women. I feel very strongly about women and women’s rights. I mean, I don’t consider myself out there walking on the streets for—but I think it’s very important to me to make a difference in that respect and making sure that my—not only women, all my faculty are given—you know, that’s my job is to make them successful, but making sure that we give opportunities to women when it’s appropriate. You give them opportunities, and not only professionally, but out there in my regular life. I’m a Girl Scout leader. I told you that. (laughs) I’m a troop leader for my daughter’s Girl Scout class, Girl Scout troop, and I was never a Girl Scout. But there was a calling. I guess that’s something people probably don’t know. I mean, I never considered myself kind of the Girl Scout type, but this is actually I’m starting my fourth year.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:

Wow. That’s neat.

Carmen Escalante, MD:

But a few years ago, I guess when she was in the fourth grade, they didn’t have a leader. They had some assistant leaders, but they didn’t want to be the leader. No one really volunteered to be the leader, and they were not going to have the troop. And I said, “Okay, well, if you guys are going to help me, I’ll do it.” But I’d never been a Girl Scout, so I had to do the Girl Scout training, and it’s been a good thing because I feel like I’m helping these girls.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:

You’ve got a big smile on your face [unclear].

Carmen Escalante, MD:

Yeah, and I’m actually enjoying it, you know, I really am. And I enjoy the women, the other two women that are helping me. But I get all the scoop from these girls. Now I guess they’re going to seventh grade, so most of them are probably about twelve right now. They’re going to be in the next year twelve-, thirteen-year-olds. And we do stuff, and we’re going to be working on the Silver Award where you do service projects.But I feel like we’re teaching them how to be leaders in adolescence and in high school, and so I feel this is my contribution. We did—they call these journeys, where we had a focus on them, and so we had a panel of women that came to talk to them. We had one, Peggy Tinkey [oral history interview], who’s a veterinarian, who’s the department chair veterinarian of the—I don’t know, Veterinary Medicine or Vet Medicine [Veterinary Medicine and Surgery]. I don’t know exact title, but Peggy’s here. We had a lawyer, and we had Ellen Manzullo, who’s an internist with us, and they came to talk to the girls. We had a panel, and the girls could ask them questions, and it’s just kind of like opening up. We went to the news station, and one of the news anchors, a woman, took them around. And, you know, so it’s giving them an opportunity to see women in different occupations and doing different things and access.And I’m learning just as much from them, so it’s my way of giving back, and it also allows me to do something with my daughter, who always said, “Oh, Mom, can you do this? Can you do that?” and I was always too busy. And so I made time to do this, and it’s giving me fulfillment as much as filling a need for them, and it connects with my passion with, you know, working with women and helping esteem and self-confidence.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:

Right.

Carmen Escalante, MD:

So it’s a good thing. So now we’re—I say “we”—are Cadets, you know. They were juniors and they’re Cadets, and we earned the Bronze Award, and it’s a good thing. It’s a good thing. So I’m a Girl Scout leader. (laughs)

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:

Cool. That’s very cool. (laughter)

Carmen Escalante, MD:

I never thought I’d be a Girl Scout. Never was a Girl Scout when I was younger. So I’m learning all about Girl Scouts. (laughs)

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:

That was a surprise to you and a surprise to me too. (laughter)

Carmen Escalante, MD:

Yeah, yeah. So that’s one of my sidelines. (laughs)

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:

That’s very neat. That’s very neat. Well, is there anything else that you’d like to add, Dr. Escalante?

Carmen Escalante, MD:

]No. I’ve enjoyed it. You’ve been great. You’ve been wonderful.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:

Thank you. Thank you.

Carmen Escalante, MD:

I never thought when we started this I had so much to say, and it’s kind of been good because you kind of just get it all out there. And some of these things I haven’t thought about in years.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:

A lot of people say that it’s kind of interesting to revisit early history and—

Carmen Escalante, MD:

Yeah. I mean, I hadn’t thought about it in ages.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:

Yeah. Always fascinating.

Carmen Escalante, MD:

Yeah.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:

Well, I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me, Dr. Escalante.

Carmen Escalante, MD:

Well, thank you. I mean, you’ve been great. Thank you so much.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:

Thank you. It’s really been a pleasure talking to you.

Carmen Escalante, MD:

Yeah. Thanks.

Tacey Ann Rosolowski, PhD:

Well, I’m turning off the recorder at nine minutes after three.

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Chapter 23: Refining Policies While Serving on Executive Committee of the Medical Staff

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