5 questions with ACCC’s first-ever Black female president, Nadine J. Barrett, PhD, MA, MPH
As the first-ever Black female president of the Association of Cancer Care Centers, Nadine J. Barrett, PhD, MA, MPH, understands the impact she will have on the next generation to come.
Barrett, chief community engagement officer for Atrium Health Cancer Service Line and associate director for community outreach and engagement at the Atrium Health Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center, is also a health disparities researcher and expert equity strategist.
She is a nationally recognized leader in facilitating community/stakeholder and academic partnerships to advance health equity and develop training methods to address implicit bias and structural and systemic racism that limit diverse participation in clinical and translational research and access to quality health care, according to a press release.
Healio spoke with Barrett about her goals for the ACCC during her term, the importance of young women — and specifically women of color — to see her at the helm of a national cancer organization, and her advice for other women in medicine.
Healio: How did you feel being selected president of ACCC?
Barrett: It’s exciting to be a part of an organization where I have had the chance to closely see the organization grow over a period of time, and shape current and future growth as president. It’s been wonderful to see us even more embedded within the academic space of learning how cancer centers are moving work forward and having a presence nationally at the White House with advocacy. In addition, it has also been wonderful to see the work that needs to happen across different national organizations and seeing the organization respond to what our membership needs in both community and academic cancer care centers and then being able to move forward with providing the resources and developing the partnerships to address them.
Now as president, I have been able to watch the organization grow and have been a part of that growth over the years, volunteering in various roles working with the staff and volunteering in different positions as part of the Board and Executive Committee — it is all very exciting.
It is important to mention that as a Black woman, it adds an additional dimension to all of this. I am the first Black female president of ACCC, following the prior president, Olalekan Ajayi, PharmD. Seeing us move forward in our efforts to be inclusive and add the richness of diversity to incorporating equity in everything that we do as an organization over the years maximizes the impact of our collective work and has been outstanding to witness.
Healio: Why is it so important for other young women to see you at the helm?
Barrett: Becoming president of a national organization like this shows that it is possible for young women and girls to envision themselves in these roles, where they can lead and make a difference. The importance of that is significant and huge. There are other examples, though not yet enough, such as the newly appointed president of ASCO, Robin T. Zon, MD, FACP, FASCO.
For ACCC, it is important to ensure that we are visible as leaders not just in the great work we do to improve cancer care and services, but in our leadership development opportunities as well. I recently wrote a letter of support for a young woman I began mentoring many years ago — I mentored her throughout high school and college. She completed her undergraduate degree and now is applying for grad school. She was blown away and so excited when she saw that I became president of ACCC. She’s an African American young woman, and she sees me in this role, which is incredible. She can now see what her vision is and where she can go in her career. That reminds me that my role is not simply to partner and collaborate and do great things in cancer care, but it’s also that I’m an example and a mentor to the next generation of women leaders, highlighting what the possibilities are for them.
Still, there are challenges associated with all of this. As a woman of color, the process of getting to this level of leadership both in what I do at ACCC, the work and leadership I had at Duke School of Medicine and now at Atrium Health Wake Forest School of Medicine is not an easy journey, particularly for women and women of color.
For me, it is important to always remember who I am, where I come from, and rich ‘herstory’ of strength and resilience. I strive to be a shining light for others, even in their most challenging times, and bring hope and opportunity to leaders and particularly women leaders who have yet to be discovered.
Healio: Why did you choose reimagining community engagement and equity in cancer as your presidential theme, and what do your plans entail?
Barrett: I shaped this vision at a very early age of about 6 or 7 years old. My mom was a geriatric nurse, and she would take me into the nursing homes and have me sit with the elderly — have conversations with them and listen to what their stories were. At an early age, I learned the importance of listening.
I also learned at this young age that the world does not rotate around me, but that there is this whole other world of experiences that people are having that are beyond my own. My mom was very intentional on instilling that in me so that I can get to learn and understand and see the world from multiple perspectives by asking questions and learning, and then applying that knowledge in whatever ways I needed to navigate society and make a difference in this world.
Taking those early life lessons and fast forwarding to now, it has truly shaped my career and what I have focused on during the past 2 decades — community and patient engagement to equitably guide, advise and partner to advance health equity.
From access to preventative screening and quality health care, what does trustworthiness look like in terms of health systems, cancer centers and clinics, and what are we going to do differently as we engage and learn from our community partners and colleagues to evoke change in cancer care systems that lead to better outcomes and create opportunities to advance diversity in the workforce and leadership.
These are important topics that will require intention and commitment and many of our board members are already making a significant impact in this area. Our membership has also asked for resources and guidance on the application of community engagement in their practices. The ACCC is committed to supporting this work.
For me, when I think about reimagining community engagement, it’s meaningfully engaging our patients, caregivers and our community leaders and colleagues to ensure that we have a broader and more complete view and understanding of what it will take to advance cancer health equity within our organizations — locally, regionally and nationally.
Healio: What are some of your other goals for ACCC?
Barrett: We have many other goals. When looking at patients who are diagnosed with cancer, approximately 15% are served by large academic health centers, but the other 85% are served by community clinics. That is why it is important for us to think about our partnerships with other national organizations in a way that ensures that all patients are reached. One example, Robert A. Winn, MD, director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, and I are current presidents of AACI and ACCC, respectively. We initiated a new partnership between the two organizations whose membership includes both community clinics, comprehensive and NCI-designated cancers. The possibility of this new partnership is limitless and we look forward to our work together.
Another big thing I’ve been passionate about and aligns with our earlier discussions around leadership for women, people of color and other marginalized and underrepresented populations, has been training the next generation of the cancer care and research workforce. When we think about the medical graduate, we think of 4-year institutions, but we miss reaching our next generation of cancer care and research leaders across all education outlets and at all levels. We will develop the partnership necessary to address some critical needs including workforce shortages, lack of diversity, leadership development, and succession planning.
A third goal is physician wellness, as employee wellness is a critical part of the cancer care workforce. Years ago, I cared for my best friend, who was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 39 and later died at 44. I took her to every clinical trial appointment, every treatment session and doctor’s appointment. We were together for that entire process. But what was most telling for me was when the physician providers, who are absolutely phenomenal, had to tell her that her cancer had progressed, that there were no more treatment options and she would have to go to hospice care. Her doctor was amazing but could not say those words. He sat in front of her and held her hand and had his other hand in my lap, but could not bring himself to say the words — we had been true partners in this journey.
His nurse, standing behind him with tears herself in her eyes, had to excuse him and say, “I'll go ahead and take care of it. You have a patient outside,” and we knew that he needed to step away. She went ahead and finished and moved us to where we got into the car and drove to the hospice facility to see if that is where my friend wanted to die.
The stress and the overwhelming experiences of watching both of them resonates with me to this day so much because patient navigators, social workers and physician providers get connected to patients. Our well-being is oftentimes not acknowledged in the ability to both take care of patients and, importantly, take care of ourselves as well so that we can better take care of our patients. That is another area of the ACCC that we’ve been focusing on and that we’ll be taking a deeper dive into.
Healio: What advice can you offer other women in medicine?
Barrett: There are so many key pieces of advice, but one is that despite changes in gender roles, women in medicine are still called to take care of their families. Even as we try to change and modify these gender roles and expectations, it tends to still be very pervasive. Our health care systems and organizations are not set up to support women in meaningful ways.
It is also important that when we talk about women in health care that we’re not just talking about women who are taking care of their children, but also those who care for their elderly parents and grandparents. The barriers and challenges in that space are also quite challenging for women to figure out how to navigate systems that are not necessarily supportive of women who have those types of responsibilities.
My mom and my grandmother, who both lived with me for 6 years, both passed away last year. My mother passed away first and then my grandmother passed from stomach cancer. During that time, it was truly difficult to figure out and navigate the system and provide good loving care to both while also working. It is important that systems openly recognize the caregiving roles women play throughout their career including mid- to late-career women, who are taking care of aging family members. It is equally important for women to take intermittent or full-medical leave when it is available to them. Caregiving and self-care can be often underutilized because of the — sometimes self-imposed — pressure to stay at work for a variety of reasons.
Other advice for women in medicine is to stay true to yourself, and when you begin any new position in your career, prepare for where you’re going next. Know what you need to do to make a difference and know the opportunities available to move others forward as you grow in your leadership. Also, know what your leadership skills are. Be clear about how to mentor and support the next generation of leaders. My mom always taught me to never move forward without making sure to look back, and bring others along with you.
Additionally, it is so important to find a network of women who are a core source of support. Find that network to bounce ideas off of outside of your workplace — people who understand the experiences of being a woman and/or being a woman of color in leadership and where you can all speak truth to each other, in love. It will benefit you personally and professionally throughout your life.
Reference:
- Wake Forest University. Nadine Barrett, PhD, begins term as president of Association of Community Cancer Centers (press release). Available at: https://school.wakehealth.edu/features/awards-and-recognition-results/nadine-barrett-phd-begins-term-as-president-of-association-of-community-cancer-centers. Posted March 1, 2024. Accessed June 4, 2024.
For more information:
Nadine J. Barrett, PhD, MA, MPH, can be reached at nadine.barrett@wakehealth.edu.
Collapse
Healio Interviews
Read more about