By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    first aid guide
    A Deep Dive into First Aid and CPR Certification
    February 19, 2024
    back pain
    No More Aches! A Guide To Effective Back Pain Relief
    March 28, 2024
    workplace first aid
    First Aid Training Can Improve Workplace Health & Safety
    June 27, 2024
    Latest News
    Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
    July 20, 2025
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    healthcare literacy
    Are You Health Literate?
    July 4, 2012
    Patient Power in Indiana
    December 9, 2011
    2/365 teenage pregnancy
    Make IUDs and Implants More Affordable and Accessible for Teens
    September 25, 2012
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Impressions from XX in Health
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Finance > Impressions from XX in Health
BusinessFinanceNewsPolicy & Law

Impressions from XX in Health

Anne Weiler
Anne Weiler
Share
5 Min Read
xx in health conference
SHARE

xx in health conferenceLast week I was fortunate to attend the XX in Health conference sponsored by Rock Health at Cavallo Point in Sausalito.

xx in health conferenceLast week I was fortunate to attend the XX in Health conference sponsored by Rock Health at Cavallo Point in Sausalito. It was an evening and full-day of networking for women at all stages of their careers and across many disciplines including large insurers, startups, consulting companies, government, and healthcare providers.

Lisa Suennen, venture capitalist and healthcare consultant provided commentary and kept the day running smoothly. Pat Salber of the Doctor Weighs In did a great job of summarizing the day, so I’ll stick to my impressions.

First, I can’t remember the last time I was at any event that was all women and the first thing that struck me was the color and diversity of appearances and the amount of buzz in the room before the event even started. I’m used to IT conferences where everyone is wearing the same uniform of khakis and polos, and where everyone looks at their shoes until the evening cocktail hour. (Joke: How can you tell an extroverted engineer? S/he looks at your shoes.)

More Read

How Physician Practices Can Prepare For A Health Care Marketplace
Could the Shingles Vaccine Prevent Heart Attack and Stroke Later in Life?
How Machine Learning Is Shaping The Future Of Precision Medicine
TEDxCambridge 2011 Twitter Feed
How Computers Keep Us Alive

Second, I was struck by the honesty of the personal stories that were told. It was refreshing to hear how people struggled. So often we only hear the ups, and miss all the trials that got a successful person to that place. What struck me is that it seemed unlikely that a group of men would share to this depth.

Third, women’s career paths while producing highly talented and well-rounded individuals do not fit the traditional “climbing the ladder.” During my 10 years at Microsoft, I saw people with calculated career paths. They did whatever it took to get to the next level, and they got there faster than I did. I looked for interesting experiences. Opening speaker, Colleen Reitan of Healthcare Services Corporation talked about a similar approach, but was questioned by an audience member if perhaps women take this route because they have no other choice or face roadblocks. At the break, my table talked about this a bit, and think that unfortunately there a lot of external factors, like not wanting to look too aggressive that make women take this path.

Another prevalent theme was that women are well suited to solve challenges in healthcare due to their natural empathy, and that healthcare problems can only be solved with human communication, spaces for healing, and spiritual connection.

Many speakers talked about mentors who had challenged them, supported them, and sometimes bluntly said they couldn’t do things, which spurned greater action. Interestingly, I can’t remember a single person with a great female mentor. They were all senior men, most of these speakers were in later career so it might just be a product of the time they were starting.

Finally, one of my biggest takeaways was to look for the “underdog.” Vivek Wadwa, the only male speaker, talked about how while Silicon Valley was staffed by immigrants, he was told by every VC that “Indians don’t make good CEOs” so rather than fight this, he looked to CEOs of successful Indian companies for backing and advice, which might not have been a typical choice. I heard the same advice from other startup CEOs I talked to: you are different, find others who are different and help them.

The event this year had a waitlist of over 400 people, so if you’re interested in attending you will want to make sure you are following @xxinhealth.

If you’d like to get some great impressions of the event, you can see some of the best tweets here.

TAGGED:XX in Health
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share
By Anne Weiler
Follow:
Anne Weiler is CEO and co-founder of Wellpepper, a clinically-validated and award winning platform for patient engagement that enables health systems to track patient outcomes in real-time against their own protocols and personalize treatment plans for patients. Wellpepper patients are over 70% engaged. Prior to Wellpepper, Anne was Director of Product Management at Microsoft Corporation.

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

botox certification
Help Improve People’s Skin Health Via Botox Certification
Skin Specialties
July 22, 2025
Telemedicine Apps
Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
Health
July 20, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
Global Healthcare Policy & Law
July 17, 2025
paramedics in surgical gloves and masks
How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
Health care
July 16, 2025

You Might also Like

Concentra’s Dr. Tom Fogarty on urgent care (transcript)

February 10, 2011

Incidence and Prevalence of Morbid Obesity

June 21, 2011
Image
Business

Why Outsourcing Is a Brilliant Strategy for Healthcare

November 29, 2014
EHR and meaningful use
Hospital Administration

How Safe Is Your Hospital?

April 20, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?