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Psychologist urges women to face fears by Heather Woolwine Public Relations Darlene Shaw, Ph.D., has created an ambiance within her office setting that is much like her personality. Warm, comfortable, and genuine, it comes as no surprise that with this woman and in this environment, many students and patients find it easy to open up about what troubles them most.   Dr. Darlene Shaw As the executive director of Student Health and Wellness, vice chair for education and director of medical student education for Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and a full professor, Shaw wears many hats. No matter which one she has on at any given time, those who know her have come to trust her gentle and sincere nature in guiding them to make healthy life decisions.   Born and raised in a tiny rural community in Ohio, Shaw is the first generation college graduate in her family. In what she described as a great place to grow up, but not one to live in, Shaw’s early mentoring experiences were limited to teachers she encountered during her primary education and her mother. She never felt marginalized by her gender. “I’ve been incredibly fortunate in that I didn’t have or see any barriers to my development,” she said. “I went to college at Ohio University and fell in love with my psychology 101 course. While I was working on my undergraduate research project, a woman named Abby Silver said I should go to graduate school. I just loved, and still do, learning about psychology, but it hadn’t even occurred to me to go beyond where I already was, I hadn’t dared to dream that big. Being from a small town meant that I wasn’t aware of the options out there or what my capabilities might be. It was much more difficult to get into graduate school as a woman at that time than it is now. You needed to have better credentials than the majority of men who were getting in, but once you were in, you were fine.”   Four years after earning her bachelor’s degree in 1970, Shaw received her doctorate in clinical psychology, also from Ohio University. An internship opportunity at MUSC brought her south. With a dual appointment at MUSC and as a clinical psychologist on the staff at the Veteran’s Administration hospital, Shaw was content. But after a decade on campus, others saw her potential and began engaging her in other activities. It was during this time that Shaw recalled the influence of several mentors on campus, including Layton McCurdy, M.D., (former Psychiatry chairman and Dean Emeritus of the College of Medicine) and Dean Kilpatrick, Ph.D., Psychiatry Distinguished Professor, the man who opened the door to Shaw’s medical student education career path. “He said something like, ‘Why don’t you just join our committee,’” she said with a laugh. As her heart and mind became more enamored with teaching medical students and working issues related to student education in general at MUSC, Shaw left the VA’s staff in 1988. With a promotion to associate professor, Shaw began counseling and psychology services for students as “an office of one.” The rest, the old adage goes, is history. From 1988 until 2003, she served in her new capacities, as well a 10 year stint as the associate dean for student life in the College of Medicine and reaching full professor in 2000.     “One thing that I feel like I did well and that I encourage all of our students to do early in their careers is to negotiate your path so that you are keeping your options open,” she said. “Do some teaching, some research, and find something you love to do and do it well. You have to follow that passion and foster it. Another important bit of advice goes along with the saying, ‘Location, location, location.’ In this case, it’s mentor, mentor, mentor. I think that is true for any career path. If you have a good mentor, then you’ll get all of his or her cast-offs, meaning that opportunities arise from getting the chance to work with a particular person, and that person doesn’t have to be at your home institution. And you don’t have to have just one; you can have different ones for different aspects of your career or life.”     As the executive director for Student Health and Wellness, Shaw has the overall responsibility for student health services and the Wellness Center. As director of Counseling and Psychological Services, she administers and coordinates the provision of services to the entire MUSC student body. She supervises and instructs psychology interns, psychology post-doctoral fellows, medical students and psychiatry residents, as well as developing curricula and evaluation methods and administering all psychiatry courses for medical students. And as if all of that wasn’t enough to fill her time, she has other responsibilities related to her appointment as vice-chair for education for Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. A member of 11 professional and scientific societies, the recipient of more than 20 honors and awards (including several Golden Apple Teaching Awards), and the primary or co-author of more than 60 publications, Shaw said she was especially proud of becoming a member of the inaugural class of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine program. “It was a huge honor to be involved with this group of very accomplished women from around the country,” she said.     While Shaw noted that things have changed for the better when it comes to women in academic medicine, she still feels that women are underrepresented in terms of tenure and full professorships. “I hope that women professionals today are more confident and self-assured. In my generation, we weren’t particularly confident—we were thankful for being there instead of knowing we should be there. Young women today seem more confident about stretching their wings and staying aware of new opportunities. The important thing is not letting your fear get in the way of success,” Shaw said. “Women have a tendency to be nurturers and say yes to too many things, because they are afraid to say no or hurt someone’s feelings. If you become involved in too many things, have too many responsibilities, or become accountable to too many people, you can actually hinder your efforts to excel in one particular area. I work closely with students and see their struggles between professional and personal life, as well as how much the financial burdens weigh on them, all the time.”   With a special spot in her heart for students coming from underprivileged or underserved areas who desire to be the first generation of college graduates in their families, Shaw is a generous supporter of higher education scholarships at MUSC and other institutions. In her time away from MUSC, she and her husband enjoy traveling and real estate investment.      Friday, March 30, 2007 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. 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