January marks the start of a new year, a time often synonymous with prioritizing health and wellness. For women, this means scheduling an annual visit and routine screening at the gynecologist to support reproductive health.

January is also Cervical Health Awareness Month. Every year, more than 12,000 Americans are diagnosed with cervical cancer. Cervical cancer was once considered the leading cause of death among women in the United States, but today is considered highly preventable and treatable due to vaccination and early detection from routine testing.

Every October, communities around the country rally behind fundraising events and education campaigns to generate awareness around breast cancer. Early stages of breast cancer often have no symptoms, so with over 281,550 cases predicted for 2021, recommended regular screenings have the potential to save thousands of lives.

Today and every day, we celebrate mothers and mother figures in our lives and recognize the care they give to their families, their communities and their careers. This Mother’s Day, we asked Stephanie Parmely, PhD, a Behavioral Health Psychologist at Dignity Health Mercy Medical Group and mom, to weigh-in on how she navigates motherhood, her career and most importantly, self-care.

International Women’s Day is celebrated annually on March 8, serving as an opportunity to advocate for gender equality, celebrate the accomplishments of women around the world and highlight women’s rights, including women’s health.

In commemoration of this day, we’re spotlighting women physicians from Dignity Health Medical Groups who have contributed greatly to their respective practices and passing along their professional insight within their specialities in support of overall women’s health.

We celebrate National Women Physicians Day on Feb. 3, commemorating Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, who was the first woman to receive a medical degree in the U.S. in 1849. Today, we honor and recognize the accomplishments and milestones of all women doctors since then.

To celebrate, we asked a handful of women physicians within Dignity Health Medical Groups to weigh-in on what National Women Physicians Day represents for them and share advice for other women entering the medical profession.