A FemInEM RAFT (Resource, Advancement, and Fellowship Team) is a structured community initiative designed to support and empower women and gender minorities throughout their emergency medicine careers. The acronym RAFT represents three interconnected pillars that guide our work.
Resource focuses on providing tangible support for professional success. This includes connecting members with mentorship opportunities, sharing information about institutional policies like parental leave and promotion criteria, creating libraries of career development tools, and ensuring equitable access to opportunities. The resource pillar addresses the practical barriers that often impede careers.
Advancement centers on actively promoting career progression and leadership development. This involves creating pathways to leadership roles, advocating for pay equity and fair promotion practices, developing skills through workshops and training sessions, supporting academic scholarship and research collaborations, and addressing systemic barriers to advancement.
Fellowship emphasizes community building and authentic connection. The practice of medicine can be isolating, particularly for those from underrepresented groups. Fellowship creates space for peer support, networking across career stages and specialties, celebrating successes together, and fostering a sense of belonging. This pillar recognizes that personal and professional success is deeply connected to community support.
Together, these three elements create a comprehensive framework that addresses both the practical and relational needs of emergency medicine professionals. A RAFT serves as both a safety net and launching pad, providing stability while propelling members toward their full potential in clinical practice, academic medicine, leadership, personal success, and beyond.
A successful RAFT requires committed leadership, inclusive membership, consistent engagement, and institutional support. By adapting these guidelines to your local environment and culture, you can build a sustainable community that advances equity, supports professional growth, and creates meaningful support for all members of your emergency department.
Every group will look different based on institutional size, culture, and needs. Start where you are, use what you have, and grow thoughtfully with your community's input.
Compelling programming transforms RAFTs from a meeting series into a catalyst for meaningful change. The most successful groups organize activities around the three core pillars — Resource, Advancement, and Fellowship —creating comprehensive support that addresses both professional needs and human connection.
The power of individual RAFTs multiplies exponentially when they connect with one another, creating networks that transcend institutional boundaries. Inter-group collaboration builds collective capacity for research, amplifies local impact through shared learning, and creates professional communities that extend beyond single departments or health systems.