In honor of Women’s History Month, executives from Tenet, USPI, and Conifer participated in an inspirational panel discussion

Tenet Healthcare recently hosted an inspirational leadership panel discussion with executives from Tenet, USPI, and Conifer. The panel featured Paola Arbour, EVP & Chief Information Officer, Tenet; Donita Fleming Market President-DFW, USPI; and Deepali Narula, Chief Operating Officer, Conifer.

The speakers discussed their journeys in healthcare, colleagues who have inspired and encouraged them throughout their careers, and how to become empowered to achieve your goals. The panel was moderated by Nikia Smith, Tenet’s Diversity and Inclusion Manager.

Read some of the advice shared by these female leaders below:

Women often wear many hats, personally and professionally. How do you find work life balance in all that you do and are responsible for?

Deepali
“If there are women who say they do it all, more power to them. I am not perfect. I am being very honest and very candid.

When people say it takes a village to raise a family, it definitely takes a village. I have relied on my spouse, we have relied on family, our neighbors, our friends, and nannies. You name it, we’ve tried it.

From a work life balance standpoint, my kids are equally part of what I do; as they have grown, I have involved them in the process, because what we do is not just nine to five, and after that everything shuts off. It doesn’t and we have to pivot. And my team understands it as well.

And lastly, I don’t draw the line between thinking of work as an evil and looking to balance work and life. I don’t view life as amazing and wok as something I need to do to balance life. I view our work as fun, as challenging, and recognize that it’s a big part of my life, and it is ok to accept that.

I have struggled with mom guilt. My oldest is 14 and my youngest is six. We all have it, and that is ok. Kids are resilient. Don’t put that natural pressure on yourself. I certainly do, and I have to remind myself to let go.”

What do you do in your downtime to support your mental health, and why is it important for women to take time out of their day to support their wellbeing?

Donita
“I love the outdoors. I find a park where I can go for a walk or a jog, and that is my mental break in the day. Even early in my career, it was important for me to have that break in my day to meditate. Think about what happened at work, solve problems in my head, and process how I’m going to address things later. It put me in the right mindset to relax and move forward.

Now that I have continued in my career, it is getting tougher and tougher to get that time, but I have to advocate for that time for me.”

How can women nurture their careers to achieve their goals and obtain success and what are a few of the best practices that you have used to empower your career decisions?

Paola
“I never focused on my career. What I did focus on was every individual job.

First, I never said no to an opportunity. It really does start there. Even if I didn’t feel like I was qualified, or if I didn’t feel I had the experience. I hung on to what I knew versus what I didn’t know, and I took a leap of faith and just did it.

So, I didn’t manage my career. What I did manage was that I was going to do the very best I could do, and I was going to do was make sure I had advocacy.

One thing I would highly encourage people to think about is to make sure you don’t go it alone. Find somebody to partner with, somebody to be your conscience, somebody to be your mirror, and somebody to be your advocate.”