University Daily Kansan / Wednesday. October 22. 1986
9
Female lawyers say inequality not a problem in their careers
By PAMELA SPINGLER
Staff writer
Women are facing different problems in the work force than they were 10 years ago. Today, women worry about advancement and daycare. Ten years ago, many worried about discrimination on the job, especially a "man's job."
But discrimination is almost nonexistent in the law profession today, according to Michael Davis, dean of law. The differences between men and women aren't a factor during law school or when being considered for a job, he said.
Ten years ago, many women were not accepted in private practices because they were women, said Amee Dornick, a clinical psychologist for U.SPrint in Kansas City, Kan.
Henry, who graduated from the School of Law in 1975, said a woman at one time had to be first or second to obtain a considered for a job in a private firm.
Henry got a job in 1975 at US Telecom after law school.
Henry now works part-time at the company because she has two small children. She is in the office three days a week and is on call the other two days.
"I've been very fortunate to be with a progressive company," she said.
But some women weren't so lucky. Henry said a friend of hers submitted an employment application, using her full name, to a private firm in 1975. She was not considered for a position. But when she resubmitted her application using just her first initials, she was asked for an interview.
In the past 11 years, many things have changed and most of the changes are for the better, Henry said.
"It it just took a while for the establishment to accept women in the management-level positions," she said. "It's not that they didn't like us, it's just they didn't know how to treat us."
Becky Winterschied, a 1983 graduate of the KU law school, said that in the three years she had been working, she had never personally experienced discrimination.
She works for a private firm in Phoenix, Ariz., handling corporate discrimination suits. She said the firm she worked for had a relatively large percentage of women in the office. Thirty of 140 employees are women.
"I don't feel like I'm isolated, because there are other women in the office." she said.
She added that sometimes being a woman gave her the advantage during negotiations with labor unions because they didn't know how to招呼.
"You have to drive yourself a little
more," Winterschied, conceded.
"They think a woman isn't going to represent their interests as forcefully as a man would."
To combat the image problem, she tells her clients about herself and her work.
Winterschiedt said the real world of law was much better than law school.
"I enjoy it," she said. "It's a tough profession with a lot of responsibility and a lot of hours. You have to work hard, but I'm never bored, and I get positive feedback.
"Law school gives you the opportunity to do a lot of things because it's three years of intensive training."
An Miller, a partner in a Manhattan, Kan., law firm, agreed that discrimination in her field was decreasing.
"I've never had any problems with clients," she said. "I've not felt any (discrimination) when obtaining and keeping clients."
Miller said all her female friends in law school were hired.
"No firm in their right mind would not hire a lawyer because she is a woman," she said.
Miller joined her husband's law firm after graduating from the KU law school in 1981. She said she chose small-town life because she wanted to raise a family and didn't have to worry about answering to anyone.
By PAMELA SPINGLER
Michelle Gabel Dodge City junior, peels the plastic backing from the "Take with Food" sticker and presses it on the brown prescription bottle.
Internship is Rx for students
Staff writer
After carefully checking the prescription again, she takes the bottle and the prescription to a doctor's office. Then she bottle with the doctor's orders.
The pharmacist gives the bottle back to Gabel, who takes it to the front of the pharmacy to leave it for a student.
Every afternoon, two or three third-year pharmacy students work in the pharmacy at Watkins Memorial Hospital, filling prescriptions and becoming acquainted with the job of a pharmacist.
"I think this is a good experience because we get to know if we like our jobs," Gabel said, adding that the internship more than classes.
Howard Mossberg, dean of pharmacy and one of the founders of the Watkins program, said the school of pharmacy started the internship in 1960 as a supplement to the students' classwork.
"The classroom relates to chemistry, not pharmacy," she said. "This (the internship) is important to it." What it's we're going to be doing.
dent to get something close to real life." Mossberg said.
Before the Watkins' internship, students had to go to the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kearney, Nebraska, to work in the pharmacy there.
"The program made it more convenient for the students." Mossberg said.
"It's an opportunity for the stu
The internship at Watkins is a required course for pharmacy students. In the course, half the students work one afternoon a week for three hours in the pharmacy while the other half take an empathy class. After eight weeks, the students switch.
Gene Hotchick, assistant to the team, said, "Many students have never worked in a pharmacy. This is them with hands-on experience."
Bob Emerson, a fourth-year pharmacy student from Tulsa, Okla., was working as a paramedic when he decided to study pharmacy.
He worked in the Watkins pharmacy for the first time last summer. When he first walked into the pharmacy he said he was intimidated and nervous.
"I'd never worked in a pharmacy before." Emerson said. But I felt at home pretty quickly. I got a lot of experience working
Emerson said he liked certain parts of the job more than others.
such as the contact with the customers.
He said the students were given a tour of the pharmacy and an explanation of the procedure, then put to work.
Hotchkiss said the students were put in a work atmosphere immediately.
"They just say 'Here it is,' and let them work." Hotchkiss said.
Students handle more than 100 different types of medicines as Watkins interns.
Before students start working in Watkins, they must be registered with the Kansas State Boards of Pharmacy and must purchase pharmacists' liability insurance.
John Baughman, director of Watkins pharmacy and pharmacy lecturer, said the staff supervised the interns carefully. All prescriptions are checked before customers get them.
Baughman said that besides the experience, the program allowed the interns to become confident in their professional abilities and in themselves.
Very few students change their majors from pharmacy after participating in the internship, Bauhman said.
"After 15 years, I've never had anyone say they did not enjoy it."