Editor’s Note: Wonderful examples of reaching out to young women to promote careers in orthopedic surgery.
Over two decades ago, while in private practice, I was invited to join a panel of three “strong women” for the benefit of a group of medical students. The first woman was Chief of Police at one of the city’s universities. She appeared in uniform, holstered gun & all. The second was a physician known for her care of transgender patients. I was honored to be the third. I may have been the first female orthopedic surgeon any of the students had encountered, much less met in person.
We panelists all related our life stories and later made ourselves available for questions from the students. For me, this proved to be a moving experience. Not only did I learn about my fellow panelists, I also learned about the students based on the nature of their questions. One or two of the students went on to contact me later.
Through this experience, I learned how important it is for women who do orthopedic surgery to be visible and available. By us simply being present, these young women had the opportunity to ask questions about how to pursue an atypical profession for women and also about how a career develops. In addition, this gave them an opportunity to look us over as a group of possible mentors.
I had a similar experience while in medical school. Two women who were in the orthopedic surgery residency program at my institution were “paraded in front of our class” as examples we could consider emulating. I felt seeing them was so cool. If those women could do orthopedic surgery, so could I. The very same women who inspired me are now my well-respected colleagues. So goes the circle of professional life!
Later in my career, I became involved with The Perry Initiative, a well established orthopaedic outreach program for female high school and medical students who are interested in a career in orthopaedic surgery. I sponsored the event three times at my final workplace, an academic institution. It was very gratifying to see the enthusiasm of the students who traveled there to have the opportunity to use power tools and to perform orthopaedic surgery on saw bones. They also got to meet and converse with women who actually do orthopedic surgery. This provided the students with an authentic taste of what a career as an orthopedic surgeon might feel like.
If I could do my career over again, I would generally follow the same pathway. One change would have been to become involved with one of the local universities sooner. The voluntary work I did there gave me much satisfaction, a sense of additional purpose, and of accomplishment.
My work and its timing in my life did keep me from seriously considering bearing children. Orthopedic surgery is my second career. The first was as a chemical engineer, another not so mainstream field for women. Despite not producing my own children, I have made many friends throughout my training and professional years. These highly valued people have become my chosen family and add to the richness of my life.