Editor’s Note: An uplifting account of “things working out as we hoped they would.” Cooperation among orthopaedic surgery colleagues is something we hope to experience in training and in practice. We aspire to create a system or culture that works this way. Here is an example of when it actually did!
“My story came from an experience that occurred in the last 24 hours.” I received a communication from a pregnant attending orthopaedic surgeon who was scheduled for upcoming general/trauma call. She called from Obstetrics Triage where she had presented with the unexpected onset of labor which was failing to progress. She was being sent home but did not feel she would be able to work on call as expected the next two days. Two other orthopaedic surgeons from the department were impacted and just happened to be female. They both agreed to help and to take over her work, “No problem, we got it!” That is the sort of response we all dream about, especially me as the new chief of service. Our department is unique in that we have close to equal numbers of men and women. It is not surprising, then, that the three of us involved in assisting our colleague all happened to be women.
Did the positive response to a call for help occur because we were all female? We will never know but I suspect that some of the male attendings may have responded in the same way. We do tend to cooperate in times of need and do “pull together” as a department. Many of us were trained by some of the same strong, empathetic and ethical women. I feel that the influence of those role models contributed to the positive response by the orthopaedic colleagues described above.
We often train orthopaedic fellows who did their residencies in other parts of the country. I remember one who said she was “Overwhelmed by how kind people are” to work with. She had trained elsewhere and had been wounded by an abusive residency program. Our examples of teamwork can benefit anyone who goes through our training programs and shows them there is a cooperative way for a department to function.
I also believe that there is hope for women who don’t have a lot of orthopaedic experience when they enter their training programs. Bringing more women into the practice of orthopaedic surgery will allow them to demonstrate their inherent capabilities to learn, to become competent at new skills and to show us how capable they are while managing difficult situations.
On the topic of parental leave, both men and women benefit from time at home to experience their child’s newborn stage. The men in our program want to take this time to bond with their new child and begin early family life together just like the women do.
Would I live my career over again in the same way? Yes, I am not a “what if” person. I don’t live with regret. I live intentionally and make the best decisions I can with the information I have.
Here is my advice for women in orthopaedic surgery training or in early career:
- You belong.
- You are capable. Everyone needs support along the way. It is not a weakness to acknowledge this. I do not believe in “piling on” like some programs do with struggling residents or fellows. Instead, coach people through until they get their footing. We are not all born with the same skill sets and learn in different ways.
- Things in life don’t always go as planned. Be ready.
- Align with your values.