Called to Step In

by Brett Weinstein

*This story was shared with permission from involved parties.

I didn’t wake up that morning expecting to deliver a baby in a car parking lot.

I was a fourth-year medical student on a surgery sub-internship, just finishing a long day in the OR. When I walked through the parking lot, I noticed a couple frantically waving me down. The woman was in labor, her face clenched with pain, her husband pacing at her side, panic in his eyes. “Hi my name is Brett, I’m a medical student, can I take a look?” There was no time to wait for help. She was crowning.

My heart pounded, but my feet moved before my mind caught up. I jumped into the backseat of their truck, barehanded, adrenaline roaring in my ears. For a moment, the world narrowed to just us – the mother, the baby, and me. Dark hair appeared. I guided the head, then the shoulders, and in seconds, a new life slipped into the world — silently without a cry.

The longest thirty seconds of my life followed. With no instruments, no suction, nothing but instinct, I turned the baby over and rubbed vigorously until fluid drained from her mouth and a cry filled the truck – loud, defiant, beautiful. Relief washed over us in waves. Minutes later, a white gurney with 15 people from the ED arrived, but by then, the miracle had already happened.

I often replay that night. The chaos, the terror, the focus. It felt like a scene from a movie, but it was real. It reminded me of something essential: when women are placed in extraordinary situations, they rise. That mother, laboring without hesitation in the back of a truck. Myself, a student thrust into a role I wasn’t “ready” for but couldn’t turn away from.

Women in surgery live in this space: called to jump in, improvise, act decisively, and carry others through uncertainty. It’s not about being fearless; it’s about stepping forward even while afraid. It’s about trusting our training, our instincts, and our resilience.

That night, I learned more about myself, about medicine, and about women than any lecture could teach. Women are powerful. Women are brave. Women – whether bringing life into the world or working in the operating room – can do anything.

Author Bio:

Brett Weinstein is a 4th year medical student from New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic medicine applying to General Surgery residency in the 2026 match. She received her Master’s in Public Health from New York University in 2021 prior to attending medical school. Outside of surgery and her passion for improving population health, she enjoys singing, painting and snowboarding.