advocacy
Diversity in Strengths and Strength in Diversity
By Marianna Hernandez Brandi When my mom and I moved to Cincinnati, OH in 2005, I was placed in an English as a Second Language (ESL) class. I remember when the teacher would come into my home room and call out for me in front of all my classmates to announce that it was time for our one-on-one session. I was always so annoyed. I did not have much of a background, if any, in speaking English, but I felt that being singled out daily inhibited me from being able to fully immerse myself in the classroom with the other students. It took me less than a month to complain enough to my mom about this situation for her to advocate for me to no longer attend ESL classes. Throughout my life, I never felt that I was particularly gifted at test taking or school. In elementary school and high...
It Takes a Village
By: Ana Sofia Ore, MD MPH My journey away from home started before residency, when I moved to Boston to start my research training. I had fears of how welcoming the city would be to a hispanic woman starting to immerse into surgical research and training. I was fortunate to then match for residency here. It’s been five years since I moved to Boston, and it truly feels like home. But what makes it home? The answer is simple. The community I have here. When I think of #HispanicHeritageMonth, that’s the first thing that comes to my mind. I think of the community that I am now a part of and the importance of having that in my personal and professional life. A major part of this community are my co-residents. I feel incredibly blessed having peers that understand me, in some cases have similar backgrounds as me, share my...
How summer schools can fill the gap in Global Surgery knowledge of medical students and surgeons
By Gabriela Azevedo Sansoni Global Surgery is a hot topic, but is it often part of formal curricula for medical students and surgical trainees? A lot of papers have been published calling attention to gaps in education about Global Surgery, and more generally, Global Health, in medical education. In theory it would be possible to squeeze in another mandatory course and add a few more hours of lectures and seminars for the already busy students and residents. But would it be efficient? I, of course, don't have this answer. I do think, however, that Global Surgery is an important yet not-often-mentioned topic, particularly compared with other surgical specialities. Global Surgery education should guide and capacitate surgeons (and nurses, anesthesiologists, OR assistants, etc) to work in different settings with varying levels of resources. I am privileged, in a certain way, for having personal and educational experiences in low and high resource...
It’s a vast wonderful world: National Hispanic Heritage Month Begins
By Chantal Reyna, MD It is that time of year… National Hispanic Heritage Month!!! From September 15th to October 15th, it is time to recognize the Hispanic and Latinx communities. https://www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov/ highlights the celebration of the Hispanic and Latin cultures and provides a list of activities throughout the month. AWS is supporting this month by working with the Latino Surgical Society and creating a Sunday Blog Series dedicated to National Hispanic Heritage Month, written by Hispanic/Latina AWS members. As awareness of diversity increases and research aims at health disparities, some questions arise regarding Hispanic vs Latin terminology. Previously, these terms have been used interchangeably in both vernacular and research language starting in the 1970s as a general catch all phrase. I recently recognized this while working on a health disparities talk and noticed that some papers used Hispanic and some used Latina, but did not define the differences if any....
The Rising Force of Female Neurosurgeons
by Alex Miner Two years ago, on my first day of medical school, I was touring the hospital with a group of classmates when our tour guide asked us if we knew which specialties we were interested in yet. I had just finished four years of neuro-oncology research after college and had fallen in love with neuroscience and neurosurgery about a decade before that; for a brand-new medical student, I had an unusually clear picture of what I hoped my future as a surgeon-scientist would look like. I had been asked this question before, and had received enough incredulous reactions about how the training for neurosurgery was too long, too hard, or too unsuited to starting a family, that I had learned to modulate my response. Instilling some amount of ambivalence into my answer seemed to make people more comfortable, less intimidated, and less likely to question my decision. However,...
Spread the girl power
By Alesha Ramírez Lobato Since I started as a medical student at one of the best universities in Mexico, I have thought about everything that facilitated me getting there. Mainly, I know that it was my parents who have supported me throughout my life on every occasion, but when I looked around and saw a room full of women, that's when I knew the other reason. Getting to study for one of the most demanding careers has not only taught me medical or surgical skills, it has also taught me to break down barriers, limits, and stereotypes. Matilde Montoya was the first female doctor in Mexico, the country where I am from. This woman is not only an example to follow, and worthy of admiration for her perseverance and dedication, but she is also the reason why many Mexican women doctors can be in an operating room, hospital, or clinic...
Avoiding Bias in Letter Writing
By Dr. Chantal Reyna It has been shown that implicit bias exists within letters of recommendation written for medical students applying for residency. In regard to gender, female applicants were more often described using grindstone phrases such as “hardworking,” and their letters were more likely to include descriptions of their personal life and physical appearance. Meanwhile, males were more often described using standout adjectives such as “accomplished.” Their letters also included more references to research activities. These biases extend to underrepresented minority (URM) applicants as well. Black applicants were more often described as “competent” compared to white applicants who were more commonly described by “standout” phrases, even after controlling for USMLE scores. Rojek et. al showed that word differences between non-URM and URM applicants’ letters had more competency based adjectives in non-URM letters while more personal attributes were used in URM letters. While these findings have been documented in residency...
Achieving Diversity Through Inclusive Leadership
By Monica Jain, MD and Sadia Tasnim, MD Diversity and inclusion stimulate energy and drive performance – every individual that brings their unique perspectives to the team promotes creativity and innovation, improved decision-making and problem-solving, and enhanced engagement and well-being. P&G CEO Geraldine Huse creates cognitive diversity by “nurturing disagreement” and listening to every voice.In healthcare, we are working to mirror the corporate world with such an open philosophy on diversity. However, progress towards achieving diversity in medicine has been slow.Achieving institutional diversity requires inclusive leaders like Geraldine Huse. Unfortunately, only 40% of executives believe that fostering inclusiveness is a part of their responsibility as leaders. Inclusive leaders exhibit awareness and commitment. Here, we break down these traits within the context of the healthcare field. Awareness: Leaders empower people. They actively embrace peoples’ diverse perspectives. They give people opportunities.Inclusive leaders ensure fairness, respect, a sense of belonging, and psychological safety...
I did it my way!
By Dr. Sabreen Al Zamil Ever since medical school, plastic surgery was my passion. I was determined to become a plastic surgeon so I shadowed my professor (who later became my mentor). However, in those days (the early 90s) entering into a surgical field was presented as it was considered a ‘man’s domain’. I was even informed by a professor that I may have to give up many aspects of social life including marital life, having children, and having a family to have a shot at becoming a surgeon. And sure I would for my ‘sacred’ dream. However, it was not enough. Opposition by male colleagues was endless. I was once sarcastically told: bake chocolate cakes instead.That was the least I heard! I was subjected to a wide range of untoward behaviour ranging from mere annoyances to vocal discreditation and unnecessary delays when it came time to promotions. During call...
White Coat
By Sophia Hernandez, MD Many leaders in medicine have identified the white coat as a shield of armor—a “visibility cloak”—the very piece of cloth that provides minority physicians with a privilege they have never experienced before. During a residency interview, I was asked to identify my “privilege.” It didn’t take long before I knew my answer: I was born with a “white coat.” I am blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and identify as a Latina. Yet, others do not often recognize me as such. As the daughter of an immigrant, and one who understands the uniqueness of my position, I see the responsibility in this hyphenated perspective to help spread awareness in hopes of promoting societal change and equity. “What do you want to do, doctor?” the nurse questioned me, a medical student, ignoring the Latina physician standing in the room. Though I wore my short coat to signify my position, the louder...
