career development
Remember: You’re Strong enough!
The AWS blog is thrilled to recognize the experience and accomplishments of women surgeons around the world. While women surgeons share many common experiences, we differ in our cultural norms, support for women in careers and expectations of women in society around the world. One of the goals of AWS is to support women internationally, and part of that recognition is to build cultural understanding and awareness of the barriers women face in countries outside the United States. We would like to congratulate Dr. Spinoit on her incredible accomplishment - recently becoming the first female professor of surgery in Belgium, and hope to see increasing numbers of women rising through academic and clinical ranks into leadership worldwide. By Anne-Françoise Spinoit I was born in a family where medicine, and especially surgery, was always present. Many family members are surgeons or perform medical-related jobs. As far back as I can remember,...
Should you get an MBA?
By Heather Yeo As I come to the end of my MBA and MS in Healthcare Leadership, I have spent a lot of time thinking about what these degrees mean to me and my career. The past two years have been very challenging, but they have also been very rewarding and expanded my worldview. As a physician and scientist, I think of myself as continually open to learning and gathering new ideas, and this program offered me the opportunity to strengthen areas of my own career and path. I have no doubt that having completed this program will help to push my career forward. I am often asked why I chose to pursue an MBA. There are many reasons and many skills that I hope to incorporate into my practice and career. Why did I pursue a MBA? To get new skills in areas I thought that I lacked, for...
How soon is too soon?
“Fifty percent of physicians leave their first job within 5 years.” This statistic rang through my head as I sat looking at the computer screen. My mentor from fellowship had emailed me and asked me to come interview for a job. I was only 1.5 years into my first job. Was I really going to consider doing this? Was I going to become a statistic? While I was not actively looking for a job, if I was honest with myself I wasn’t happy at work. I had dreamed of being a burn surgeon and my current job was almost 50% trauma and emergency general surgery. Initially I had been happy to keep and develop my general surgery skills, but was beginning to feel I was not growing as much in my burn practice as I had hoped. However, my family was happy. Was I willing to move them again? I...
The Give and Take of Surgery
By Simone Betchen I recently applied to an executive MBA program and was asked the essay question based on Adam Grant’s groundbreaking TedTalk “Are You a Giver or a Taker?”. He describes three primary personality types in the workplace: givers, takers, and matchers. I was asked “based on your understanding of yourself and our program, how do you intend to give and take as a student…?” Takers in general as constantly tipping the scales in their own favor. They are out for themselves and see the world as an eat what you kill kind of place. Matchers have a great sense of fairness in a tit for tat system. Givers look to see what others need from them and often look out for the common good. Grant explains that in businesses, it’s the givers that end up on both ends of the spectrum as the most and least productive of...
What I’ve learned in private practice
By Emily Murphy Full disclosure: I am a private practice surgeon in the truest sense of the term, I am a partner in a six-person group who provides care at a 545-bed hospital almost exclusively. Further disclosure, this was the job I always hoped I would have (in my hometown, with the opportunity to teach medical and physician’s assistant students, with a solid core of senior partners), so I am probably more than a little biased. But two years into practice, I have learned some things that are specific to my experience, but likely translate pretty broadly. Introduce yourself to everyone (as “Dr. So-and-so”) Playground rules apply to surgery too. Play nice in the sandbox. Interact pleasantly with others. Establish that you are Dr. So-and-so. And if it feels uncomfortable to call yourself doctor among peers, say your name and explain that you are a new surgeon with your group....
Lessons from her first year of practice: Navigating the first stage of a career in academic surgery
Interview of Dr. Sook Hoang by Dr. Allison Martin For years, I had drawn comfort from the simple act of being able to plan ahead for a stressful future life event, and I quickly figured out that the ability to mentally walk through an uncomfortable situation was a major stress reliever. I remember the first time I heard about mental practice as a method of preparing for surgery. Studies demonstrating that the simple act of visualization ahead of a planned operation could improve performance seemed so practical and logical to me. Like many surgical residents before me, I have plenty of trepidation about my future career. What kind of practice will I have? Will I get funding for research? Will I be able to find that perfect balance of personal and professional responsibilities? Who should a young surgeon turn to when she’s trying to plan out her next steps and...
Finding the Leader Within
By Jennifer A. Villwock When I think about the development of leadership during my medical training, I immediately recall residency, where my faculty was 100% male. I learned many lessons from these men, but I felt something was missing. As a chief resident, I was invited to one of the first meetings of the Women in Rhinology section. I can be awkwardly introverted at times; I hesitated as I approached the meeting room and stopped at the threshold. Am I sure I’m invited? What if I’m supposed to contribute something. I’m not prepared. The women in the room came from all career levels, types of practice, and were respected and established leaders. I had read their papers and seen their presentations, but didn’t think I belonged in this group. One of them saw me and kindly beckoned me in. It was like finally taking a deep breath after holding it...
Do you dare to be you?
By Dr. Jaime D. Lewis Do you dare to be you? Have you taken a chance on yourself to live out your dreams? To be true to the voices inside your heart? When was the last time you truly failed? And you truly flew? Who supports you when you take on the cynics? And believes every word that you say? Where do you land when you fall? And who picks you up when you can no longer walk? Who raises you up to celebrate your victories? And who helps you face defeat without losing heart? As women in medicine, it can be difficult to expose our true selves and risk the consequences. We want to point out the inequities, but not be seen as unworthy. We are challenged to lean in, but fear that we might lean in too far. We want to share our stories, but we aren’t sure...
Lessons Learned: A Surgeon at Sea
By Pam Choi Shortly after graduating from general surgery residency, I checked-in aboard an US Navy aircraft carrier as the only surgeon for an entire strike group of about 6500 sailors. While my former co-residents were beginning their fellowships or new attending jobs, I was entering a different world. I had to adjust from working as a surgery resident in a civilian hospital to a naval officer and sole surgical provider on a warship. My year included the ship’s pre-deployment training cycle as a well as part of a deployment, and so I was away from my family for 7 out of those 12 months. Sometimes, I would be out at sea for 4 weeks, return home for 4 weeks (during which time I would still be working on the ship), and then go out again for another 4- 8 weeks. Additionally, living and working on a ship comes with...
Meet the experts on what you want to do, and be the best version of yourself
by Julia Barber I’m a 33 year old surgeon from Argentina. I always knew I wanted to stay in my country to practice medicine. I know we have the limitations of a developing country and that medicine is not the best paid job here. However, all my family and friends live here, and I know there’s a lot I can do to help the people around me. I never doubted my decision to stay. Still, I know that you need to look beyond your own horizons to make sure your direction is the correct one. And by this, I mean that you always have to make sure that whatever your decision in your career is, you are making a conscious one. This happened to me at different levels and in different moments of my career. Choosing a specialty: when studying medicine in Argentina, you sign up for only one specialty...
