career development
Guilt
By JS I recently completed a 1-year hospital based fellowship that is designed to provide faculty and staff with the expertise and skills needed to advance academic careers in medical education. While I originally applied for the fellowship in order to improve my teaching style, I was particularly drawn in by the wellness sessions. I learned about the high prevalence of physician burnout, which is 30-40% amongst American surgeons1 and the many signs to help recognize it in myself and in others. I also became more aware of the resources available to help someone who is dealing with burnout. As the only surgeon in the group, it quickly became obvious to me that many of the solutions to preventing burnout required time and rearranging one’s schedule, for example, to go to a yoga class or meet with a peer support person. Of course, the irony was not lost on the...
Finding Comfort in Silence
By Madeline Torres It was another night in the SICU: 5:30 pm sign out, resident rounds, and dinner. As usual, I’d go into Mr. X’s room to examine him and make small talk with his wife but tonight she was not there. Mr. X was a 55-year-old otherwise healthy man who came in as trauma patient after a motor vehicle crash. His hospital course had been complicated by multiple surgeries, cardiac arrests, renal failure, and eventually a debilitating stroke. That night, he was in his usual state: with sluggish pupils that would respond to verbal stimuli and a slight movement of his left upper extremity. At around 10 PM, his nurse called me to evaluate him as his pupils were no longer reactive and his strength had decreased. I was scared and preoccupied, something was off and I did not know what it was. I also knew that he would...
The American College of Surgeons Leadership and Advocacy Summit
An Inside Look from a Resident Attendee By Erin M Garvey Over 500 surgeons attended the ACS Leadership and Advocacy Summit from April 9th to April 12th in Washington DC, and nearly 70 of those attendees were residents and fellows. This was my first time attending the Summit, and I was truly blown away by the quality of the educational content, the value of political advocacy and the plethora of networking opportunities. The leadership portion of the course was full of excellent content ranging from conflict management and cultural dexterity to improving emotional intelligence. Dr. Adil H. Haider, MPH, MD, FACS from the Center for Surgery and Public Health recommended everyone visit the website for Project Implicit and take an Implicit Association Test. Some of my favorite quotes from the day include: “We judge ourselves by our best intentions but judge others by their actions” –Kurt O’Brien, MHROD University of...
Entering the Surgical Profession
By Rogette Esteve Recently, I found myself in Danbury, CT searching for a new apartment. It made me pause for a moment and reflect on the fact that I will be starting general surgery residency in just a few short months at Danbury Hospital. If you had asked me back in college, when I was still a pre-med freshman, what I thought of surgery, I would have quickly answered, “Oh no, I want a life! I want a family!” Thank God I was introduced to the AWS Pocket Mentor toward the end of college!t forever changed my perspective on becoming a surgeon. I was amazed there was an established organization for female surgeons – by female surgeons. As a medical student, I am fortunate to have attended a number of AWS Conferences . Each time, I have been floored by the outstanding surgeons I have met. The women I met...
Equal pay for equal work: It’s our time
By Amalia Cochran Let me start with some simple facts. Female surgeons have the same training as male surgeons; we go to medical school, we spend the same amount of time in residency, we sit for the same board exams. However, if you compare the earnings of full-time female surgeons to our male colleagues annually, we make 24% less. Here's a question for you: Do you believe that this is right? The reality is that pay equity is a family issue; when women aren't paid equitably, over our lifetimes we make anywhere from $700,000 to $2 million less than men. That's not ideal for the economy, and it's definitely not good for families. Pay equity also results in a more engaged workforce. It's important to me as the current President of the Association of Women Surgeons to make people aware of this pay equity gap; everyone I have mentioned it...
#SurgStory(ies): Why do we do it?
By Joel Adler (with special guests Niraj Gusani and Heather Yeo) Rise of Twitter in Surgery: It’s no secret that there is a growing community of medical students, surgeons-in-training, and surgeons on Twitter. Many use Twitter and other social media to keep up on news, connect with colleagues, and access the latest medical innovations and data, or promote their own research. But Twitter can also be a source of inspiration and a fantastic way to share ideas and stories (140 characters at a time). #SurgStory: This past week, in the midst of a normal exchange, a discussion about being inspired by mentors to choose surgery as a career led to the beginning of the #SurgStory hashtag. The idea quickly caught on as surgeons contributed their own stories about a moment when it all clicked and they knew they had to become a surgeon or about a key role model...
Greening the OR
By Abigail Forbes As a medical student I have learned to seek out opportunities that will foster my journey through medical school and facilitate my goal of becoming a surgeon. The Go Green Contest is one of those many opportunities I came across through AWS. I gained an invaluable mentor and was able to promote a great cause: benefitting our environment. Students and residents should take advantage of this opportunity! When I was formulating a ‘green solution’ to submit, I benefitted from my surgeon mentor’s knowledge. Additionally, I was able to communicate my commitment and wide interests in the medical field. I found this unique interaction with faculty that allowed me to stand out as a medical student and to explore the possibilities and process of improving healthcare in my community. Together, we were able to outline an educational plan to train medical students about operating room procedures by saving...
On being a mom, surgeon, and wife – or surgeon, mom, and wife – or…
By Chris Hardesty The worst moment in 2015 was the morning my 2 year old started crying when he realized I was leaving for work. I’d heard this would happen and expected it, but the pit in my stomach was worse than I anticipated, the temptation to stay home tugged like a wave pulling me under the water, and I matched his tears when I got into my Jeep. It sucked. I rationalized I was going to an important job helping other kids, that Jack would be over it quickly, and that millions of other moms/kids had been through this. But it still sucked. “Work-life balance” is that overly used term for the elusive perfect schedule. It has been touted as something we should all work for, but I have yet to meet anyone – male or female – who has achieved it. My first goal in writing this is...
Beautiful Girl, You Can Do Hard Things
By Brittany Bankhead-Kendall I saw that quote on my favorite Facebook group recently, called "Physician Moms Group" (or "PMG"). This is a group of women who, like all of us, are just trying to "do" life every day. Because of our integrity and intellect, we are trying to do it better than anyone else. I think that’s from a “Type A” personality, combined with leadership & wanting to be perfect at absolutely everything. Make sure the kids are happy, our finances are in order, our trip to Disney World is fun, the house is clean, the co-workers aren't mad we’re on maternity leave, ensure we are the go-to specialist, the spouse feels loved, and the list goes on. But don't let any one of these Jenga pieces fall! As women in medicine, and especially as women in surgery, our formidable years in training teach us how to be strong and...
The Impact of Shared Experience
Reflections from the Panamerican Trauma Society/Association of Women Surgeons’ Women in Surgery Panel at the 28th Panamerican Trauma Congress in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia By Marissa Boeck In a giant convention hall, blindingly bright lights shine down on a long table in the middle of a makeshift stage. A moderate-sized crowd filters in. While the majority are women, there is a mix of genders that spans generations, all coming to hear a handful of female surgeons speak. Included is a mother from the local community who brings her adolescent daughter, in the hopes of reinforcing that despite local or cultural female stereotypes, her daughter can achieve whatever she sets her mind to. The panelists come from different training and geographic backgrounds, from medical school graduates to senior attendings, general surgeons to those specializing in trauma, bariatrics, or gynecology, hailing from Bolivia to Panama to Canada. The venue is...
