diversity and inclusion
Structural Inclusion in Surgery: Above Visibility, Beyond Pride
David S. Shapiro, MD, MPH, CPHQ, MEd, FACS, FCCM Chair, Connecticut Committee on Trauma; Chair, ACS Stop the Bleed Program Chair This is a special edition blog post presented in partnership with the Association of Out Surgeons & Allies (AOSA) in celebration of Pride Month. Being a gay surgeon during Pride Month is no different than any other month. Surrounded by chaos is the ordinary, and let's face it: the first "pride" was just as chaotic. It was a well-intentioned riot. When inclusivity is treated as a seasonal calendar event, it becomes a cliché. True inclusion isn't a mini-celebration or a morning email observing Pride, Juneteenth, or Eid al-Fitr just to make leadership feel compliant. It must be a permanent, structural component integrated into governance, workforce strategy, and daily culture; and this is not just in your hospitals, but in your departments, sections, and partnerships. At our local American College...
Dual Identity
By Keerat Bains This is a special edition blog post presented in partnership with the Association of Out Surgeons & Allies (AOSA) in celebration of Pride Month. In qualitative research, reflexivity and positionality statements allow for the authors to constantly reflect on their own biases and how they influence the research. My statement reads a little something like this: “KB is a cis-gendered, pansexual, first-generation South Asian woman who is an incoming general surgery resident. They are informed by a background in health equity, sexual health education, gender affirming care and street medicine.” At face value, I look like any other femme, heterosexual individual, especially in the hospital. I am even married to a cis, heterosexual man. However, if someone took the time to look more closely, they’d see my rainbow caduceus pin and my “she/they” pin on my white coat; they’d notice my pronouns permeating in every space where...
Emily Blackwell Did More Than Just Operate Against the Odds, She Built a Legacy of Inclusion
By: Aeryn Kangas-Dick, MD This is a special edition blog post presented in partnership with the Association of Out Surgeons & Allies (AOSA) in celebration of Pride Month. In 1854, a pioneer in surgery, Emily Blackwell was the second woman in the United States to receive an MD degree at what is now Case Western Reserve University.. She practiced surgery in lower Manhattan where, along with fellow surgeon Marie Zakrzewska, and her sister Elizabeth Blackwell, she was instrumental in founding a women’s hospital, the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. The hospital added a medical school, which trained 364 women surgeons before closing in 1899. Dr. Blackwell first met Elizabeth Cushier when she was a student at the medical school. The pair lived together for the rest of their lives, and they raised a daughter together. Dr. Blackwell was instrumental in advocating for state funding for the hospital, which...
Authority Doesn’t Have One Accent
By Linda Ding, MD, FACS This is a special edition blog post presented in partnership with the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. “The ED paged,” the circulator announced. “They have an admission for you.” I step away from the operating table and come to the phone. A familiar voice on the line starts describing a 74-year-old patient with end-stage renal disease and perforated diverticulitis. “Okay, sure, I can take the patient,” I said. “But you’re holding back a ‘by the way,’ aren’t you?” “Well, actually,” the emergency physician replied, “the INR is 7.” “Ooof. There it is,” I laughed. “I knew you were trying to pull one over on me.” A colleague once joked that they were surprised I did not get written up more often. The comment was meant lightly, but it lingered with me. How narrow is our...
Understanding the Misunderstood: A Hidden Burden in Black Communities
Written By: Melissa Rony MSc, Mentor: Evan Garfain, MD This article is not intended to be used as medical advice. Views of the author do not reflect the views of the institution. I was inspired to write this article by the experience of a close friend whose Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) was misdiagnosed for many years and whose symptoms were repeatedly dismissed by healthcare providers, allowing her condition to worsen before she received answers. I am writing in the hope that more patients will become aware of HS, recognize early symptoms, and feel empowered to seek care while helping to debunk harmful myths about the condition. Equally important, I hope this encourages clinicians to keep HS in their differential diagnosis, especially when caring for patients of color who are disproportionately affected yet often underdiagnosed. Ultimately, greater awareness can help drive more research, resources, and comprehensive approaches to understanding and treating HS,...
Speaking up from the Global South
By Dr. Prarthana Subedi How Young Women in Neurosurgery Can Influence Global Health Conversations Ever since I was a child, I’ve found myself in situations where I quietly questioned my place. These doubts didn’t come from lack of preparation or effort, but from something more deeply seated– an invisible weight carried by the labels that define me–A woman, A medical student from Nepal, A single child raised by a single mother. These identities shaped how I saw myself, long before I stepped into an operating theater with interest or attended a scientific conference. During my second year of medical school, I worked relentlessly, but for me, the baggage was heavier. When I was selected to serve on the organizing committee for a “Women in Neurosurgery” conference, it felt like the door to my dreams had cracked open. Meeting women from Romania, the United States, Peru, and Spain gave me something...
Issues faced by the female surgical trainees in developing countries
By Dr. Eshana Samaranayake Across South Asia, women are still a small minority in surgical training programmes, and that imbalance shapes daily experiences in ways that are easy to miss from the outside. ‘‘Surgery is for men’’ I have wanted to become a surgeon since high school, but when I prepared for the entrance exam I heard frequent warnings from family, friends, and colleagues. Much of it was well-meant, yet it rested on an assumption: surgery is too demanding for women to balance with personal life, especially where women are expected to carry most household responsibilities. Those expectations sometimes made me doubt myself, not because I lacked interest or motivation, but because I wondered how I would fit into a role society does not always picture for women. I feel fortunate to have been selected for surgical training, and I am now in my third year of general surgery residency....
Bridging the Gap: Female Surgeons in Malawi and the Power of Representation
By Dr. Sharon Cheryl Bonya Female surgical trainees face structural and cultural barriers that extend far beyond the operating room. They are not just training to master technical skills, they are also navigating expectations, isolation, and leadership in spaces where their presence still surprises many. In Malawi and across much of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), female surgeons face a double burden: under-representation within the surgical workforce and the cultural headwinds that make leadership, mentorship, and progression more difficult. Despite recent gains in training capacity in East, Central and Southern Africa, women surgeons remain a minority with implications for patient trust, communication, and equitable access to surgical care. According to the NHS workforce data, women make up about 17% of general surgery consultants in the United Kingdom. In the United States, women account for roughly 22.6% of general surgeons, based on figures from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). These numbers...
Show Up for Yourself: A Message to Women Surgeons Living with Disability
By Dr. Elizabeth Perazza Imagine ringing in the New Year, celebrating 25 years as a successful surgeon. You place a ruby-studded tiara on your head, proud to be 55 years old, 30 pounds lighter, and stepping into your power as Queen Bee—the new sheriff in town. Among over 100 surgeons, OR nurses, and technicians, you stand tall as the next Chief of Surgery. Then, six months later, everything changes. You begin to feel as though you’re slipping away—paralyzed, bedridden, and mentally foggy. You’re dizzy even while lying down. A tingling sensation creeps from your mouth to your toes. Your eyes hurt to open, and you feel exhausted just from breathing. You’re disoriented whether your eyes are open or closed. You undergo a spinal tap, waiting anxiously for results. Then the diagnosis comes: Multiple Sclerosis. Positive oligoclonal bands confirm it. That day, I became another name on the list of those...
The Six Percent Club
By Dr. Susana Vargas Pinto This is a special edition blog post presented in partnership with the Latino Surgical Society in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. For 57 years, Latino heritage has been officially recognized in the United States. What began as a week-long celebration in 1968 under President Lyndon B. Johnson was expanded to a month-long observance by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Hispanic Heritage Month offers an opportunity to honor the significant role the Latino community has played in shaping and strengthening our nation. Although the terms “Latino” and “Hispanic” are often used interchangeably, they have distinct meanings. “Hispanic” typically refers to people with a connection to Spain or the Spanish language, while “Latino” encompasses individuals of Latin American or Caribbean descent, regardless of their proficiency in Spanish. The term also creates space for diverse ethnic and ancestral backgrounds, including those of European descent, to be acknowledged within...
