family life
Before I am a Surgeon: Choosing Womanhood Without Leaving Surgery Behind.
By: Daniela H. Rodriguez Manrique "Since you want to become a wife and have kids," he said, "are you sure you want to do surgery?" I smiled politely, but I cannot recall what I said next. The only thing I remember is the question lingering in my mind after I left the operating room. "Do I want to be a woman, or do I want to be a surgeon?" Prior to this moment, I had not imagined that these two identities could be mutually exclusive. For the first time, I had doubts about becoming a surgeon, and as a medical student, I questioned if pursuing surgery meant I had to sacrifice the woman I wanted to become. Many women in surgery have encountered some version of this question. Sometimes, the question is asked out loud. Other times, it is implied. As I think of a future surgical residency, I have...
A Common Silence: Perspectives on Pregnancy Loss During General Surgery Residency
by Cleo Siderides, MD and Caitlin J. Cain-Trivette, MD Pregnancy loss is a painfully common experience among surgical trainees, yet our institutions remain poorly equipped to respond with support and compassion. Surgical trainees are more than twice as likely to experience pregnancy loss than the general population,1 yet no formal safeguards exist to protect trainees enduring these sentinel events. Cleo’s first pregnancy ended in a missed miscarriage at 9 weeks, followed by six weeks of medical and surgical management amidst the relentless pace of residency. The day after I took medication to induce a miscarriage I was on a 24-hour trauma call, bleeding through my scrubs to the point that I tied a jacket around my waist between cases. I emphatically stated that no, I did not feel like I needed to step away from work. I saw the hardship as a way to prove my grit and worth as...
I am Superwoman, I can do it all, but should I?
By Dr. Ashley Toussaint Since I was young, I’ve been called a “workhorse.” I’m the one people rely on to get things done, to do more, be more. If something needs to be handled, I’m your woman. That mentality has pushed me through life, and it has served me well. I was a Division 1 athlete in college, then went to medical school, and now, I’m a general surgery resident. That same mentality has carried me through my residency, too. I’ve had two kids while in residency and am currently expecting my third. I delivered both of my children the same day I worked at 40+ weeks pregnant, 18 months apart. I managed to breastfeed and pump for both of my daughters for over a year each. It wasn’t always easy, pumping while rounding on patients, operating, even driving to work. There were days when I did laparoscopic and robotic...
Cutting Through Grief: How Surgery Helped Me Reclaim My Strength
By Meaghan Bethea The first time I stepped into the operating room after my husband died, I wasn’t sure I could do it. Everything felt too raw. Too loud. Too precise for a mind muddied by grief. The sterile light above the surgical table illuminated more than just anatomy; it revealed the parts of me I had been trying to keep buried. Heartbreak. Fear. Uncertainty. I was scrubbed in, masked up, holding retractors with steady hands, but inside, I was anything but that. In the summer of 2023, I had just completed medical sciences, passed Step 1, and was preparing to start clinical rotations. At home, my husband and I had found a rhythm. He managed the household so I could pursue my dream with full focus. We were building a life together with our son. Then, suddenly and without warning, two weeks before third year, he died. I became...
Parental Leave in Surgical Training: Webinar Highlights
Authors: Kylie Dickerson, MD, MS; Nensi Ruzgar, MD; Camila R. Guetter, MD, MPH; Alizeh Abbas, MD; Maria S. Altieri, MD, MS In March 2025, the Association of Women Surgeons Resident and Fellow Committee hosted a discussion on Parental Leave in Surgical Training. The session began with a presentation by Dr. Maria Altieri, Section Chief of GI Surgery and Director of Bariatric Surgery, Pennsylvania Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania, who has published multiple papers on parental leave policies during surgical training. The presentation was followed by a Q&A session with a panel of trainees who shared their experiences related to childbearing during clinical residency or dedicated research time, being a non-birthing parent, and exploring adoption. The goals of the webinar were to discuss different pathways to childbearing and parental leave policies during surgical training. Dr. Altieri discussed her personal experiences with childbearing during different phases of training, from medical school...
Two Worlds, One Marriage: The Reality of Being an Asian Female Doctor with a Non-Medical Husband
By Ching Man Carmen Tong, DO 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 (AAPI) Month. When I was asked to contribute an article for the AWS blog during AAPI month, I thought to myself– what possible musings can I offer to the readers that could be enlightening and potentially useful? Then I realized– I’m not only an Asian woman, and a doctor, but I’m an Asian female doctor married to a white male who works outside the medical profession. It is an experience full of nuance, complexity, and mutual understanding. To understand our journey and marriage, it is important for me to describe just how different my husband, Brett, and I are. Not only do we come from different cultural backgrounds - I’m Chinese and he’s Irish and Spanish - but...
Finding Joy in Food and Culture During Residency
By Dr. Victoria Prete 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. ‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’ is a sentiment commonly attributed to Hippocrates and often preached in medicine, but rarely followed by residents and fellows. The stress of training, combined with limited time and access to quality food, makes prioritizing delicious meals difficult if not impossible. Like most first- and second-generation Asian-Americans, much of my life revolves around sharing food as part of a community. While I sacrifice much of myself to training, I hold onto my love of food and this link to my heritage. Food plays a pivotal role in Asian culture, serving as more than sustenance for the body; food provides a means of replenishing the soul. Throughout my life, my mother...
As a female surgeon, can I actually have a child-and when?
by Dr. Deepa Patel 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. Female surgeons serving a dual role as mothers are no longer a rarity, as over one third of us have a child during residency. Despite these statistics, I continue to hear that many female medical students avoid careers in surgery as they think that pursuing such a career would hinder their ability to have children. Hearing these concerns surprises me. I have always considered my career a top priority but did know that at some point, I also wanted children. I never considered these goals in opposition. As a young attending about to have her first child within 2 years of finishing a colorectal fellowship, I have found that balancing pregnancy with a career is possible-but needs to be...
Fertility Preservation and Family Planning in Surgical Training: Highlights from a Much-Needed Discussion
Authors: Nensi M. Ruzgar, Camila R. Guetter, Natalia Correa, Jessica Millar, Jessica Means, Kelsey Romatoski, Brooke Golisch, Pietro Bortoletto Affiliations: Nensi M. Ruzgar, MD, MHS - Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA Camila R. Guetter, MD, MPH - Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA Natalia Correa, MD - University of Miami Holy Cross Hospital, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA Jessica Millar, MD - University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI Jessica Means, MD - Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA Kelsey Romatoski, MD - Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA Brooke Golisch, MD, MS - Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL Pietro Bortoletto, MD, MSc - Boston IVF, Waltham, MA; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA On Nov 12th, the Association of Women Surgeons Resident and Fellow 2024 Webinar Series offered...
Delving into The Fourth Trimester and Beyond Lectures
By Anna Hargrave, DO This past August, we had an incredible series of lectures and panel groups discussing “The Fourth Trimester and Beyond.” The Fourth Trimester is the twelve week period after giving birth, which is particularly critical to all of our women surgeons. The demands of a new baby compete with clinical responsibilities and career goals, and become challenging to balance. While this series was aimed to female surgeons starting or expanding families, the lessons I learned can be applied to all female surgeons including those without children. Some of my key reflections from the month of Surgeons' Career and Leadership Professional Education Lecture Series (SCALPELS) are shared with you in the following paragraphs. To learn more from these phenomenal female surgeons, you can tune into the recorded August lectures! Dr. Amy Vertrees, a general surgeon and veteran who served 17 years with deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, joined...
