hispanic heritage
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...
From Passion to Purpose: My Journey as a 22-Year-Old Mexican Woman Towards General Surgery
by Paula Nieto Passion is a powerful engine that drives us toward our goals and dreams. When it is directed toward the well-being of others, it transforms into a meaningful purpose. As a 22-year-old woman in Mexico, my aspiration to specialize in general surgery is deeply rooted in the desire to serve others and make a difference in their lives. Currently, I am conducting a year of research to deepen my understanding of the field and enhance my skills as I prepare for my future in surgery. My family background, through which I have been involved for ten years with the association Amigo-Tez, supporting children from low-income communities in Mexico, has greatly shaped my perspective on medicine and medical practice. A Legacy of Service I come from a family that has dedicated its life to serving others. Since I was young, I have witnessed the impact we can have on...
The Shadow of Sacrifice
by Ashley Martinez I stared back at her feet in four-inch heels as I lay under my mother’s desk, awakening from my nap. A single mother of three, my mother worked what seemed like all hours of the day to make ends meet. As a result, I quickly became accustomed to napping under her desk after school or sipping on a juice that her client offered me and my youngest brother while we sat in the living room of a home we could only dream would be ours. Was her work ethic passed down to me due to genetics, model behavior, or a mix of both? Now, as a third-year medical student, I like to think it’s an accumulation of these factors, once fueled by the need to prove myself, but now sustained by something far greater. There was no doubt that I was smart. I took after my mom...
Sci-Fi to Surgery: The life story of a Latin American surgeon
By: Alix Yurany Baez Ramirez, MD In an operating room, under a mask, you don't know the life story on the other side. What decision has made the person in front of him decide to enter the world of medicine? After all, we are all stories, the sum of our experiences, the sum of the dreams we had as children, the construction of longings or whims in adolescence, and the social and cultural realities that surround us to become and build those adults that we visualized as children. This is mine. To better understand the context of my story, it is important to consider higher education statistics in our region. According to UNESCO-IESALC (2020), higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean has experienced an acceleration in the enrollment process, going from 23% in 2000 to 52% in 2018. This expansion is attributed to three main factors: an increase in...
Becoming part of the pathway
By Shaidy Moronta, DO I march along to different appointments with my elderly grandparents—a normal routine for first-generation non-English speaking immigrants. We prefer to serve as the primary interpreters for our family. In many cases, this is our first introduction to the medical field. In other cases, it is where we find our life’s calling. I recall a particular appointment with my Abuelita for a colonoscopy screening. The doctor, an African American man who led a very pleasant appointment, tried to explain the plan in Spanish as best he could. My Abuelita began to weep immediately. She was in this country for less than a year and was navigating the foreign world of medicine in a language she could not comprehend. This was the first physician who tried to speak to her in her language. At that moment I realized just how important it was to feel seen, to be...
Bienvenidos, Hispanic Heritage Month is here!
By Susana Vargas Pinto, MD September 15 to October 15 is a significant period dedicated to recognizing and honoring the contributions, history, and culture of Hispanic and Latino Americans. This observance was officially established in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan, though its roots stretch back to the 1960s. The celebration offers an opportunity to reflect on the diverse heritage of Spanish-speaking countries and the impact these communities have had on the fabric of American society. The timing of Hispanic Heritage Month is symbolic: September 15 marks the anniversary of independence for several Latin American countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The choice of this date as the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month serves as a reminder of the historical and cultural significance of Latin American independence movements. Additionally, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively, further anchoring this period...
Basics of AI in Healthcare & Surgery
By: Brielle Ochoa On PubMed, the number of publications for “artificial intelligence” (AI) and “surgery” ten years ago was less than 100. In 2023, this number was up to nearly 3,500. But what basics should you know about AI in general in healthcare and surgery? AI is an umbrella term for a wide range of technologies, which share the goal of mimicking human intelligence and cognitive function and processing. AI includes large language models, robots, machine learning, deep learning, neural networks, and artificial general intelligence; while beyond the scope of this post, these terms are interrelated but distinct from one another. AI can be used in a variety of general healthcare and surgical applications, including algorithms for clinical decision making, as part of technology in medical devices, for pattern recognition in images and videos, and for preparation of written documents, such as research manuscripts and patient educational information. AI must...
On Being Latina Enough
By Sarah Suhood I was born on the island of Sri Lanka in the middle of the Indian Ocean, but I was also born Latina, thanks to my Guatemalan mom. Growing up bi-racial, I experienced the casual identity crisis many immigrants feel. I’ve lived in the states since I was five, so am I American? We make tamales for Christmas, so am I Latina? I don’t eat pork since my dad is Muslim, does that make me more South Asian? It was only in the last couple of years that I began to understand and embrace that I am all of the above. With the rise of the “no sabo” kids in social media, we are seeing a beautiful move to embrace the second and third generation Latin-Americans. Both earlier and current generations faced much discrimination for having accents or not speaking English “well enough.” I remember my ESL (English...
An Interplay Between Invisibility and Hypervisibility while Pursuing a Surgical Subspecialty
By Natalia G. Penaloza My latinidad in the context of pursuing a surgical subspecialty has made me both invisible and hyper-visible. As a Latina in an operating room with a thousand moving pieces, from ancillary staff turning-over a room in under 30 minutes, scrub technicians meticulously following the surgery anticipating the next instrument, to nurses ensuring the patients are safe and comfortable, I was often identified as one of these healthcare workers. I take pride in knowing that I share some of the same qualities as them; efficiency, attention to detail, and empathy. Still, it is often a surprise to many when I introduce myself as the medical student on the team. The hyper-visibility is accompanied by my continuous effort to ensure I know all the equipment, anatomy, steps, complications, follow-up treatments, to know it all. If I don’t, I will not have represented Latinas and women in medicine well....
Chronicles of a Latina in Medicine: My Calling to Surgery
By Natalia Correa Organized chaos flooded the seventh operating room in the form of three transplant teams from Miami, Charlotte, and Daytona Beach. The surgeons scrubbed, nurses counted, scrub techs gowned, and the anesthesiologist ventilated. Every moving piece fell into place, as we called for a time-out. Five sets of hands eloquently worked to isolate each organ and preserve its viability for the next body to appreciate its inhabitance. From the first incision to the last suture, I watched as the heart pumped, lungs inflated, and blood flowed. No lecture, video, textbook, or cadaver could emulate this process. Our heads bowed, as we thanked our patient for the gifts of longevity he offered to recipients of his heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and pancreas. I stood enamored at the head of the operating table and felt reassured by the second chance offered to those receiving each carefully harvested organ. I always...
