reflection
Diversity in Strengths and Strength in Diversity
By Marianna Hernandez Brandi When my mom and I moved to Cincinnati, OH in 2005, I was placed in an English as a Second Language (ESL) class. I remember when the teacher would come into my home room and call out for me in front of all my classmates to announce that it was time for our one-on-one session. I was always so annoyed. I did not have much of a background, if any, in speaking English, but I felt that being singled out daily inhibited me from being able to fully immerse myself in the classroom with the other students. It took me less than a month to complain enough to my mom about this situation for her to advocate for me to no longer attend ESL classes. Throughout my life, I never felt that I was particularly gifted at test taking or school. In elementary school and high...
It Takes a Village
By: Ana Sofia Ore, MD MPH My journey away from home started before residency, when I moved to Boston to start my research training. I had fears of how welcoming the city would be to a hispanic woman starting to immerse into surgical research and training. I was fortunate to then match for residency here. It’s been five years since I moved to Boston, and it truly feels like home. But what makes it home? The answer is simple. The community I have here. When I think of #HispanicHeritageMonth, that’s the first thing that comes to my mind. I think of the community that I am now a part of and the importance of having that in my personal and professional life. A major part of this community are my co-residents. I feel incredibly blessed having peers that understand me, in some cases have similar backgrounds as me, share my...
How was your day?
By Alyssa Brown How was your day? This is always such a loaded question. It also probably explains why I don’t call my family and non-medical friends as much while I’m on the trauma ICU rotation. I want to tell them everything I saw that day, but I also don’t. I know they probably don’t want to hear it—the gruesome details of: unhelmeted motorcycle accidents, stabbings, shootings, and car accidents. The patient list keeps stacking up as we move through the 24 hour shift, and the pager keeps ringing. As a patient is discharged from the ICU, another gets admitted and takes their place. They ask me how my call was - I usually reply “busy” and keep it at that. They don’t need to know I watched a septic patient code twice, a gunshot victim come in dead on arrival, or about the knife wound that wouldn’t stop bleeding....
Taming the Shrew Called Anxiety
By Jamesa Fabien A million thoughts raced through my mind: “Need to do well on Step” “Need to publish” “Need to network” “Need to be EXTRAORDINARY!!!” I struggled to focus on the text before me, but the concert of thoughts dancing in my mind won the competition. I crumbled in defeat, unable to do what needed to be done in the moment. This was the story of my first few semesters at medical school. I knew that I wanted to be a surgeon and that it would be a challenge. However, instead of being able to rise to the challenge, I was repeatedly crushed by anxiety and fear of failure and these posed an even greater challenge. I sought desperately to find solutions. First, I tried meditation in my quest to get my life back on track. My first attempt actually raised my anxiety; I could not turn off my...
Comfortably Chaotic
By Amy Tefft I started my intern year with an 8-week-old, but it was months before some of my colleagues knew that I had a child. I was quietly pumping alone in the bathroom, in between writing notes and orders and rushing to check more tasks off my to do list. At first, I didn’t want anyone to know I was a mom because I thought they might question my ability to perform my job. I didn’t bring it up because I didn’t feel like I owed anyone an explanation as to why I thought that now was the right time to build my family. At the time, I was the only woman in the program with a child. That was a scary prospect as a new intern and mom. It’s amazing how much has changed since that day. I’ve had two more children in my second and third years...
The Courage to Redefine Your Career While Ignoring “The Noise”
By Dr. Brittany Johnson I started my journey in medicine boldly confessing to my mother at the age of five that I was “going to be a doctor.” My trademark of setting a goal and never giving up established itself early. Today, I have fulfilled that promise, but this story has a twist. Halfway through my pediatrics residency, I decided to pursue pediatric surgery. There was great gravity in this decision. This would mean an additional nine years of training minimum, in addition to four for medical school and three for pediatrics residency I was already committed to. I attempted everything to run from this path. I negotiated the possibility of committing to less training; compensating by “enjoying more of my life”. Maybe what everyone said about surgical training was correct and by making this decision, especially late in training, I was doomed to always put career first and family...
I did it my way!
By Dr. Sabreen Al Zamil Ever since medical school, plastic surgery was my passion. I was determined to become a plastic surgeon so I shadowed my professor (who later became my mentor). However, in those days (the early 90s) entering into a surgical field was presented as it was considered a ‘man’s domain’. I was even informed by a professor that I may have to give up many aspects of social life including marital life, having children, and having a family to have a shot at becoming a surgeon. And sure I would for my ‘sacred’ dream. However, it was not enough. Opposition by male colleagues was endless. I was once sarcastically told: bake chocolate cakes instead.That was the least I heard! I was subjected to a wide range of untoward behaviour ranging from mere annoyances to vocal discreditation and unnecessary delays when it came time to promotions. During call...
Uplifting women surgeons: BMC Chief Residents’ Voices
By Jennifer F. Tseng Women in surgery are diverse; how can we support them? I have watched with great pride as our graduating Chief Residents at Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine have navigated their growth and development, as well as that of their partners. I am honored to uplift their voices and share with AWS blog readers my interpretation of their insights. Any errors in judgment are of course, mine. Enjoy! Pearl: People that aren’t like you can still be important mentors. Dr. Andrea Madiedo : “Becoming a surgeon is about more than just knowing how to operate and manage patients. Eventually you learn who you want to emulate, how you want to be remembered, get comfortable being yourself, and your skills start to speak for themselves. While having female mentors and visibility of those who look like you in gender, race/ethnicity, and orientation in our...
Adapting to Research Time During COVID
By Rachael Essig, MD May 2019 seems like a world away. I had accepted a research position following my PGY-3 year with a critical care fellowship starting July 2020 in a new city. At the time, it seemed like the start of a beautiful adventure. Yet, fast forwarding to April 2020, while deep into the first wave of the pandemic, I was attempting to view every apartment in my new metro area online. Zillow and a realtor were lifesavers! Another difficulty was the somberness I experienced leaving my surgical family without being able to say goodbye in person. They had raised me from an intern to a capable (hopefully) junior resident. Moving your life is always painful, and combined with global pandemic, it was especially dreadful. Thankfully, the stress was worth it as my fellowship has been an amazing educational experience with truly fabulous attendings and staff. Over the past...
Becoming a Urologist: The Journey from Little Girl to Certified Urologist
By Milena Taskovska, MD Being a surgeons’ daughter, I thought I was prepared for every possible gender discrimination when pursuing a career in urology, but I was wrong. Soon after starting my residency, I realized that it can always be worse. I was entering the field with knowledge of how most male surgeons perceive their female colleagues; about how much female surgeons were undesired and underrated, on other hand how much more effort, time and patience they invested in the process to prove that they can do the job equally successful as their male colleagues. During those six years, I often wondered why we are silently classified into residents and female residents. We did the same job, shared the same responsibilities, and were expected to obtain the same skills and knowledge; on the other hand, we were treated differently during the process. I will never forget the words of one...
