What Do You Expect of You?

By Tiffany R. Sanchez & Angel D. Chavez Rivera

As new leaders of the Association of Women Surgeons Chapter at San Juan Bautista School of Medicine in Puerto Rico, we asked for a lot of help from surgeon mentors. We wanted to put our best foot forward for our student group; as such, we set a goal to introduce our members to mentors willing to help students interested in surgical careers, and we made an effort to invite those with diverse backgrounds to the mentorship program. Our first speaker this year was Dr. Rose Lewis, a pioneer in plastic surgery. 

She is the first female, African-American plastic surgeon in the world. She attended the University of California at Berkeley and graduated in 2.5 years. Then, she spent the following 8 years in graduate school, working in laboratories and other science-related positions. Afterward, Dr. Lewis went to medical school at University of California San Francisco. Upon graduation she earned an internship at Mt. Zion in general surgery and completed a two-year plastic surgery residency in Phoenix. Later, she spent 25 years in San Francisco practicing at both Children’s Hospital and Mt. Zion, in addition to running her own practice to better serve her local community. 

It was an honor to introduce a legend, and it felt magical to be in her presence. Dr. Lewis shared her knowledge for a successful future in surgery as well as  personal experiences of when she was a medical student applying to residency. Each piece of advice she shared was a gold mine, so much so that we want to relive the experience again. Her advice on:

 

Being a woman

“It’s always going to be a little bit harder if you’re a woman, and if you’re a woman of color it’s going to be harder still because nobody expects anything of you and that’s just the reality of the way things are. And- So what? What do you expect of you? And that’s what’s really important. What do you expect of you?”

Specializing

“Depending on what type of surgery you want to do, I recommend trying to do an elective in that particular area while you’re a medical student. Clerkships help you make your decision on what you want to go into.”

Rotations

“My three rules to live by during rotations are: First, show up on time in the morning for rounds- make sure you can get there early. Second, don’t complain about everything- residency and internship is difficult. There’s going to be a lot of pressure on you, you’re going to be expected to work very hard. There’s going to be a lot of hours you’re going to have to put in. Go ahead and get it done! Third, when you’re taking care of patients, take the initiative to read ahead of time about the patient’s disease, so when you are questioned, you’re ready.”

Matching

“Don’t be concerned if you don’t match. Don’t panic- I didn’t match. It doesn’t mean anything frankly- you can still get a position and it’ll still be good.”

Letters of Recommendation

“Make a relationship with the chief of the department in whatever type of surgery you want to go into. It’s a good idea to have someone that knows you well, that works with you, that thinks you’re wonderful and wants to write you a glowing letter.”

Emotions

“Don’t get discouraged. It’s very hard to get a specialty rotation in surgery, even general surgery.”

We appreciated each minute she gave us. We were so thrilled that the event was a success and that our members were able to meet Dr. Lewis. It was a beautiful way to start the semester and an empowering beginning.

Tiffany R. Sanchez is a medical student at San Juan Bautista School of Medicine in Puerto Rico. She attended Cornell University where she graduated with a bachelor’s in nutrition with a concentration in dietetics. She was born and raised in New Jersey by Peruvian parents. She is currently the president of the Surgery Interest Group. So far, Tiffany has helped different communities in Puerto Rico through multiple initiatives. Tiffany petitioned to the governor of Puerto Rico to proclaim March as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. She also advocates for health equity on the island through means of education and health policy for HIV prevention. She is involved in research focusing on the prevalence of fibromas, colon cancer rates in PR, and wrote three chapters in a Translational Surgery Handbook with Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospital. She was a Top 5 finalist in the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2021 History of Surgery Poster Session where she presented on the subject of Inca Craniotomy. She recently received the Diversity Equity & Inclusion Conference Award and the California Society of Plastic Surgeons Travel Scholarship. In April, she will travel to California to participate in the PREPPED Program, a national program sponsored by the Plastic Surgery Foundation, American Council of Academic Plastic Surgery, ConnectMed International, Arthur L. Garnes Society, and University of California San Diego Division of Plastic Surgery. In her free time she enjoys playing video games, shopping and painting.

Angel D. Chavez Rivera attends San Juan Bautista School of Medicine in Puerto Rico. He graduated from Georgetown University with a Master’s of Science in Physiology. He was born in Peru and grew up in Florida. He is the Vice President of the Internal Medicine Interest Group, Surgery Interest Group, and Association of Women Surgeons. So far, he helped different communities in Puerto Rico through multiple initiatives. Angel petitioned to the governor of Puerto Rico to proclaim March as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. He also advocates for health equity on the island through means of education and health policy for HIV prevention. He is involved in research focusing on the prevalence of Parkinson Disease, colon cancer rates in PR, and wrote three chapters in a Translational Surgery Handbook with Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospital. Angel was a top 5 finalist in the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2021 History of Surgery Poster Session with a subject on Inca Craniotomy. He recently received the Diversity Equity & Inclusion Conference Award. In April, he will travel to California to participate in the PREPPED Program, a national program sponsored by the Plastic Surgery Foundation, American Council of Academic Plastic Surgery, ConnectMed International, Arthur L. Garnes Society, and University of California San Diego Division of Plastic Surgery. In his free time he enjoys exercising, video games, and watching movies.

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Our blog is a forum for our members to speak, and as such, statements made here represent the opinions of the author and are not necessarily the opinion of the Association of Women Surgeons.