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Lack of Interaction

By Lindsey Urband, MD, FAAOS

I am honored to have the opportunity to provide a perspective on my personal journey into the field of hand surgery during Women’s History Month. I was first introduced to hand surgery while on a surgical mission to Chimaltenango, Guatemala in medical school.  “Dr. Leo,” as the patients referred to him, treated everything from complex congenital hand deformities to malunited fractures. I had the opportunity to work alongside him and began to understand the complexities and nuances of the anatomy and function of the hand. I was hooked!

As a medical student, achieving entrance into the field of Orthopaedic Surgery is daunting. The stress to perform and achieve was intense. I did not have access to women mentors in the field of Orthopaedics. On the interview trail, I was questioned about my strength, my familial plans, and my tenacity as a woman. Fortunately, I matched at a program where the chairman of the department made an effort to encourage women entering Orthopaedics. While no faculty members during my residency were women, three of the chief residents were, and they were supportive of my education.

When I matched in fellowship, again there were no female attending surgeons, but I had the excellent fortune of matching with two other brilliant and technically gifted women. We formed a bond and supported each other through the stress and excitement of our fellowship year. It was not until I joined my private practice that I finally had access to two outstanding female hand surgeons as partners. My partners were trailblazers in their own right; one was the first woman ever to matriculate from her Orthopaedic Surgery residency program. Currently, we all take advantage of the collaborative nature of our group and discuss complex cases regularly. However, it is striking to me that it was only when I joined a private practice that I could finally communicate regularly with female hand surgeons. 

Clearly, men can be and are excellent mentors for residents and fellows. However, we have more ground to cover, particularly in academia, to allow women residents and fellows to interact with attending surgeons of diverse backgrounds. There do exist organizations, such as Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society, which allow mentorships to be formed between practicing Orthopaedic Surgeons and residents and medical students, but occasionally these relationships are only intermittently accessible to busy students and residents. 

The solution to a paucity of women in the field of Orthopaedic Surgery and subspecialists in Hand Surgery is multi-faceted. Recognition of the lack of diversity in gender is the first step in making change. When I attend the ASSH annual meeting, I am pleased to look around the audience and see many female faces and know that change is occurring. Finally, I think it is important to appreciate that all of our ASSH members are valuable and male members have the power to encourage their female residents, fellows, students, and daughters about the fascinating and rewarding field of hand surgery.

Comment (1)
Anonymous
March 13, 2020 1:46 pm

Women wanting to grow professionally, need mentors. To navigate orthopedics, Dr. Urband nurtured the influence of many into her craft.

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