By Julie A. Melchior, MD

When I was accepted to an orthopedic surgery residency in 1991, I and two other women from my class who had also matched to orthopedic surgery were invited out to dinner by one of the senior orthopedic surgery residents who was a woman. She gave us some advice I’ve often quoted to students, residents and colleagues: “You can do anything the guys can do. It might take you a little longer, and it might mean you have to have better technique, but you’ll never have to call one of your male colleagues to help with something because you’re not strong enough to do it.”  I took those words to heart.

I went through orthopedic surgery residency in the early to mid-1990s, and at that time, was one of a handful of women to complete my particular program. I had a senior resident who was a woman, who was 2 years ahead of me, and she was a tremendous role model. We worked together on a couple of rotations, and I saw how she fit right in with a department that was primarily male at the time. She was most definitely a woman, but gave as good as she got, never backed down, and pulled her weight and then some in everything she did. I learned a great deal from her, both about orthopedic surgery and how to be successful as a woman in a field that was predominantly male. My two primary hand surgeon attendings were incredible educators and role models as well, and I learned so much from them.

During my hand and upper extremity fellowship, I had the honor of getting to know several female as well as male hand surgeons. Some were faculty, others were guest speakers, and yet others were alumni of the program. They were and are outstanding technical hand surgeons, great teachers, wonderful mothers and fathers, and compassionate and caring with their patients, family and friends. They taught me about the kind of hand surgeon I wanted to become.

In my first practice, I was the only woman in the group. This didn’t trouble me at all. My partners were terrific people, we all worked together well, and helped each other out. When I changed practices 8 years later, to be closer to my husband’s family, I was fortunate to join another group of equally collegial and excellent surgeons, who were chaired by a female total joint/pediatric orthopedic surgeon who has since retired. My group now has 4 (out of 10) female hand surgeons and a female foot and ankle surgeon (out of 5), in a group of 34 orthopedic surgeons. This is almost 15% women, well above the national average of 9% women in orthopedic surgery.  My residency program has in recent years had as many as half of their residents in a given class be women, which is fantastic progress. But there is always more that can be done and that we need to do-we need more women in orthopedic surgery and in hand surgery. We need more women in leadership positions, both in the ASSH and outside. But we as women tend to wait to be noticed, and asked to take on leadership roles, which is an area where we need to step forward.

Every day is another step towards that elusive goal- work life balance. Some days it feels like a step or two back. I have two children, and my husband travels for work. With balancing career and family, and trying to squeeze in a little “me” time, it can be very challenging. We all handle it differently. There are increasing numbers of women in hand surgery, and we are continuing to “figure it out” as we go. Some women in hand surgery seem to be able to do it all- chairing departments, holding high positions in various organizations, publishing papers, being on panels, yet still being able to attend their children’s performances and sporting events, volunteer in their classrooms, plus staying fit and keeping up with friends. It’s a very full plate. We are at work all day, then come home to our second job, our families. I find that there’s truth in the statement “You can have it all–you just can’t have it all at the same time.” It’s all about balance.