By Senator Kay Kirkpatrick, MD

When I chose orthopaedic surgery, I was the first female resident at the University of Louisville. Starting in 1981, I had a great experience as a resident and stayed to do my hand fellowship with Dr. Kleinert’s group. Interestingly 4 of the 16 fellows that year were women, 3 ortho and one general surgeon. There were not many mentors around at that time but my first chairman, Dr. James Harkess, a small and gentle Scot, helped me in many ways.  My approach was to work harder, be more prepared and treat everyone the way I wanted to be treated. I didn’t expect special treatment and ignored stupid comments, jokes, etc.

In 1986 I joined a small hand surgery practice in Atlanta, which grew and eventually merged into Resurgens Orthopaedics, one of the largest groups in the country. I used to meet Dr. Letha Griffin, the only other female ortho in Atlanta at that time and a great role model, for breakfast once a quarter. I served as President of Resurgens for 12 years, during which time we grew from 54 to about 100 docs. I loved my career (except for an occasional bad night in the ED) and was always treated with respect by my partners and staff. I enjoyed serving in many leadership roles with ASSH, AAOS and other groups. I retired 3 years ago and became a Georgia state Senator, which has been an interesting retirement job and not as rewarding as my hand surgery practice.

I married an emergency doc right out of training and had my 2 children during private practice, taking 6 weeks off postpartum. We worked together toward a functional household, which required sacrifices all around but with good results. We are still together, and our kids are productive, employed, and in regular communication.

I have had some great mentors over the years starting with my dad who always taught me to set high goals and never give up. I have worked hard on my credibility and reputation and have never cared who got the credit for important work. Leadership skills are worth learning and practicing, especially integrity, determination and humility. The tools that allowed me to be successful in orthopaedic surgery are serving me well in the Legislature. I have been very fortunate and really enjoy mentoring younger folks, so I hope that anyone who wants a deeper conversation will reach out.