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WOMEN IN
MEDICINE

Women Surgeons:

Current Surgical Training in a Male-Dominated Field

By Taylor Sullivan, DO
T ity to balance work life with family life, extended length of training
he first surgery I ever scrubbed in was during my second year
and discrimination/sexual harassment as reasons not to pursue a sur-
of medical school. It was a mastectomy with lymph node dis-
section. After resection of the tumor, the surgeon used paint,
ination from faculty or other residents. Rather it comes harmlessly from
borrowed from pathology, to mark the surgical borders of the speci- gical career. Personally, I have yet to observe or receive gender discrim-
men. She then used a handheld gamma detector to find the sentinel patients or ancillary staff, of both genders, assuming I am anyone but
lymph node. This surgery was a beautiful display of chest wall anatomy, the physician, much less the surgeon. Gentle education and repetitive
neurovascular supply to the upper extremity and use of technology. use of the word “doctor” typically helps get the point across.
Not only was this patient cancer-free thanks to this skilled breast sur- As of July 2021, women make up 38% of general surgery residents na-
3
geon, but it also changed my life and career trajectory. tionwide, and it continues to grow each year. As more faculty positions
For the time in U.S. history, females make up the majority of medical are awarded to female surgeons, opportunism for mentorship opens. I be-
1
students at 52.9%. Though only 35% of the active physicians are lieve ways to increase women in surgery is to provide mentorship and ex-
1
women, this is a significant stride in equalizing the workforce. The per- amples of how women can make it all work: they can have their career
2
centage of women in surgical specialties, however, is only 22%. (See and their family. I once attended a surgical interest group meeting in med-
Figure 1.) Additionally, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine physicians ical school and distinctly remember the surgeon advising us to never
are even further underrepresented in surgery. Combining genders, DOs choose a specialty based off of the perceived lifestyle. Anything can be ne-
account for 5.6% of surgeons in orthopedic surgery, 4.6% for general gotiated in a contract to ensure the balance you want. Several of my class-
surgery, 4% for ENT and vascular surgery, 2.5% for urology and <2% mates from medical school did not give surgery a second thought due to
2
for plastic surgery and neurosurgery. the extended length of training during childbearing years. Seeing female
There are several reasons as to why women don’t make up more of surgical residents ahead of me start a family while in residency makes it
the surgical workforce. Most students list the perceived lifestyle, inabil- seem not easy, but possible. Having mentorship, even from the resident
level, can make a big
Figure 1
difference, especially
for those students on
the fence about logisti-
cal questions. Lastly,
organized medicine,
such as the Association
of Women Surgeons
and the Bexar County
Medical Society, typi-
cally have mentor pro-
grams for students
who don’t have one at
their home program.
One of my original
mentors was a female
physician whom I

24 SAN ANTONIO MEDICINE • November 2021