Orthopedic Surgery & women

[sportsmedhopeful]

I am very much interested in becoming a surgeon of some sort. I am fascinated with orthopedics, organs transplants, and sports medicine. That being said, I am a female, and am always told it's "much different" for women- most don't make it, it's too hard, etc. I understand that women want to have children & families and sometimes that and surgery doesn't mesh. I also love to exercise but am aware of the long hours surgeons put in during the week. Are there any female surgeons out there that can balance it all? I'm sure it's doable, just depends on the person right? Anyone have any input or advice? Thanks!

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[Light at end of tunnel]

you may wanna see @OrthoTraumaMD 's thread, in this same forum

ortho attending AMA - great stuff

I believe she is also a female

 

[Tenk]

It's not so much the work life that's bad for women, it's the culture of bros. It's come a long way in recent years but it still has a long way to go. Do whatever you want, but just be aware that the stereotypical orthopod is the stereotype for a reason.

 

[12glaucoma34]

I am very much interested in becoming a surgeon of some sort. I am fascinated with orthopedics, organs transplants, and sports medicine. That being said, I am a female, and am always told it's "much different" for women- most don't make it, it's too hard, etc. I understand that women want to have children & families and sometimes that and surgery doesn't mesh. I also love to exercise but am aware of the long hours surgeons put in during the week. Are there any female surgeons out there that can balance it all? I'm sure it's doable, just depends on the person right? Anyone have any input or advice? Thanks!

It is absolutely doable. I could see performing surgery being very challenging because of the pregnancy belly and standing for long periods of time, also I can't imagine working 80 hours a week with a child(ren). I know female surgeons, it is 100% possible. I can definitely see how this could dissuade some women from pursuing surgery.

If you really want to do surgery, then go for it.

 

[Doctor-S]

It is doable - especially if surgery is your passion.

Have you shadowed any female surgeons yet?

 

[Light at end of tunnel]

Don't worry about this until you have your step 1 score back. Assuming you are a premed, by the time you do that the average for ortho will probably be mid 250s. Getting excited about a field before step 1, unless it's family med, is foolish.

Step score is just one component of competitiveness, you silly willy.

In any event, being a female gives her an advantage in ortho which is clasically male dominated (more so than most medical fields which are already male dominated), so she may not need a 250 step anyways.

 

[whatisthisstuff]

Don't worry about this until you have your step 1 score back. Assuming you are a premed, by the time you do that the average for ortho will probably be mid 250s. Getting excited about a field before step 1, unless it's family med, is foolish.

This is garbage. People who score 250 on Step 1 aren't different beings or something. They are just simply people who want to score highly and bust their arse to score highly. Advice like this psyches people out unnecessarily. Also its not foolish to get excited about anything. People who go into highly competitive specialties are the same people who were at one point 1st years thinking about highly competitive specialties. Sure some people flame out grades wise but to act like only the select few can cut it is nonsense. Now to approach it with "It is the absolute only thing I want to do" is kind of silly but that really has nothing to do with Step 1. Lastly, the average is just the average. People get in with lower scores all the time and those are the people who "foolishly" are really excited about a field.

 

[W19]

Don't worry about this until you have your step 1 score back. Assuming you are a premed, by the time you do that the average for ortho will probably be mid 250s. Getting excited about a field before step 1, unless it's family med, is foolish.

Lol...

 

[LoGo]

Bail on sports med ortho. It is (or will be) an increasingly non-op specialty due to questionable evidence for arthroscopy (or rather superior evidence for exercise or saline) for some of sports med's bread and butter conditions.

 

[Staphylococcus Aureus]

ALL-STAR SPORTS SURGEON. The quintessential pre-med specialty of choice, behind neonatal surgeon. Spoiler alert, whacking hips and knees for hours may not be as glamourous when you're over middle aged.

 

[Redpancreas]

I am very much interested in becoming a surgeon of some sort. I am fascinated with orthopedics, organs transplants, and sports medicine. That being said, I am a female, and am always told it's "much different" for women- most don't make it, it's too hard, etc. I understand that women want to have children & families and sometimes that and surgery doesn't mesh. I also love to exercise but am aware of the long hours surgeons put in during the week. Are there any female surgeons out there that can balance it all? I'm sure it's doable, just depends on the person right? Anyone have any input or advice? Thanks!

Don't worry about this until you have your step 1 score back. Assuming you are a premed, by the time you do that the average for ortho will probably be mid 250s. Getting excited about a field before step 1, unless it's family med, is foolish.

Step score is just one component of competitiveness, you silly willy.

In any event, being a female gives her an advantage in ortho which is clasically male dominated (more so than most medical fields which are already male dominated), so she may not need a 250 step anyways.

There's truth in all of what I've bolded. Definitely explore the field as a medical student, but now's a bit early. If you know that it's absolutely what you want now, it's more important to obtain research than shadow. Taking a few years off to get this done could help too. As for Step score, you should only put effort into significant networking once you have it back. Feel free to make connections through research though. As for women, I think it's an advantage during application, but probably a disadvantage at the same time too. Even as a student on general surgery as a male, I can see a slight bias where patients want tall, confident males with loud voices as opposed to soft-spoken short men, but I could be making excuses for myself. As mentioned above, I would absolutely recommend you get in touch with @OrthoTraumaMD through her thread because she's been through it and seems keen on mentoring.

 

[augeremt]

So much bad advice in this thread.

If you think you want to do ortho, you don't have to wait for your step score to start exploring. Go to grand rounds, shadow in clinic, offer to take call with a resident, set up a meeting with the chairman of the department to ask how to get involved, etc. These are a few ways to see what it's all about.

It's important to show your face around the department so the faculty know you're interested. It'll do wonders for your application farther down the line. People are more willing to help out the student who's been around for a couple of years than the one who shows up for the first time at the end of third year saying, "I've wanted to do ortho forever."

Also, don't listen to the part about patients preferring tall, confident males! That's complete BS. There are just as many patients out there who prefer female surgeons. You do have to be confident regardless of your gender, but that comes with time as well. Also, one of our best surgeons on staff is soft-spoken and he has no problem getting patients.

The above advice is not unique to ortho and can be applied to any specialty.

For ortho, you don't have to be a bro to fit in but you do have to tolerate being surrounded by bros. That being said, not everyone in ortho is a bro. We nerded out on history over lunch today but also spent the morning talking about the best gyms in the area.

As for being a woman in surgery, if you have female ortho residents or attendings at your home program send them an email asking to meet to talk about their experiences. Attendings and most residents at academic institutions like working with students and really love talking about themselves. They're a great resource! Also, surgeons rarely sugar coat things so you'll get an honest perspective from them.

Some of this advice may not apply as a premed (getting involved in the department, taking call) but you can still contact or shadow surgeons in clinic or even the OR to get a better feel for the field.

Good luck!

 

[TypeADissection]

Agree with above poster. Do the little things like going to fracture conference, didactics or grand rounds. Like many, I thought I was going to like ortho and I actually really wanted to, but it wasn't for me. I thought the same thing about ENT, ophtho, etc. and spent as much time as I could with each one as a med student to get a better flavor of each field. Somewhere along the way, you'll find the thing that tickles your fancy. In regards to being a female, I just don't see how it's an issue anymore. My school takes 5 ortho residents per year and there's always 1-3 in each class. My orthopod, when I was in high school and college and sustained various injuries, is a woman and she's awesome. Good luck. Don't forget to have fun along the way. Cheers.

 

[sportsmedhopeful]

It is doable - especially if surgery is your passion.

Have you shadowed any female surgeons yet?

I have not shadowed a female surgeon yet, but I have shadowed male transplant surgeons.

 

[VincentAdultman]

This is the risk you run when you pose a question like this in the med student forum. People who have no idea what they're talking about chime in to give their hot takes.

Yes the hours are long, yes you can make it work if you are a hard worker and passionate about what you do. No you don't have to wait until Step One to start thinking about this.

Yes I know that the OP is nine months old.

 

[altblue]

I'm sorry that today people still share everything by gender. Everything is made for everyone, and they can choose what they want. U don't have to listen to anyone and do what you want as long as you like it and you have that desire. I had a little different situation. After foot surgery, I needed sports tape, and everyone told me that this thing is not made for women. What? I never heard such nonsense. I bought these tapes quickly, and I needed a guide, that's why I went to Athletic Tape- A Guide To Its Types & Applications · Dunbar Medical . People have totally screwed up.

Yes, those are certainly all words