Association of Women Surgeons: Inspiring and Encouraging Women Surgeons Since 1981: work life balance

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Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Cold hands, bright eyes, and tuberculosis… Happy New Year!

We asked our Women Surgeons to share with us their Holiday traditions and some of their favorite memories of the holidays.

Please enjoy these delightful stories from fellow AWS members -- and feel free to share your own in the Comments.

Happy Holidays from all of us on the Blog team and the AWS!
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Lauren Poindexter
MD Candidate, Class of 2015
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine

Nearly every child lining the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade route on New Year’s Day in Southern California is bundled up to their noses in oversized parkas, gripping onto their parents hands tightly so as not to get lost in the excitable mass of humanity. Long before the start of the parade at 8:00am, bright-eyed children pull adults this way and that in attempts to touch the vibrant flowers, seeds, and grasses of the floats, stare at the huge costumed parade horses, and say hello to the perfectly-positioned musicians of the marching bands. Fascination and wonder predominates. Families are honored, a community gathers, rival football fans cheer, the nation celebrates a new year. Since the first Rose Parade in 1890 and the first Rose Bowl Game in 1902, the scene has only grown larger and more fantastic. New Year’s Day is my favorite holiday!

However lighthearted the modern festivities appear, few know of the original purpose of the Rose Parade and its roots in medical history: it was a nineteenth century small-town public relations stunt to entice the families of tuberculosis patients to relocate to Pasadena. Their target audience was East Coast citizens trapped in frigid, blustery winters.

The founder of Pasadena’s exclusive society, the Valley Hunt Club, was, himself, an East Coast transplant, former “consumptive,” and mastermind of the first Rose Parade. He established his club in 1888, the same decade when Prussian scientist Robert Koch identified the Mycobacterium tuberculosis organism, and at a time when physician specialists in America espoused the healing benefits of “climatic therapeutics” for tuberculosis sufferers.

Physicians in those days recommended their patients receive modern tuberculosis treatment and rest in temperate locales – ideally ones offering drier climes, mild winters, and warm temperature ranges. Through the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, international medical journals, textbooks, and newspaper articles included the Greater Los Angeles Area in their purported list of ideal regions. The Valley Hunt Club’s goal was to capitalize on this movement.

The 1890 Rose Parade featured a festival atmosphere of many athletic competitions and a parade of floral-bedecked horse-drawn carriages held under a sunny blue sky in the “dead of winter.” Vivid roses draped over horses necks and bundles of bright juicy citrus fruits wowed the 8,000 attendees. Foot races were run, children rode ponies, and visitors gushed in letters to their families.

Amidst the sprawling citrus groves and well-established ranches, newly constructed mansions sprouted in Pasadena. A residential spectacle dubbed “Millionaire’s Row” consisted of an impressive line of winter retreats commissioned by Eastern magnates desperate for a seasonal escape. Famous residents included the Wrigleys of chewing gum fame and the Gamble family of Proctor & Gamble. Average citizens also sought treatment for tuberculosis in this region. Pasadena’s “Ballard Pulmonary Sanitorium” was well-known for its excellent outcomes and its success was complimented by donations of dollars and volunteer time from members of local women’s clubs. By 1910, Pasadena was one of the fastest growing cities in the US.

When the Valley Hunt Club could no longer financially sustain the wild success of the Rose Parade, the non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses was created, eventually choosing William Wrigley’s winter mansion as its home base. Today, the parade progresses down the original “Millionaire’s Row” (now Orange Grove Boulevard) and past the Wrigley Estate. As a young child, I, too, was overwhelmed by the fantastic experience of the Rose Parade and fondly remember the years when we would spend New Year’s Eve at my grandfather’s townhouse across from the Wrigley Estate. He had ventured to Southern California as a young man to start his family in this beautiful region and was a strong supporter of the Tournament’s community involvement.

Though I’ve since migrated back east for medical school, and my grandfather has passed away, I look forward to every opportunity to head home to Pasadena for this annual celebration. Spending time with my family on a crisp January morning watching scores of floats, marching bands, and equestrian units, plus a raucous college football competition, is my favorite way to start a new year. Now I know to credit this event to the Valley Hunt Club… and tuberculosis!

* Tradition dictates that no parade will be held on a Sunday, therefore January 2nd is an alternate date.

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Happy Holidays from the AWS!

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Happy Holidays from the AWS!

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Happy Holidays from the AWS!

We asked our Women Surgeons to share with us their Holiday traditions and some of their favorite memories of the holidays.

Please enjoy these delightful stories from members of the Association of Women Surgeons -- and feel free to share your own in the Comments.

Happy Holidays from all of us on the Blog team and the AWS!
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Amalia Cochran, MD, FACS, FCCM
Blog: amaliacochranmd.com
Twitter: @amaliacochranmd

One of my favorite traditions during residency grew up from a tradition back home in Texas. I’ve long believed that tamales are Christmas food, and when I moved to Utah for residency, I started the tradition of a tamale dinner at my house on Christmas night for my co-residents, friends…anyone who wanted to drop by.

At first, quite a few of them thought it was an intriguing and strange tradition, but it was always a fun evening. By Christmas of our PGY-6 year, one of my classmates looked at me as she was eating her tamales and confessed, “I’m going to miss this next year when I’m in Minnesota.” While I got to have my Christmas tamales with my Mom the next year- and was back in Texas for my fellowship - it definitely wasn’t the same.
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Brittany Bankhead-Kendall, MD, MSc
Resident

This Christmas my family and I will be navigating the waters that the "Match" has bestowed upon us- living on separate sides of the country. My surgery residency is in Michigan, and my husband's emergency medicine residency is in Texas. He and my son decorated our tree while we "FaceTimed." No parent likes to be away from their children, especially during holidays. But I think Christmas is about traditions, making traditions, and yet sometimes breaking them to remember what's really important.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Happy Holidays from the AWS!

We asked our Women Surgeons to share with us their Holiday traditions and some of their favorite memories of the holidays – both at home and work.

Please enjoy these delightful stories from members of the Association of Women Surgeons -- and feel free to share your own in the Comments.

Happy Holidays from all of us on the Blog team and the AWS!
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Stephanie Bonne, MD, FACS
Assistant Professor
Trauma, Acute, and Critical Care Surgery
Washington University in St. Louis

What holiday do you celebrate and what is the special meaning of this
holiday to you?
We celebrate Christmas - I was raised Catholic and that's just the way it is!

What are some family traditions you have related to this holiday?
My mother's family is Polish, so we have a very traditional dinner on Christmas Eve with mushroom soup, fish, pierogi and picked Herring.

Do you have a good memory of patient care during a time you worked during
the holiday?
For the past several years, I've worked 6pm-6am over Christmas in the ICU. I kind of like it - there is a ton of food to eat, everyone is kind of cozy and happy. We watch NORAD tracks Santa at the nurses' station. The patient's families are usually in in the evenings and you can walk around and say hello to everyone.

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Callie Thompson, MD
Resident

What holiday do you celebrate and what is the special meaning of this
holiday to you?
We celebrate Christmas. For me, the holiday is a time of new beginnings and hope. I love spending this time of year with my family and seeing my children enjoy the same traditions that I loved as a kid.

What are some family traditions you have related to this holiday?
My family is very big on tradition so we try to do the same thing every year. We start by going to church on Christmas Eve and this year, my two oldest children are both in the Christmas play so I am really looking forward to that. On Christmas morning we open stockings and then have to have breakfast before we move to the presents from Santa. We are open-one-at-a-time-while-everyone-watches people.

Do you have a good memory of patient care during a time you worked during
the holiday?
My favorite holiday memory in the hospital would be from Christmas day my R2 year in the cardiothoracic ICU. All of the patients were critically ill but the nursing staff decorated and had a potluck that they invited the families to participate in. I just love the memory of the atmosphere in the unit that day.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Interview with Dr. Diana L. Farmer

by Lauren B. Nosanov

Dr. Diana L. Farmer, an internationally renowned fetal and neonatal surgeon, is Chair of the Department of Surgery at UC Davis Health System, where she oversees more than 250 faculty, volunteer clinical faculty, post-doctoral fellows, residents, students, and staff who provide highly skilled, specialty services in bariatric, burn, cardiothoracic, gastrointestinal, plastic and reconstructive, oncology, transplant, trauma and vascular surgery. A recognized leader in pediatric surgery, Dr. Farmer is known for her skilled surgical treatment of congenital anomalies and for her expertise in cancer, airway, and intestinal surgeries in newborns and for her investigations on the safety and effectiveness of providing spina bifida treatments before birth.

At a recent American College of Surgeons Chapter meeting, I was fortunate enough to attend a Women in Surgery luncheon featuring Dr. Farmer. Among the topics she discussed was the journey she took from the beginning of her career to her current position as Chair of Surgery at UC Davis. She had a great deal of wisdom and advice to offer for surgeons at all points in their professional life. Below she shares some of these insights.

Q: You have taken what some would consider an unusual path through your career. What do you consider to be the most crucial turning points that have brought you to where you currently are?

A: Following my husband to match our careers allowed (forced) me to spend three years in the Lab. My resident surgical oncology lab time (two decades ago) working on adoptive cellular immune therapy for cancer, has proven to be unexpectedly valuable in my career as a pediatric surgeon now working on stem cell therapies for children’s surgical diseases.

Q: What roles have mentorship and networking played throughout your career development?

A: In the early days, mentorship and networking were less formal, and I would define it as functioning more by observing people who served more as role models than mentors.

Q: Does being a woman affect the way in which you approach your position as Chair of Surgery? If so, how?

A: I don’t think that being a woman affects my approach to the Chair job. It’s a very maternal/paternal kind of job in a very big family!

Q: What advice can you provide to our younger members looking to have a successful career in academic surgery?

A: Follow your passion, “lean in,” don’t be afraid to try things and fail.

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Lauren Nosanov is a fourth year medical student at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. She spent a year before her last year of medical school as a Dean’s Research Scholar, dedicating her time to clinical research in the field of Trauma and Critical Care. Having loved surgery from the very beginning, she is excited to start her General Surgery residency in a couple of months. She is passionate about issues surrounding surgical education, mentorship, and finding a balance between motherhood and medicine. Outside of medicine she enjoys practicing Taekwondo and spending time with her husband and children.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Creating your own academic timeline

by Christina Cellini, MD, FACS, FASCRS

This topic came to me during a grand rounds given by a well-known surgeon in his mid-career - henceforth will be referred to as “WKS”. I had just returned from my second three-month maternity leave in two years and was looking forward to hearing about what advice he had to give.

That morning WKS gave a talk about how he advanced academically starting from residency to his early attending years that eventually led to his promotion to associate professor. His talk was very informative, and he made a really big deal about being present for your family while trying to achieve your goals. All in all it was a thoughtful presentation. However a few things caught my attention and highlighted how everyone’s situation is unique.

One piece of advice given was that one should constantly “be writing papers” and even to “get up at 4 am before work” to write in order to fulfill that goal.

4am??? I thought back to what I was doing at four A.M. that morning. Oh right… I was nursing an infant. I’m certain that’s not something that ever stood in his way of writing papers. Oh well, no time for paper writing this morning. Maybe tomorrow.

His next piece of advice was to take advantage of all the wonderful scholarships and traveling opportunities that are catered towards young attendings under the age of 45 . He showed lovely pictures of him and his family frolicking around a foreign country that was many time zones away.

I thought- wow! I didn’t know about these awards. I should think of putting something together. Then I thought of the logistics- I don’t think I’ll be able to leave my tiny children away for that amount of time. And since these days I need to plan about an hour in advance to take both kids out to a trip to Target…. maybe in about 5-7 more years. But then I’ll be too old for these scholarships!

Finally he mentioned being involved in society meetings and to bring family along so that you can take advantages of the opportunities there while your spouse and kids go and do fun things in the area. See- you can work and spend time with your family as well! I thought- that might be doable. I did have to skip the last 2 of my society meetings because I was either too pregnant to fly safely or did not have the resources to travel with an infant. Let me ask my husband how he’d feel about watching the girls in a strange place for a week while I do my surgery thing. I texted him- I got back “absolutely not”. Apparently dealing with two cranky, nap-less, off schedule children by himself while I do my own thing most of the day was not my husband’s idea of “family fun”. He encouraged me to go alone. Now don’t get me wrong- my husband is awesome and takes care of the lion’s share of child rearing and is supportive of my career- but I couldn’t blame him for not wanting to sign up for that.

WKS had a number of great ideas that worked for him to achieve academic success so quickly in his career. I am certain there are many young surgeons - both men and women- who can achieve that as well. However, WKS had a personal situation that allowed him to flourish early on. He was able to follow the typical academic timeline that usually consists of publishing 2-3 papers/year, obtaining some sort of early career development grant or funding in the first 5 years as a means for future funding, active involvement in the ACS and specialty societies - all in addition to growing one’s clinical practice at the expected pace. With this timeline one can usually expect promotion to associate professor within five years or so. I know that I will not be able to keep up with that timeline. My path to promotion will likely take a few (or more) years longer than others. Occasionally I get antsy about it when I perceive that my peers are advancing faster than me or that I am in some way “behind”. However, I have been lucky to have colleagues and mentors that understand my need to slow down for my family and are supportive of an “extended” academic timeline to academic advancement.

Now, if you can breastfeed and write scientific papers at the same time go for it! If not, I suggest the following:

1) Take some time to really think about what your future academic goals are. Make them very discrete, not ambiguous. Also, take the time to write them down.

2) Prioritize the goals and create a timeline to go with them. Give some real thought as to how you might go about achieving these goals. Again, the more specific you are, the more likely you are to realize them.

3) Share your academic timeline with a more senior colleague or mentor. Doing so may help you identify potential opportunities or pitfalls in your strategy that you may not have considered. As always AWS members are available to help- and have likely been in your shoes at one time or another!

4) Periodically look back on what you have written and adjust as necessary. Do not feel bad or guilty if it takes longer than you thought. Try not to fall into the “keeping up with the Jones’s” trap that can be prevalent in surgery (I know I have on more than one occasion). Take the time to write down and reflect on everything that you have accomplished up to that point. Remember no accomplishment is too small! As long as you remember what’s important to you and keep your eye on the prize you will no doubt be able to balance your personal and professional life and accomplish what you have set out to do.

Readers, how have you adjusted your own professional timeline to achieve both personal and professional goals in a reasonable manner? Share your thoughts below.

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Dr. Christina Cellini is an Assistant Professor of Surgery and Oncology at the University of Rochester Medical Center in the Division of Colorectal Surgery. After obtaining her undergraduate and medical school degrees at Cornell University she trained in general surgery at the NewYork Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center. Following residency, she completed a fellowship in Colorectal Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis. She recently completed a Masters in Medical Management at the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. She lives in Webster, NY with her husband and 2 children and enjoys running and snowshoeing in her free time. Dr. Cellini serves on the AWS communication committee.

Monday, December 23, 2013

How I Make It Work

by Danielle Walsh, MD

December is the time of year when the constant struggle between the needs of work and the commitment to family become most strained. Holiday performances at school, parties for kids sports and other organizations pop up, work-related celebrations occur, and both of my children celebrate birthdays within a week of Christmas Day. After a long day of operating you try and shop online or in crowded stores before heading home to make dinner, ensure homework is done, and then proceed to whatever holiday event is scheduled for that night. It’s exhausting. But I can’t imagine it any other way.

People always ask how to make it all work. Lately, my response is more refined than in the past and it utilizes the tried and true analogy of the full bucket. You have to start with the biggest rocks. My kids’ birthdays, gymnastics meets, the annual AWS conference and a few other events are rocks. They are unmovable, non-negotiable events on my calendar. These are my biggest rocks. My OR days are Monday and Friday. My clinic days are Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning. They are not movable and are the next size down rocks. I schedule a date night with my husband at least twice a month. Still a rock, but can fit around the other stuff. Then everything else gets filled in order of priority like the AWS, work on a grant, student and resident teaching – gravel, then sand, then water. Most of the time I try to leave pockets in “reserve” – an hour in my schedule for the gym, prayer, or just walking through a store undisturbed (my husband calls this retail therapy, even if I don’t buy anything). Often this is when I can review what the priorities are for that day or week to determine what goes in the bucket.

Sometimes the bucket overflows. I try to do too much at the same time or something unexpected causes the balance to tip. Then I call in the backup buckets – my husband, my parents, my partners, or some hired hand to take on what I can’t handle. Occasionally it means a paper is late (not unlike this blog, which I had hoped to write last week), emails get left in the inbox, and phone messages are not promptly returned. These times never feel good. I hate not being able to do it all on time. Some of the dislike is frustration of leaving others hanging, waiting for me to take action. Some of the issue is realizing that I made an error in taking on so much. But it serves a purpose – a reminder to be patient with others, accept imperfection, and continue trying to do better.

I always schedule at least some vacation time in December when the kids are off. The first day is set aside to clear out all the late assignments from work (like this blog) that will keep me giving my family my full focus. And then I sign out to my partners, turn off the beeper, set up the auto-reply for work email, and be just a mom, wife, and daughter to family for a while. It always feels good.

So as 2013 draws to a close, take a look at your bucket. What are the rocks, the stones, the pebbles, sand, and water? What can fit where and when? Find your time for work, time for family or friends, and time for yourself. May your bucket be full and satisfying.

Peace to all.

Danielle Walsh

P.S. – Didn’t get around to Christmas cards yet. Might still try to do them, but don’t hold it against me if they arrive a little late.

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Dr. Danielle Walsh is an Associate Professor of Surgery at East Carolina University in the Division of Pediatric Surgery. After obtaining her undergraduate degree at Columbia College and her medical degree from the University of South Florida College of Medicine, she trained in general surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She also completed a fellowship in fetal surgery and research at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a fellowship in pediatric surgery at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. She practiced in Jacksonville, FL holding faculty appointments at the Mayo Medical Center and University of Florida before moving to her current position in North Carolina. She is the 2013-14 President of the Association of Women Surgeons and mother of 2 children.