Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: We Need More Women Surgeons

Why not? That’s the attitude Frances Farley, MD, instilled in me when I was training to be a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Michigan Medicine. Dr. Farley, a fellow pediatric surgeon who was recently named the chief medical officer at Shriners Hospitals for Children, is one of my closest mentors. She’s a blunt, energetic woman who knows how to inspire people and connect with her patients and their parents. When I met her during medical school, she was pregnant with her first child and a practicing surgeon. It was inspiring to see a woman tackle both roles successfully. She showed me what was possible in a field dominated by white males.

Last May, I was appointed chair of the Michigan Medicine Department of Orthopedic Surgery, the health system’s first woman to hold the position and one of the few female academic chairs in the county. I feel a deep sense of duty and responsibility to my department and our school, as well as for all other women who are interested in the field of orthopedic surgery. I’m working hard to foster a culture of respect, diversity and mentorship, so everyone can succeed in providing innovative care to our patients.

My journey to chairing one of the top orthopedic academic programs in the country began as a child when I would follow my father, a vascular surgeon, around his hospital. I loved seeing him work and knew then that I wanted to someday become a surgeon. The path forward wasn’t easy for me, though. When I applied to residency programs in 1998, some schools informed me they weren’t interested in female orthopedic residents — perhaps because it was assumed women didn’t have the physical strength to cut it in the specialty. Orthopedics is physically demanding, but achieving the leverage I need to perform surgery is a solvable problem.

I love what I do and feel an obligation to share that passion with everyone.

During my residency at Michigan Medicine, six of the 30 orthopedic residents were women. Orthopedics is still dominated by while male physicians, but I’m seeing more female medical students and underrepresented minority students considering entering the field. I read a recent article that said gender parity in orthopedics would be reached in 2354. I intend to make it happen well before then, and our department is making tangible progress to that end.

This year, 20% of our orthopedic residents are women. The class is also comprised of Native Americans, African Americans, Latino Americans and individuals who have physical or visual disabilities. My message to broaden the pipeline of orthopedic residents to include more women and underrepresented populations is starting to take hold.

Orthopedics is such a satisfying and fulfilling specialty. I love what I do and feel an obligation to share that passion with everyone. I’ll talk with students from all backgrounds and welcome anyone to shadow me because I want to expose as many young people as possible to my amazing specialty.

To make orthopedics a more diverse and welcoming profession, I helped launch a DEI committee within our department. We conduct fundraisers for diversity initiatives, hold educational conversations about racism and equity, and are working to increase the pipeline of women and underrepresented minority students into the field of orthopedics. These are important endeavors in any specialty, but especially so in orthopedics. The committee itself is diverse, comprised of residents, faculty, staff members and clinical managers to ensure many different voices provide various and important viewpoints.

The surgical residents who are part of the committee created a video to educate prospective applicants about our program with the goal of recruiting a diverse group of applicants. We also standardized the way we compare residents during recruitment days, including making sure they undergo an identical interview process. It’s exciting and inspiring to know that we can completely change what orthopedics and musculoskeletal care looks like by recruiting a diverse generation of future surgeons.

We’ve translated the orthopedic department’s DEI mission statement into six languages and posted it on each of the system’s clinical sites. Our department also stays connected with DEI efforts implemented across the University of Michigan and Michigan Medicine to create coordinated efforts aimed at increasing system-wide diversity. 

We want to create a clinical climate where patients receive the best possible care and recovery quickly. We want to create a learning climate where surgical residents and faculty can achieve their best and reach their full potential. We want to create a welcoming culture where anyone who’s interested can pursue a career in orthopedic surgery. That will happen through openness and a constant and concerted effort.

I have a daughter in middle school and practicing as a female pediatric orthopedic surgeon helps me connect with the mothers of my patients to improve the care of their children, especially before and after surgery. I’m also Japanese American, and having a broad perspective drives my push for more diversity in surgery. A specialty that’s too homogenous is unable to consider the diverse factors that impact effective care for all patients.

Orthopedics is a wonderful specialty that returns patients to near-normal function, but so many young people hadn’t considered the specialty as a profession because it didn’t have an inclusive reputation. The same goes for patients who might not seek the care they need because orthopedic surgeons don’t look like or understand them.

These gaps exist because of us, and that needs to change. I want my daughter and other young women to feel like all possibilities are open to them, to exist in a climate where they can choose a career without barriers preventing them from reaching their dreams. I want them to approach their future with a simple belief: Why not? OSM