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Women In Neurosurgery Archives - Neurosurgery Blog

Cross-Post: Neurosurgery’s glass ceiling: Addressing the gender imbalance in the field

By Career, Cross Post, Women in NeurosurgeryNo Comments

Our current series on Making and Maintaining a Neurosurgeon discusses how one transitions from student to resident to practicing neurosurgeon. In particular, we highlight what our field is doing to improve diversity and the importance of mentorship to those considering neurosurgery. How impactful can mentorship be? Incredibly.

This cross-post highlights the recent article in The Varsity, the University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper by Parsa Babaei Zadeh, Veronica Papaioannou, Zahn Bariring and Lauren Shaw titled, “Neurosurgery’s glass ceiling: Addressing the gender imbalance in the field.” The authors discuss how mentorship is crucial for guiding prospective applicants to competitive specialties and fostering an inclusive space where applicants do not feel alienated.

The authors interview neurosurgeon Gelareh M. Zadeh, MD, PhD, FAANS, FRCS, an advocate for change, actively engaged in mentoring young women. “A lack of mentors, role models, and the sense of having allyship and having people that are similar to you in the field… is one of the biggest factors [preventing women from pursuing neurosurgery], so increasing [the] number of people from diverse backgrounds whether it’s females or others is really important,” Dr. Zadeh states.

Click here to read the full article published by The Varsity.

Editor’s Note: We hope you will share what you learn from our posts in the Making and Maintaining a Neurosurgeon series. We invite you to join the conversation on Twitter by following @Neurosurgery and using the hashtag #Neurosurgery.

February 14, 2024
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Cross-Post: Gender Differences in Medicare Practice and Payments to Neurosurgeons

By Cross Post, Medicare, Women in NeurosurgeryNo Comments

From time to time on the Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting or linking to items from other places when we believe they may interest our readers. Today, we wanted to bring attention to a recent publication in JAMA Surgery.​ The article — “Gender Differences in Medicare Practice and Payments to Neurosurgeons” by Temitope O. Oshinowo, AB, et al. compares practice metrics and earning potential between female and male neurosurgeons and examines gender disparity in Medicare reimbursement.

The authors state that despite efforts to promote diversity within the neurosurgical workforce, individuals from underrepresented groups face significant challenges. Females account for approximately 50% of medical school graduates but comprise just 18.2% of neurosurgery residents and only 6% of board-certified neurosurgeons. Female physicians in the U.S. are estimated to be compensated 25% less, or the equivalent of $2 million, in career-long earnings.

Using Medicare data across practice settings, the authors examine patterns of significant disparity in procedural volume and payments and found significant gender-based variation in practice patterns and reimbursement among neurosurgeons serving the Medicare fee-for-service population. Female surgeons were reimbursed less than male surgeons for performing the same primary procedure. “While there has been a trend of increased female representation in neurosurgery, women continue to face challenges in establishing, maintaining, and progressing within their neurosurgical careers,” according to Oshinowo et al.

Click here to read the full article.

We hope you will share what you learn from our posts. We invite you to join the conversation on Twitter by following @Neurosurgery and @WINSNeurosurge1 and using the hashtag #WomenInNeurosurgery.

December 1, 2023
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Myths and Truths: A Medical Student Perspective of Neurosurgery

By Career, Women in Neurosurgery, Work-Life BalanceNo Comments

Janine S. Hsu, MD

Diana Ghinda, MD, PhD

Neurosurgery is undeniably one of the most intriguing, challenging and rewarding specialties. It is also considered one of the most competitive specialties — as a result, many medical students self-exclude from neurosurgery based on preconceived notions of the field. This is especially true of female trainees, who see in neurosurgery a specialty dominated numerically by men. However, at the University of Ottawa, the Neurosurgery Medical Student Chapter is working to change these existing biases about the specialty. In terms of gender-based interest in neurosurgery, a third of the members of the neurosurgery interest group are female. In 2020, out of the 91 aforementioned students seeking surgical mentorship, four out of 13 who listed neurosurgery as their top choice were female. All of the club executives are female, as is our staff sponsor, Eve Tsai, MD PhD, FAANS, as well as our resident mentors, Diana Ghinda, MD, PhD, and Janine S. Hsu, MD. Having an all female organizing committee was not intentional. Perhaps some subconscious part of us gravitated towards seeking female mentors — a testament to the need for representation. Dr. Tsai, the only female staff neurosurgeon at the University of Ottawa, has provided us with this representation and serves as unspoken encouragement for other women to pursue a traditionally male dominated field such as neurosurgery.

Her leadership and mentorship have dispelled some of the most common myths we held about the specialty, as well as brought to light some of the important realities of being a female neurosurgeon.

Myths about neurosurgery

Adam Sachs, MD, MA

Myth #1: Having a family is difficult, especially as a female neurosurgeon

“It’s possible; you can have a family, that shouldn’t stop you. Dr. Tsai [female neurosurgeon] has done it, as have many others” according to Adam Sachs, MD, MA. The AANS Neurosurgeon has published articles on this topic, including The Challenges of Starting a Family During Neurosurgical Residency Training and Women in Neurosurgery: Walking the Balance Beam of Life.

 Myth #2: Your whole life must be about neurosurgery

Safraz Mohammed, MBBS, FRCSC

Many neurosurgeons have interests outside of their work that they are able to pursue: advocacy, sports and artistic endeavours. Read the six-article series Hustle, Think, Work, Play: Sports & Neurosurgery published in the AANS Neurosurgeon.

Myth #3: Poor patient outcomes

 “A lot of neurosurgical patients go on to live regular, normal lives, or even better lives than before. Patients often think that when they are referred to see a neurosurgeon that their prognosis is going to be grim, but this isn’t always the case. There is so much you can do as a neurosurgeon to help restore a patient’s quality of life” according to Safraz Mohammed, MBBS, FRCSC. A recent report from the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children suggests that adverse events are a minority in neurosurgery.

Myth #4: I’ll be operating for hours on end on one case

One of the benefits of a career in neurosurgery is the variety of procedures one can perform. These procedures all vary in length and you can tailor your practice accordingly. Many neurosurgical procedures can be lengthy, but as the surgeon you are engrossed in the task at hand and time will fly.

Truths about neurosurgery

Truth #1: The hours are long, but it gets better

Residency is grueling and the hours are long. Neurosurgery is one of the busiest services at a hospital and thus requires a large time commitment. As you progress in your career, you gain the ability to tailor your schedule to your liking. You will always be busy, but there are ways to adapt and adjust.

Truth #2: You won’t be a trainee forever, but it will take time

Neurosurgery has one of the longest residency programs and many often go on to pursue fellowships. The length of the training required prepares you to be confident as a staff surgeon on call when confronted with a challenging case in the middle of the night.

Truth #3: Neurosurgery requires relentless dedication

Neurosurgery is demanding, like any specialty, and it requires continuous training, responding to urgent cases and dedication.

Truth #4: It is a physically, mentally and emotionally demanding career

It is true, but that’s why residency is a training program. You are trained to become a competent surgeon, which includes developing physical, mental and emotional resiliency.

Our mentors have helped us to better understand the myths and truths of a career in neurosurgery. The keys to dispelling myths are early exposure to neurosurgery, more hands-on opportunities in the form of workshops and demonstrations, mentorship programs pairing students with residents, fellows and staff and increased representation for women. For those who think that a career in neurosurgery is unattainable, there are ways to steer yourself toward the path — find a mentor and find out how they did it. Seek feedback from your mentor on how you can improve yourself as an applicant and person. Seek guidance from as many people in the field as you can. Spend time in the division learning about the specialty, finding out the myths and truths yourself. Get involved in research or service projects related to neurosurgery and the neurosciences. This AANS Medical Student Chapter at the University of Ottawa has been working in collaboration with the Division of Neurosurgery to offer as much early exposure as possible and hope to stimulate more interest in neurosurgery!

Editor’s note: We hope that you will share what you learn from our posts. September is Women in Medicine Month, which honors physicians who have offered their time and support to advance women with careers in medicine. We invite you to join the conversation on Twitter by following @Neurosurgery and @WINSNeurosurge1 and using the hashtag #WIMmonth.

Eve Tsai, MD, PhD, FAANS
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
University of Ottawa
The Ottawa Hospital
Ottawa, Canada

 

Alexandra Beaudry-Richard, MD-PhD Candidate
University of Ottawa
Ottawa, Canada

 

 

Anahita Malvea, MD
University of Ottawa
Ottawa, Canada

 

 

September 29, 2022
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Our 500th Blog Post: Amplifying Neurosurgery’s Voice

By HealthNo Comments

For the past decade, Neurosurgery Blog: More Than Brain Surgery has investigated and reported on how health care policy affects patients, physicians and medical practices. Posts have discussed the state of neurosurgical sub-specialties and promoted key health care policy and advocacy initiatives to ensure patients’ timely access to care, improve neurosurgical practice and foster continued advancement of neurological surgery.

Its health policy reporting efforts include multiple topic months and guest blog posts from key thought leaders and members of the neurosurgical community. To mark the 500th post, we combed through the Neurosurgery Blog archives to highlight our most popular blog posts and focus series that showcase the current state of neurological surgery.

The Neurosurgery Blog’s 10 top posts:

The Neurosurgery Blog’s top focus series:

  • WINS Series. The year 2020 marked the historic 30th anniversary of the founding of Women in Neurosurgery (WINS), bringing with it an exciting time for the WINS community and neurosurgery. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of WINS, Neurosurgery Blog published a series of articles highlighting the section’s goals — to educate, inspire and encourage women neurosurgeons to realize their professional and personal goals.
  • COVID-19 Series. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted neurosurgical practices across the country. To highlight the effects of the pandemic on neurosurgery, Neurosurgery Blog published a series of articles on the impact of COVID-19.
  • Spine Care Series. The Neurosurgery Blog published a series of articles on the spine to shed light on spine facts, innovation and the role of spine interventions. Today, spine-related disability has been called an epidemic. Misinformation regarding spine care in the U.S. is a significant hindrance to understanding the critical issues surrounding the care of patients with spinal conditions.
  • Military Faces of Neurosurgery Series. To pay tribute to the contributions of the many military neurosurgeons who have made significant contributions and sacrifices — whether on the battlefield, in the operating room or research lab — the Neurosurgery Blog published a series on Military Faces of Neurosurgery. Throughout history, neurosurgeons have served our country with distinction and grace. Read how former AANS president Roberto C. Heros, MD, FAANS(L), volunteered for the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion. Remember the horrors of the Vietnam War, as seen through the eyes of Patrick J. Kelly, MD, FAANS(L), while he was stationed in Da Nang during the bloodiest year of that conflict.
  • Physician Burnout Series. To explore and highlight the rising prevalence of burnout among clinicians in recent years, the Neurosurgery Blog published articles bringing physician wellness to the forefront of the profession and offering strategies to reduce physician burnout.
  • Faces of Neurosurgery Series. The Neurosurgery Blog published a Faces of Neurosurgery interview video series. Conducted by Kurt A. Yaeger, MD, a member of the AANS/CNS Communications and Public Relations Committee, these neurosurgery luminaries are asked about their early mentors, proudest achievements and advice for neurosurgical residents. Click here to watch the series.

Thanks for following Neurosurgery Blog, and stay tuned for great content in the coming decade!

Editor’s Note: We hope you will share what you learn from our posts. We invite you to join the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtag #Neurosurgery and following @Neurosurgery.

July 12, 2022
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Motherhood and Neurosurgery: How to Make it Work

By Career, Women in NeurosurgeryNo Comments

The challenge of being a mother and a neurosurgeon is a topic that is rarely discussed, even in today’s society. It often feels like a taboo subject for women neurosurgeons and trainees, as if motherhood would somehow make one seem like a lesser neurosurgeon. With the extensive time dedicated to neurosurgical education, training and lifelong learning, it can be challenging to determine how motherhood fits into this life.

Perhaps one of the reasons this is not a widely discussed topic is that neurosurgery is still a male-dominated field. Women represent only 12% of neurosurgery residents and 5% of practicing neurosurgeons. In a recent survey of 126 women neurosurgeons and trainees, 49% of the respondents have children and 33% plan to have children. In addition to dealing with the challenges of achieving work-life balance, a startling barrier to become a neurosurgeon mom is that over 50% of survey respondents feel pressure or backlash from their colleagues for having children.

An unfortunate perception of neurosurgery is that one should delay having children if they wish to enter the field. Many female medical students report they decided to go into a different surgery specialty due to this belief. The average age for women neurosurgeons to become first-time mothers is 31.3 years versus 29.3 years for male neurosurgeons as first-time fathers. The delay in starting a family has consequences, as 25% of women neurosurgeons reported taking more than a year to get pregnant, and 18.9% required medical intervention such as in vitro fertilization. Moreover, 40.1% of female neurosurgeons reported serious perinatal complications in at least one pregnancy, which is higher than the national average of 14.5%. The more significant consequence not reflected in these statistics is losing out on highly qualified trainees and neurosurgeons because of these concerns.

There needs to be some adjustments in the field of neurosurgery to make being a mother less of a hindrance and more accepted. Change is necessary on both the policy front and in the culture of the field. Formal parental leave and return to work policies should be established at every institution to promote equitable, gender-neutral policies for women and men, including for adoption and other family structures. Family leave policies are highly variable across practice environments, and only 25% of female neurosurgeons reporting having access to program parental leave allowances. Accommodations must be made for those during pregnancy and the post-partum period to ensure the health of the mother and baby. Access to lactation facilities close to the operating room/clinic and childcare is also crucial to those returning to work after parental leave.

Even with such policies in place, it still will not be enough until the culture regarding motherhood changes within the field of neurosurgery. Many women neurosurgeons report backlash from their colleagues for being pregnant and taking parental leave — ranging from microaggressions to being passed for career advancement opportunities. To prove to others that they will not let motherhood interfere with their job, many women neurosurgeons who have children work until their due date or return early from maternity leave. We need to do a better job normalizing being a mother and a neurosurgeon, which means taking breaks in the operating room for the physical needs of pregnancy and lactation. We need to have our male colleagues normalize taking paternity leave as well. They also need to speak up when they witness discriminatory behaviors towards women neurosurgeons. Finally, we need to speak up and advocate for ourselves and support others in our field who choose to become mothers.

Being a good mother and a good neurosurgeon is not mutually exclusive. It is hard, and we are our own worst critics when juggling these demanding jobs. With support and change on institutional and cultural levels, it may just make these two jobs a little more manageable.

The Motherhood & Neurosurgery webinar offers candid reflections on pregnancy and starting a family as a neurosurgeon. Panelists — Lola B. Chambless, MD, FAANS, Catherine A. Miller, MD, Lauren Albert Sand, MD and Doris Wang, MD, PhD — share advice for working while pregnant or nursing, and discuss how medical institutions can better support women surgeons through pregnancy and parenthood.

Editor’s note: We hope that you will share what you learn from our posts. We invite you to join the conversation on Twitter by following @Neurosurgery and using the hashtags #CelebratingWINSat30 and #WomenInNeurosurgery.

Catherine A. Miller, MD
UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery
San Francisco, Calif.

 

 

Doris Wang, MD, PhD
UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery
San Francisco, Calif.

June 7, 2021
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Highlighting the Global Influence of Women in Neurosurgery

By AANS Spotlight, Cross Post, Women in NeurosurgeryNo Comments

From time to time on Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting or linking to items from other sources that we believe are relevant to our audience. Since this week featured International Women’s Day, we wanted to bring your attention to the March 2021 Neurosurgical Focus issue on International Women Leaders in Neurosurgery: Past and Present exploring women’s roles in neurosurgery over the years.

Topics include the impact of culture and history on women’s progress and the global influence of women in neurosurgery. Historical reports highlight noteworthy examples of women neurosurgeons around the globe who have demonstrated vision and leadership. The series discusses the presence of women neurosurgeons at the podium at scientific and medical society gatherings and the emerging roles of women as leaders in international organizations. Various aspects of research are described, including funding gaps and publication rates.

The series proposes strategies to expand opportunities for success for women neurosurgeons. A future that actively encourages the best and brightest medical students to choose neurosurgical careers — regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, culture, sexual orientation or identity, socioeconomic strata or any other individual defining characteristic — will best serve the needs of the profession and patients.

Read the following articles in the series:

 

Editor’s note: We hope that you will share what you learn from our posts. We invite you to be part of the conversation on Twitter by following @Neurosurgery and using the hashtag #WomenInNeurosurgery

March 10, 2021
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Diversity in Neurosurgery: Forcing Change Leads to Greater Success

By Career, Guest Post, Women in NeurosurgeryNo Comments

Should we take a stand to increase diversity? Yes! As neurosurgeons, we should talk about diversity in neurosurgery. If we don’t urge, even force change, it will not happen, or it will happen unbearably slowly. One hundred years into the history of neurosurgery, only 5% of all board-certified neurosurgeons are women. African-Americans are also underrepresented. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) calculates that African-Americans represent 4% of all active neurosurgeons in the U.S.

Why does diversity matter? There is a compelling business case to be made for supporting equity and striving for inclusion. Companies with 30% or more women in the C-suite have reported higher profits than companies without women in their leadership team. A diverse workforce brings diverse perspectives, experiences and skills to the table, and it pays off.

The benefits of diversity aren’t limited to the corporate world. Diversity of opinion leads to better outcomes and fosters innovation and creativity across a variety of disciplines. The diversity of our patients should be reflected in the physicians who provide them care. Although we are all the same under the scalpel — cultural, religious, socioeconomic, ethnic and racial differences play a significant role in patient-physician relationships and impact patient satisfaction, patient compliance and health care outcomes. As surgeons, we need to continually enhance our awareness of and ability to manage our biases and racial/ethnic identity. We need to apply our critical appraisal skills, honed to perfection, to treat our seriously ill patients, to recognize that both explicit (conscious) and implicit (subconscious) biases can stand in the way of increased diversity and inclusion and prevent some of our patients from having the best outcomes possible.

Although neurosurgery has a more diverse group of residents than ever before, we need to work hard to retain these residents long-term and make sure they succeed. Female gender is one of the leading factors associated with burnout and attrition in our specialty. This is not due exclusively to the long and unpredicted work schedules related to the specialty. Microaggressions, lack of collegial relationships and tolerance of unacceptable behavior by faculty should be considered as well. These insidious factors can fester in a workplace culture because of a lack of mechanisms and implicit barriers for reporting, such as fear of shame, retaliation, or not advancing. Many minorities experience overt and implicit forms of discrimination. This may be exhibited openly from patients who mistake someone for a nurse of a janitor or refuse care from a minority physician. Sadly, this can come in more hidden ways from peers who won’t put a resident in a challenging case because of race or gender.

It is not enough to focus on micro-level interventions — we also need to look at organizational structures and attitudes that push women and minorities away from neurosurgery. It has been shown that interventions focused on cultural competencies in health care organizations improved the hospital’s diversity climate. These interventions have focused, among other aspects, on diversity attitudes, implicit bias and racial/ethnic identity status. However, too many health care organizations and departments approach diversity with a sense of tokenism instead as a business imperative and driver of strategy.

In his 2004 bestseller, “Moneyball,” Michael Lewis wrote: “What begins as a failure of the imagination ends as a market inefficiency: when you rule out an entire class of people from doing a job simply by their appearance, you are less likely to find the best person for the job.” All medical specialties want to attract the best and brightest young people. Diversity strengthens neurosurgery. Attracting people with different strengths and backgrounds to our profession can help unleash new sources of talent and creativity that can only benefit our profession and our patients.

Editor’s note: We hope that you will share what you learn from our posts. We invite you to be part of the conversation on Twitter by following @Neurosurgery and using the hashtag #WomenInNeurosurgery and #CelebratingWINSat30.

Martina Stippler, MD, FAANS, FACS
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, Mass.

January 8, 2021
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The Use of Social Media in Addressing Gender Disparities in Neurosurgery

By Career, Guest Post, Healthcare Social Media, Women in NeurosurgeryNo Comments

The importance of social media in neurosurgery, and medicine in general, has increased significantly over the past several years. As searched on PubMed, academic publications that include the search terms “social media neurosurgery” have increased over the last 10 years. Through various social media platforms, neurosurgeons can participate in educational endeavors, share scientific findings, build their brand and collaborate with others in the field despite geographical distance. The interactions that social media offers also provide an opportunity to network — to find mentors, role models and even friends outside one’s local academic and geographic environment.

A recent article by Norton et al. in the Lancet Neurology hypothesized that social media could address the gender gap in neurosurgery. As stated by Jamie S. Ullman, MD, FAANS, FACS, in a recent Medscape article, 12% of residents in neurosurgery are female, but only 5% of practicing neurosurgeons are women. Social media platforms allow females to identify other women in the field and provide a way to interact with these colleagues. Traditionally, a primary venue for networking has been conferences, such as the annual meetings of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. While these meetings provide opportunities to meet others in the field, they can be daunting for a young neurosurgeon, particularly a woman, as most attendees and speakers are male. The internet is easily searchable — undergraduates, medical students and residents can identify females in all levels of academic neurosurgery, including multiple chairwomen. Using social media platforms, interacting with other women is straightforward and often less daunting than doing so in person. Organizations such as Women in Neurosurgery (WINS) can promote and amplify women’s voices in the field and bring attention to challenges unique to female surgeons. Seeing that other women have overcome these challenges to become faculty, full professors and the president of the AANS can offer encouragement and may prevent attrition.

Social media’s utility in addressing the gender imbalance does not apply just to women but to all minorities who have difficulty seeing themselves in a field with so many challenges. Identifying someone of similar gender, race, ethnicity or background who has achieved one’s desired goal makes it easier to believe that it is possible. Although academic interest regarding gender and neurosurgeons has increased — as evidenced by the number of articles devoted to this topic — the same cannot be said for other underrepresented groups. Literature searches in PubMed for “diversity,” “minority” or “underrepresented” in combination with neurosurgery did not identify articles assessing the impact of any minority status on entering neurosurgery, neurosurgical success or attrition. This may be due to the small number of minority practitioners.

Social media may be particularly useful for establishing connections within groups that are underrepresented in neurosurgery, and medicine in general. Our specialty can only improve as its practitioners reflect the diversity of our patients and as we continue to attract the best and brightest minds from all available backgrounds, demographics and socioeconomic groups.

Editor’s note: We hope that you will share what you learn from our posts. We invite you to be part of the conversation on Twitter by following @Neurosurgery and using the hashtag #WomenInNeurosurgery and #CelebratingWINSat30.

Angela M. Richardson, MD, PhD
Skull Base and Cerebrovascular Fellow
University of Wisconsin – Madison
Madison, Wisc.

 

 

Sheri Dewan, MD, MS, FAANS
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, Ill.

January 4, 2021
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Women in Neurosurgery — A Legacy of Achievement and Breaking Barriers

By Career, Guest Post, Women in NeurosurgeryNo Comments

The past century has demonstrated tremendous progress in all disciplines of medicine. Parallel to this progress, and often a direct contributor to breakthroughs and achievements, has been the increasing role women have played in the profession. Neurosurgery is no exception. Although their ranks are small, especially compared to other specialties, the women of neurosurgery have played an outsized role in its rise as a specialty in the last hundred years.

The first major female contributor to the specialty was Louise Eisenhardt, MD. Dr. Eisenhardt had a unique and close working relationship with Harvey W. Cushing, MD, who is regarded as the father of modern neurosurgery. Dr. Eisenhardt was considered Dr. Cushing’s “right hand.” Before deciding to go to medical school, she began work in 1915 as an editorial assistant for Dr. Cushing. She continued to work for him while enrolled at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Eisenhardt later rejoined Dr. Cushing as a neuropathologist and served as his surgery associate from 1928 to 1934, making on-the-spot diagnoses of tumors and tissues as Dr. Cushing removed them. While continuing to make pathologic diagnosis of tumor tissues, she kept a cumulative case log, co-authored papers with Dr. Cushing and taught neuropathology at Tufts. In 1938, Dr. Eisenhardt became the curator of the Yale University Brain Tumor Registry, which she and Dr. Cushing established. In 1944, she became the first Editor of the Journal of Neurosurgery — the official journal of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) — and remained in that role for 22 years. From 1938-1939, Dr. Eisenhardt served as the first female president of the AANS (formerly known as the Harvey Cushing Society).

Over the years, other female neurosurgeons continued to expand the role of women in the specialty and made significant impacts in the field of neurosurgery. In 1986, Frances K. Conley, MD, MS, FAANS (L), became the first female to be appointed to a full tenured professorship of neurosurgery at a medical school in the U.S. In 1991, she made national headlines when she announced her intention to resign her tenured position as a neurosurgery professor at Stanford University Medical School in protest against the sexist attitudes of a male colleague who had recently been promoted. In 1998, her book Walking Out on the Boys was published, in which she recounted her experiences as a female surgeon and the sexism within the medical profession.

Ruth Kerr Jakoby, MD, FAANS (L), became the first female diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgery (ABNS) in 1961. In addition to her many other accomplishments, she served as president of the Washington Academy of Neurosurgery in 1972. In 1986, she became the first female neurosurgeon to become a lawyer. In 1981, Alexa Irene Canady, MD, FAANS (L), became the first African American female in the U.S. to become a neurosurgeon. She was also the recipient of two honorary doctorate degrees and was inducted into the Michigan Woman’s Hall of Fame in 1989.

In recent years female neurosurgeons have risen to the very top ranks of the specialty. In 2005, Karin M. Muraszko, MD, FAANS, became the chair of the University of Michigan Department of Neurosurgery, making her the first woman to chair an academic neurosurgical department in the United States. She also became the first female appointed as a director of the ABNS. In 2018, Odette Harris, MD, MPH, FAANS, obtained a tenured neurosurgery professor position at Stanford University School of Medicine, making her the first Black female to do so in the U.S. From 2018-2019, Shelly D. Timmons, MD, PhD, FAANS, was the first female neurosurgeon to serve as AANS president and the second female to rise to this position — 79 years after Dr. Eisenhardt. In 2019, Dr. Timmons also became the chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Indiana.

Thankfully, the upward trend of women in neurosurgery continues. According to the ABNS, 7.4% of the 6,069 active diplomates are women, and 16% of the 1,489 neurosurgery residents are women. These percentages are expected to rise as more women enter neurosurgery training programs. This promises to make the second century of our specialty full of even more notable breakthroughs and achievements.

Editor’s note: We hope that you will share what you learn from our posts. We invite you to be part of the conversation on Twitter by following @Neurosurgery and using the hashtag #WomenInNeurosurgery and #CelebratingWINSat30.

Disep I. Ojukwu, MD, MBA, MPH
St. George’s University School of Medicine, Class of 2019

 

 

 

Laura Stone McGuire, MD
University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago
Neurosurgery Resident

November 25, 2020
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Progress Incremental: Understanding Sexual Harassment in Neurosurgery

By Career, Guest Post, Women in NeurosurgeryNo Comments

Under the table, his hand landed uncomfortably high on my thigh. Our conversation had drifted from our mutual interests in molecular biology research of brain tumors to books and music. Until that moment, I had felt really positive about our connection. It was 1984, and my infatuation with neurosurgery had led me to try and break into an overwhelming male subspecialty. I knew it would take something special to convince a program to make the leap and accept a woman. Throughout the lavish dinner event for the visiting resident applicants, I had foolishly thought, perhaps this was such an opportunity. When the hand landed, the conversation abruptly changed, and the senior faculty leaned very close and, with an unmistakable leer, said, “I would really love to help you become the first woman in our residency program. Shall we make those plans later tonight?”

Somehow, I managed to secure a residency training position in neurosurgery despite the odds and for the last four decades have navigated my training, clinical growth, academic advancement and rise in national leadership positions. Fortunately, I never again encountered such a blatant attempt for someone in a powerful position to coerce me into a sexual encounter. Still, there certainly were many times when I experienced other forms of sexual harassment. As is typical, for years, I said nothing — even to close friends or family — because somehow I felt “responsible” or else feared the consequences. All this time, I blindly assumed this was only happening to me and because I lived in a male-dominated surgical specialty.

Slowly over time, I became aware that I was not alone, and my experiences were similar to others. Unfortunately, others experienced far worse. (See Table 1). Those of us in the first wave of women in neurosurgery — training in the 1970s to early 1990s — naively hoped that our increasing numbers, sheer presence and leadership positions would lead to change. We had hoped that such behavior belonged only to the past. Sadly, we realized that was not the case.  When those efforts seemed ineffective, many of us quietly tried to rally neurosurgical leadership around efforts to try and improve the situation. Yet we were often met with disbelief there was a real problem.

When the #MeToo movement hit the media, however, many in neurosurgery recognized our potential vulnerability. And in 2018, the One Neurosurgery Summit established the Neurosurgery Professionalism Taskforce (NSPT). Under the leadership of James T. Rutka, MD, PhD, FAANS, and Karin M. Muraszko, MD, FAANS, the goal of the NSPT was to provide a comprehensive report on policies and recommendations regarding sexual harassment in neurosurgery. While the NSPT undertook many activities, one major initiative was the creation and administration of a survey to assess the depth and breadth of sexual harassment across neurosurgery.

I am proud to have co-authored the manuscript Toward an Understanding of Sexual Harassment in Neurosurgery published in the Journal of Neurosurgery. I genuinely believe it is a huge step forward for our specialty and part of slow but meaningful incremental progress. (See Table 2). The information gleaned from the survey, and the recommended strategies are important and can also serve all of medicine — especially those traditionally male-dominated specialties.

As the saying goes, “we have come a long way, baby,” as we celebrate 100 years of women’s right to vote in the U.S., the 30th anniversary of the Women in Neurosurgery Section (WINS) and now the publication of this landmark article. I hope this means no future neurosurgical residents — of any gender, race or sexual preference — will face the serious challenges of harassment that I and too many others have over many years. I remain ever hopeful.

Editor’s note: We hope that you will share what you learn from our posts. We invite you to be part of the conversation on Twitter by following @Neurosurgery and using the hashtag #WomenInNeurosurgery and #CelebratingWINSat30.

Deborah L. Benzil, MD, FAANS, FACS
Cleveland Clinic, Vice-Chair, Neurosurgery
Cleveland, Ohio

November 12, 2020
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