Today is National Women Physicians Day, an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women in medicine and to reflect on the essential role they play in our field.
While women remain underrepresented in orthopaedics compared with many other medical specialties, their impact is substantial. Studies show that women physicians often engage in more patient-centered and empathetic communication; that patients undergoing surgery by women have lower 30-day mortality rates; and that orthopaedic patients increasingly express a preference for female surgeons.
In 1983, Dr. Jacqueline Fogarty became the first woman graduate of our orthopaedic surgery residency program. Nearly a decade later, in 1992, Drs. Sandy Glasson and Jean Oakes followed. Dr. Alison Toth, who joined the faculty in 2001, became our first woman orthopaedic surgeon on the faculty. Today, we have more than 50 women physicians on our faculty, reflecting the changes made over the past 25 years.
Please join me in recognizing the women who paved the way in orthopaedics and those who continue to shape our department’s future. Our department and our field are stronger because of their contributions.
All the best,
Ben