Wonder Women
Last year, my wife, son, daughter and I visited our local library to view the documentary “Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines.”
Having a daughter of my own, I found this film to be very thought provoking. It challenged my previous perceptions about how women are portrayed in popular media. I learned by watching this film that, when it comes to easily recognizable heroines in cartoons, our society is serious lacking.
Fortunately, when it comes to real life, heroines can be found everywhere – including the fields of general surgery and urology.
As the months have passed since I first saw this film, I’ve paid closer attention to how women are depicted in other forms of traditional media – many times, I don’t like what I see.
Qualities of a Heroine and a Hero
Wonder Woman, we reflected, had all of the same character attributes as Superman.
After watching the movie, those of us in attendance circled up and had a discussion about the film. We shared with each other the attributes each of us wanted to see in our heroes and heroines. The qualities discussed included honesty, dependability, determination, humility, compassion and self-sacrifice for others.
Heroines in Surgery
At each stage of my surgical career, I have been fortunate to work with a number of general surgeons and urologists who happen to be women. These women are intelligent, talented, and committed. Like their male colleagues, they work countless hours and are true professionals.
I operate on pancreas, liver, colon and breast during the day and read bedtime stories at nite #ILookLikeASurgeon pic.twitter.com/38AUXpUAt4
— Michelle Fillion M.D (@MFillionMD) August 15, 2015
Many women in surgery and urology are also mothers. In addition to their clinical responsibilities, they may have the added responsibility of managing families at home. Perhaps as a result, I’ve learned over the years that my female colleagues in medicine have the ability to multi-task much better than I do.
#ILookLikeASurgeon – Twitter Tells the Story
Recently, #ILookLikeASurgeon hit Twitter by storm. The movement was started by Heather Logghe, an aspiring academic surgeon.
#ILookLikeASurgeon Tweet it. Own it. https://t.co/vDBa3xEcpV pic.twitter.com/2V9kGnRMqG
— Heather Logghe, MD (@LoggheMD) August 7, 2015
I’ve really enjoyed following this hashtag. Even though we clearly have a long way to go, the diversity that already exists within these two surgical specialties is really amazing! Building upon the success of the movement, the #ILookLikeAUrologist hashtag was recently started for the surgical subspecialty of urology.
Amazing campaign! Let’s get #ILookLikeAUrologist trending! @AmerUrological @Uroweb @UrologyMatch #ILookLikeASurgeon https://t.co/DPxNrND8MU
— Stacy Loeb, MD (@LoebStacy) August 13, 2015
I hope that the urology community will embrace it. Diversity not only makes urology stronger, it makes it more fun. I’m excited to announce, in the Spring of 2016, West Shore Urology will be welcoming a new urologist to our practice. We are very much looking forward to her arrival.
Social Media Creates New Opportunities – #HeForShe
NOT ME in heels. @HopkinsMedicine trauma surgeon Catherine Velopulos. #ILookLikeASurgeon @LoggheMD @surgeoninheels pic.twitter.com/CJFoMoePN7
— ElliottHaut (@elliotthaut) August 13, 2015
There may be a paucity of iconic heroines in the cartoon world, but, in the real world, there are an abundance of heroines in urology, surgery and medicine.
Real heroines, in my mind, don’t wear red boots and throw a golden lasso, they rock high heels and wield a scalpel!
I’d like to thank the women and men around the world who have contributed to the #ILookLikeASurgeon and #ILookLikeAUrologist conversations on Twitter. I think the images and discussions, particularly when combined with the broader #HeForShe movement, send a powerful message to our daughters, and our sons. Hopefully, these modern images and messages will empower our children to become heroines and heroes themselves.
Again, thank you to Dr Brian Stork for this reflection about the daily heroism to women surgeons.
All of us, doctors (surgeons, urologists to other specialties) who, every day, we meet women in our hospital, on the operating room, on emergency room or elsewhere, we know these heroines of everyday life. But most of those surgeons they have a life outside of the hospital: they are wife and mothers.
It’s very pretty, the #Ilooklikeasurgeon. But focusing solely on women as heroines surgeons, it is my strong sense discriminatory – All women doctors are anonymous heroines of every day!
I have the chance to share my life with a woman doctor, and I can say, I am proud to be her husband!
She has no blog or twitter account.
She’s not an academic physician, even if it could have been.
I am a surgeon urologist, and I work in SINGLE hospital.
It is dermatologist and she works in FOUR different institutions: a hospital, two clinics and a private practice.
Like any Hero, she does not like speaking of his heroism!
And like any woman doctor, she has several outfits: 1) white coat in the morning, 2) a taxi driver cap from 16:00 for the pool and other activities for children, 3) a school teacher in the evening (grammar, trigonometry, Euclidean geometry, English, German, mathematics the Stanford program ….. no longer have any secrets for her). And not to mention the management of the house.
And at night the mails of his patients (specialized in melanoma certain contact her), the colleagues, accounting of his private practice.
But unfortunately that day has only 24 hours. 24 hours after she is ready to go for a ride: without complaining, full to give all necessary empathy with his visit over-booked.
This, I call heroism to!
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