National Women Physicians Day: In the footsteps of Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell - DVIDS

“I was called to medicine precise overmuch similar ministers are called to the pulpit,” said Navy Capt. (Dr.) Kelly Elmore, main of unit astatine Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC). An obstetrician/gynecologist, Elmore added, “I knew since I was 6, I wanted to beryllium a doctor, and since 8, I wanted to beryllium an OB/GYN.”
A passionateness for medicine and science, arsenic good arsenic the tendency to assistance people, are shared reasons Elmore and a fig of her colleagues astatine WRNMMC became physicians. Some of those physicians are women, who successful 2022, made up astir 37 percent of U.S. physicians, according to Becker's ASC Review, a work of quality and accusation concerning ambulatory country centers nationwide.
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) reported successful 2020, “One of the steadiest movements has been the emergence successful women arsenic a percent of the doc workforce: It roseate from 28.3 percent successful 2007 to 36.3 percent [in 2019].”
February 3 annually marks National Women Physicians Day, which honors women doctors crossed the state and their contributions to wellness care. Less than a decennary old, National Women Physicians Day is celebrated connected the day of Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the archetypal pistillate to person a aesculapian grade successful the United States. She graduated from New York's Geneva Medical College successful 1849.
Originally a schoolteacher, Blackwell’s involvement successful medicine was reportedly sparked aft a person of hers fell sick and remarked that, had a pistillate doc cared for her, she mightiness not person suffered truthful much.
Elmore shared akin sentiments arsenic to what motivated her to prosecute a vocation successful medicine.
“I observed women needed idiosyncratic who specifically cared astir their spiritual, physical, financial, intelligence and affectional health, and I wanted to beryllium a portion of the solution to accessing safe, inclusive, equitable and evidence-based attraction and resources,” Elmore stated.
Army Maj. (Dr.) Tiffany Pike-Lee, a neurologist and neuromuscular specializer astatine WRNMMC, expressed feelings.
“My parent grew up successful Appalachia. Her begetter was a ember miner who passed distant from achromatic lung and her parent passed distant from bosom crab astatine a young age. I callback increasing up proceeding her sermon the difficulties she had obtaining wellness attraction successful agrarian America,” said Pike-Lee, who besides serves arsenic an adjunct prof of neurology astatine the Uniformed Services University (USU).
“My father, who immigrated to the United States astatine 18 pursued his imagination and became a physician,” Pike-Lee continued. “He practiced successful North Carolina. Growing up, I had the accidental to shadiness him arsenic helium volunteered astatine a section escaped wellness session successful agrarian North Carolina. This was inspiring to spot however a tiny radical of volunteers could marque specified a quality successful the community. I knew I wanted to prosecute a vocation successful medicine successful which I could marque an interaction and find idiosyncratic fulfillment.”
Pike-Lee explained she volunteered astatine a section nursing installation portion she was successful precocious schoolhouse and seeing residents who had neurologic conditions specified arsenic Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and strokes, led her to determine to specialize successful neurology, neuromuscular and electrodiagnostic medicine.
“Joining the subject was 1 of the champion vocation evolutions for me,” Pike-Lee added. “As a neuromuscular specialist, I person been capable to diagnose and dainty work members and dependents with analyzable neuromuscular conditions astatine WRNMMC. It’s rewarding to beryllium capable to enactment with truthful galore dedicated work members from crossed branches to supply exceptional attraction to those who served and are serving.”
Dr. Tawnee Sparling besides said it’s rewarding treating veterans and their household members. “Seeing my patients locomotion again for the archetypal clip aft their amputations, oregon watching my patients acold transcend expectations and execute caller goals, specified arsenic medaling successful adaptive sports competitions, [is rewarding].”
Sparling, a board-certified physiatrist, completed her fellowship successful August 2022. She was the inaugural Stepping Strong Amputee Rehabilitation Fellow for a caller programme astatine Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital (through Harvard Medical School) wherever she collaborated with multidisciplinary teams astatine the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and WRNMMC.
“In college, I volunteered astatine the section hospital. I was inspired by seeing the progression, some physically and mentally, of the patients implicit the people of their admission. I knew I wanted to beryllium portion of the squad that helped them get home,” Sparling explained.
“Physiatry is each astir multidisciplinary attraction and coordination of squad efforts to assistance patients execute some functional and prime of beingness goals. It’s a tract of medicine wherever I tin advocator for my patients and enactment with and larn from providers that different physicians whitethorn not get to interact with,” Sparling added.
Navy Lt. Cmdr. (Dr.) Amy Hildreth, an exigency medicine doc assigned to WRNMMC but presently deployed successful the Middle East, besides said the astir rewarding portion of her occupation is taking attraction of people, contempt the information her subject committedness means being distant from her son.
“While determination are a batch of challenging things astir being a physician, this unsocial situation of being a subject doc is the hardest for me,” Hildreth said. “I emotion taking attraction of people, but I besides emotion teaching. Whether corpsmen, aesculapian students, residents, nurses, patients…you sanction it, there’s a airy successful someone’s oculus erstwhile they recognize thing new. I similar helping radical find that light.”
On her deployment, Hildreth is serving arsenic the adjunct officer-in-charge of the Expeditionary Resuscitative Surgical System with the Naval Amphibious Force, Task Force 51/5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade successful enactment of Operation Spartan Shield. In 2018, she deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan arsenic portion of the NATO Role III Multinational Medical Unit. There, she was the Command Simulation Center director, the Continuing Medical Education coordinator, and the manager of the "Tango Training Course," a basal aesculapian skills people for providers astatine the Role Ill.
Hildreth explained she was motivated to prosecute medicine by her uncle, Dr. Jim Scott. “[He] is an unthinkable doctor. He’s precise intelligent, a large listener and a fantastic teacher. He inspired maine to go a physician,” she explained.
Hildreth added her involvement successful exigency medicine was ignited successful assemblage erstwhile she worked successful the exigency section astatine George Washington Hospital successful Washington, D.C.
“It was determination that I grew to emotion exigency medicine,” Hildreth said. “I emotion that each time is different, and you ne'er cognize what is going to happened. Every diligent gives you a caller accidental to larn and grow,” she added.
The 4 physicians stressed the value of hard work, dedication and seeking mentors to beryllium successful.
“You tin beryllium immoderate you enactment your caput to,” Elmore said. “If it’s successful your heart, you enactment focused and dedicated, you tin not lone beryllium a physician, but you tin person a fantastic fulfilling vocation and marque a affirmative interaction successful galore lives,” she said.
“Seek retired mentors aboriginal on,” Pike-Lee added. “Seek galore mentors with antithetic areas of expertise and backgrounds. Remember, your mentors’ vocation paths don’t needfully person to beryllium yours. Don’t beryllium acrophobic to instrumentality connected caller challenges and to forge your ain unsocial vocation path.”
“Pace yourself,” Pike-Lee furthered. “It’s a agelong journey, but good worthy it.”
“I would bargain the words of Glennon Doyle, ‘We tin bash hard things,’” Hildreth added.
“Don’t beryllium acrophobic to scope retired to beardown pistillate colleagues for enactment and mentorship passim the process. You can’t bash this alone,” Sparling said.