I tried not to look at the pumps attached to her chest. I was shadowing her, my boss for the summer. As she, an emergency medicine and trauma physician, continued spilling enthusiastic details on the pancreas surgery she performed the night before, cloudy, white milk filled the bottles she held close to her chest. I tried to divert my attention and pay attention to her eyes, her moving lips, or my notepad.
We were alone in the room, calmly chatting before beginning the day’s round of stitches and emergency surgeries. Dr. R appeared to be relaxed, dark hair messily thrown into a ponytail, as she pumped milk. I knew this time was valuable for her. Spending long, arduous hours in the emergency room left little time to feed and bond with her 2-month-old at home.
Just then, a scrub nurse entered the conference room and announced that a doctor was needed. A female patient had come in with an urgent case of gram-negative sepsis and was complaining of uterine pain. Dr. R asked if there was another physician or attending resident on call since she was in the middle of pumping. No, they’re all on late call, the nurse responded, looking towards her feet to avoid Dr. R’s panicked expression.
Dr. R immediately removed the pumps from her chest, put her white coat on, and plastered a smile onto her face. I knew she had to suppress any annoyance and compose herself to meet with the patient.
Taking on the roles of mother and wife, physician and mentor, PB&J sandwich maker and surgical wound stitcher is a task many female physicians do not elect. Emergency medicine (EM) physicians are challenged with packed waiting rooms, 12-hour long shifts multiple days a week, and ambulances full of unexpected medical cases. After observing an EM doctor, I quickly learned that there is little routine and structure to each day. Perhaps you’ll be evaluating patients and then be asked to help a patient with higher-triaged chest pain. Then, you might be swarmed into a treating eye trauma injury the minute you’re about to go on lunch break. And, somewhere in there, you’re expected to be a mother, a wife.
The number of females choosing to practice medicine is promising. In fact, the number of females entering medical school in 2018 was higher than in previous years. Yet, on the same note, only one in four active emergency medicine residents are female. It’s difficult to balance the expectations of being an EM doctor with personal desires. Often, females in this profession are expected to be sexually inactive, as the risk of pregnancy and maternity leave could hinder their ability to work long hours.
Despite the tremendous work-life balance which EM physicians must achieve, it’s incredibly essential to ensure that females are not discouraged from such a profession. As Dr. Chelsey Fowler wrote in The Shift, “a new generation of female physicians [are] reshaping perceptions of our profession.” Having gender diversity in emergency rooms can bring a more collaborative approach to leadership and compassion in healthcare.
Emergency medicine is rewarding. As a female EM physician, Dr. R is proud of the exceptional skills she has mastered — from intubations and cardiac aversions to supporting a kind, loving family. Both are achievable, she told me. You can be a mother and a physician, neither is off-limits. Don’t settle for less, don’t think that you can’t belong in a lab or lecture hall just because you also choose to start a family. You can still belong on the frontline of the emergency department.
