Always something new—that made working for the University of Minnesota Medical School exciting. “The New Face of Surgery” was suggested for the 2008 Dean’s Report by then-Dean Deborah Powell. The story arose from the recognition that, at Minnesota, women were making inroads into this long-time male preserve in medicine. This is my lead:
“Questions arise when women choose surgery.
“Out in the world, they actually have heard these questions from patients, colleagues, and advisors:
‘So when is the doctor coming in?’
‘Who did you sleep with to get that paper published?’
‘You know, don’t you, that not a lot of women go into cardiovascular surgery?’
“Among their peers and inside themselves, they may ask: Can one balance the demanding work life of a surgeon with a family life? Will one be valued as a colleague, with the same status and salary? Would surgery change women or women change surgery?
“But ask woman surgeons at Minnesota the question ‘Why surgery?’ and they answer, with slight variations, the same way. They are passionate about their profession.”
This feature and the entire 2008 Dean’s Report are available here.
Allison Campbell Jensen 
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