Meet the Mount Sinai Physician Emboldening Women to Become Orthopedic Surgeons

Women have long been underrepresented in orthopedic surgery. Although that is changing, the pace of change has been slow. To address this, Mount Sinai Health System is taking a lead in advancing gender parity. From recruiting and training more female orthopedists to supporting female physicians in leadership roles, Mount Sinai is moving women forward in orthopedic surgery.

The gender gap in surgery, once large, has shrunk considerably. According to an analysis published in the journal Cureus, in 2020, women accounted for 42 percent of general surgery residents. However, female residents are still a small minority in orthopedics. Women made up 16 percent of orthopedic surgery residents in 2020 and a mere 6 percent of practicing orthopedic surgeons.

There are several reasons for that gap, says Alexis Colvin, MD, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Associate Dean for Alumni Affairs at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “Stereotypes have painted orthopedic surgeons as the ‘jocks’ of medicine, and there is a perception that you need a lot of physical strength to do orthopedic surgery,” Dr. Colvin says.

Luckily, she never heard those misconceptions until she was already applying for orthopedic residency programs. By then, she was hooked. She soon learned there was more to the field than physical power. “One of the best pieces of advice I was given is that you don’t need brute strength to succeed as an orthopedic surgeon, but rather finesse and technique,” she says.

Closing the Gender Gap in Orthopedic Surgery

Dr. Colvin uses that finesse in her surgical practice, where she specializes in surgery for knee and shoulder disorders. For the past six years, she has also served as Chief Medical Officer for the US Open at the United States Tennis Association’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York—the first woman to hold this position. She leads a multidisciplinary team of specialists from Mount Sinai who provide a suite of medical services for the tournament’s many athletes. And for nearly a decade, she has served as the physician for the U.S. team at the Billie Jean King Cup tournament, the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition.

She draws inspiration not only from the mentors she worked with early in her career but also from the trainees at Mount Sinai who are following in her footsteps. Some of Mount Sinai’s female medical students learned about the Perry Initiative Medical Student Outreach Program, a national program that provides hands-on workshops for women in medical school interested in careers in orthopedics. The medical students approached Dr. Colvin and her department colleagues and asked if they could host an event.

The one-day workshop at Mount Sinai, held in February 2023, provided a practical introduction to orthopedic surgery for women. Female students from New York and beyond attended lectures and discussions about orthopedics, connected with local mentors, and participated in surgical simulations using artificial bones.

“I was really inspired that it was our medical students who approached us with this idea. I love meeting students who are so enthusiastic about orthopedic surgery,” Dr. Colvin says. “We need more activities like this to expose women to the field.”

Mount Sinai also hosts a student chapter of the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society, a support and networking group for women interested in pursuing careers in orthopedic surgery, named after Ruth Jackson, MD, the first board certified practicing female orthopedist in the United States.

Leesa Galatz, MD, Professor and Chair of the Leni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Icahn Mount Sinai, is the first woman to chair a department of orthopedics in the country. And while women make up just 16 percent of orthopedic surgery residents nationwide, nearly 25 percent of Mount Sinai’s residents are female.

“Mentorship of female trainees has been an ongoing effort at Mount Sinai,” Dr. Colvin says. “Mount Sinai truly epitomizes leadership by example.”