Celebrating National Women Physicians Day

On February 3, Shriners Children's celebrates National Women Physicians Day, an annual observance that honors the pioneering achievements and ongoing contributions of female physicians in the field of healthcare.

This important day marks the birthday of Elizabeth Blackwell, M.D., the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States in 1849, paving the way for countless female doctors to follow. Dr. Blackwell began the movement that helped women gain entry and equality in the field of medicine, and we are proud to celebrate her and the accomplishments of female physicians everywhere.

At Shriners Children’s, we are proud to have many female physicians throughout our healthcare system, all of whom play a vital role in patient care, medical research and leading the way in medicine. We invite you to learn about a few of our female leaders who are paving the way for future generations.

Q&A with Shriners Children's Women Physician Leaders

Danielle Webster, M.D., MS, Medical Director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Shriners Children’s Ohio

Fun fact: Dr. Webster is a former patient of Shriners Children’s Galveston (now Shriners Children's Texas), where she had a vascular malformation birthmark removed as a child.

What advice do you have for young women considering a career in medicine?

Find a mentor who inspires you to come to work every day. Learn and really listen to them. Find the good, and the traits you want to emulate. Take those things, and leave the others. Then BECOME that mentor to someone else. There are 100 paths to take and a million more ways to get there. You do not need to conform to the expected stereotype of your chosen specialty. Take some chances and make some noise.

What has been your biggest challenge as a physician leader?

You go through school learning information, facts and procedures. You take exam after exam and somehow along the way you think that the keys to success rest totally in your hands. If you study more, try harder, come to work earlier, you will excel. That if you want to make something happen, you must do it yourself. Then you are asked to step up into a leadership role, and suddenly you realize you had it all completely wrong. It's not about your performance, it's about the group's success. The issues are complicated and often do not have one simple mathematical solution. You need emotional intelligence and introspection, and to surround yourself with strong people.

What is your greatest satisfaction as a physician?

Seeing a patient who was once so sick for so long now in kindergarten, then second grade, then playing soccer. Receiving a note from a parent who lost their child, but who continues to express gratitude every year for the time they spent with us. Watching a baby happily toddle toward me in the hall.

Janay McKie, M.D., Chief of Staff of Orthopedics, Shriners Children’s Texas

What advice do you have for young women considering a career in medicine?

Explore all of your options in medicine if considering a career in the field. Be creative and honest in your approach to the type of life and practice you desire. Pay attention to your interests and intuition, as it will lead you to the most satisfaction in your medical career. Always lead with your “why."

What has been your biggest challenge as a physician leader?

My biggest challenge as a physician leader is balancing the big picture and the small steps to the big picture.

What is your greatest satisfaction as a physician?

As a physician, I have great satisfaction in many instances. One instance is when I am given the opportunity to cultivate true partnership and connection with my patients and their family. Another instance is when a young person considers a career in medicine because of our interaction. They can see the possibilities for them because it happened for me. Both instances are a few examples of the great privilege I relish as physician. It is also my driving force.

Sara Higginson, M.D., FACS, Chief of Staff, Shriners Children’s Ohio

What advice do you have for young women considering a career in medicine?

If it aligns with what you want to accomplish with your life, it’s a fantastic decision. This is not my first career, but it has been my most rewarding. I can’t imagine doing anything else, and if you feel that way about it, then you will have a beautiful, successful career.

What has been your biggest challenge as a physician leader?

I think work-life balance and figuring out when to stop working has been quite challenging. Because I love what I do, in my time off, I’m reading about it, I’m studying it.

What is your greatest satisfaction as a physician?

The aftercare visits where all of the wounds have healed and your patient is back to life and telling you how great things are going. I think just seeing those outcomes and knowing you made a difference, that is the best part of this for me.

Another piece of advice?

You think you have time for everything. You’re in medical school and you’re putting off perhaps marriage, or putting off a large majority of your life and what you may find valuable, and I think that often can be a mistake. I think finding a balance where you have a full and complete life, and you pursue all the things that will be of value to you to include having children while a resident.

As a culture in surgery, it’s changing. There are more women. We are identifying some of the shortcomings of the previous era, and really allowing people to be their best selves in all facets of their life, because I think it allows you to be the very best surgeon you can be.

If you fail to do it, keep trying. I think failure is a guidepost and it points you in the direction that you want to go and the only difference between those who succeed and make it to the goal and those that don’t are those who quit.