These Women Have Risen as Leaders of Otolaryngology Associations

Dr. Nathan knew she wanted to be a cancer surgeon as a young teenager in India. “I was drawn to the field because 40% of malignancies in India are head and neck cancers and recurrence rates were so high,” she said. She applied for a scholarship to come to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. “I was extremely fortunate that I got to work with some of the great names in our specialty. The first thing I learned from watching these giants [Michael E. Johns II, MD; Douglas E. Mattox, MD; David W. Kennedy, MD; William J. Richtsmeier, MD] was that they worked hard—really hard. And they loved what they did.

“When I got to Johns Hopkins, I realized cancer recurrence rates were just as high in the U.S. as they were in India; it was the nature of the disease. I also realized the only way to improve survival rates in patients was to conduct research and maybe someday make a difference in our patients’ lives. This has been my passion and the driving force behind my love for research and surgery.”

“Medicine just kind of fit my personality,” said Dr. Garrett. “I knew I wanted to be a surgeon for the same reasons. I got to know all the otolaryngology people at Chapel Hill through Harold Pillsbury III, MD, my mentor and sponsor. The Chapel Hill physicians really seemed to love what they were doing, they were well-liked, and they seemed happy to be at work every day. And otolaryngology has been great because it encompasses surgery, primary care, and all patient ages and genders.

“I developed another mentor in Robert Ossoff, DMD, MD, chair of the department of otolaryngology at Vanderbilt Medical Center. Dr. Ossoff was one of the first true laryngologists in the country. He started a fellowship program and became my fellowship director in 1994,” she added.

Mentorship and sponsorship are important, “but, more importantly, institutions need to acknowledge the disparities and adopt policies and processes to improve the status quo,” said Dr. Yaremchuk. “Whether it’s a broken rung on the ladder, a sludgy pipeline, or a glass ceiling, things need to change to welcome women and promote them accordingly within our specialty.”

Nikki Kean is a freelance medical writer based in New Jersey.