As we kicked off 2020, I had high hopes for the year. I was looking forward to another year in practice as an orthopaedic surgeon. I was planning how I might write more – and in fact, was eagerly awaiting a physician writer’s course at Harvard in the spring. I had plans to work on a podcast to someday launch. But as we all know, not just my plans but everyone’s plans, and hopes and dreams were interrupted by COVID-19. They were replaced by worry and fear and the unknown. We saw the devastation and death a world pandemic brings and we also saw the very best and unfortunately also the worst in humanity come forth. Aside from feeling worry, sorrow, fear for those suffering from COVID, I felt similarly for those in the hot spots, and also for my colleagues and my husband, who worked directly with the ill on the frontlines.
As a surgeon in private practice, I also had the uneasy feeling that comes with uncertainty of what will be the short and long term course of my practice. As the pandemic swept across the US, we battened the hatches – shut down elective surgery, cancelled school and cancelled, well, literally everything, and stayed home. Much like everyone, I spent a bit of time feeling emotionally shut down, as one day melted into the next. A literal real-life Groundhog Day, minus the comedy of Bill Murray.
I lost the motivation and energy to push on writing and with creative projects, even though now I had nearly all the time in the world to do it. I just didn’t have it in me. I felt like I had lost a piece of me because I had let this go. But I slowly gathered my bearings. I realized the long climb we all have ahead of us, and it became clear to me that hearing stories of courage, trials, failures, comebacks were sorely needed during this time. Sometimes we need a break from the 24/7 news cycle. Our souls just need some time out, and it doesn’t mean that we care any less about what’s going on in the world. We all need uplifting and inspiring stories to keep us going during these unprecedented times.
And so, came the big push to get The 6% with NancyMD podcast up and off the ground.
The birth of this podcast came about when I was at an airport and saw a female commercial airline captain. Though I didn’t know her, I wanted to talk to her and ask her all about her life and path – and I wanted to hug her, knowing she likely experienced many of the same challenges that I had. I realized that across disciplines and careers, we have parallel experiences and struggles in following our passions. In The 6%, I talk to women about how they arrived at their careers, and the facets of their lives that brought them there. These careers are varied – ranging from doctors to lawyers, fighter pilots, police chiefs, NFL and MLB coaches, women in tech, business and more.
The name of the podcast, The 6% with NancyMD, was inspired by the low percentage of women practicing in my field. Back when I was a medical student, people told me “women can’t do ortho”, “women aren’t strong enough”, “no one wants to marry a woman surgeon” – but I don’t know if it was sheer ignorance or just being bullheaded and strong-willed. I ignored the naysayers and successfully pursued residency training in ortho surgery, and am now in private practice as a sports/arthroscopy fellowship-trained ortho surgeon. Sadly, I’ve heard too many stories of young women turned away from their dreams because of these careless – though sometimes intentional – words.
Once we get past those telling us why we shouldn’t do what we dream to do, once women enter fields that tend to be majority male, we then encounter societal expectations and beliefs about women’s leadership abilities, pervasive stereotypes, lack of mentoring or promotion opportunity, higher levels of stress or anxiety, and sexual harassment. On this podcast, I wanted to highlight women who – while they may have experienced the above – have faced and overcome challenges – and have thrived. We talk about imposter syndrome, microaggressions, barriers to entry, pay gap, mentoring, obstacles and failures – more importantly, how we get up from those failures.
And that’s how I went from 6 feet to The 6%. My hope is that now, as we deal with the ever-changing landscape of the new post-pandemic world, but also beyond, The 6% with NancyMD will inspire and entertain both women and men, and foster our next generation of surgeons, scientists, firefighters, engineers, CEOs. I’m so thrilled to be launching my second season this month, and I can’t wait to take you with me on this journey.
