Houston doctor’s show focuses on challenges for women in medicine
The host readied herself in the studio, watching the seconds count down before cameras went live.
This wasn’t taking place at a TV station. It was in a studio at Houston Methodist, where vascular surgeon Dr. Linda Le is the co-host of a show that’s developed a niche for tackling both workplace issues and the everyday experiences of women working in medicine.
The web series, Sisterhood in Surgery, began in 2020 as a way to highlight and connect with women working in the male-dominated field of vascular surgery. Le and her co-host, Dr. Palma Shaw of Upstate University Hospital in New York, have now recorded more than 30 episodes focused on the challenges they face at work, such as the nursing shortage affecting many U.S. hospitals, as well as universal topics like pregnancy, motherhood and divorce.
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“My end goal is to not just be in this vascular surgery world. I want it to be more broad, so it can relate to anybody,” Le said. “I mean, I don’t expect me to be the next Oprah … but we are starting to touch on different topics that relate to a broader audience than just female surgeons.”
Sisterhood in Surgery allows Le and Shaw to connect with and highlight women working in medicine. Each episode features guests who are experts in the topic being discussed.
“The nicest thing about this is that it’s not about me and Linda,” said Shaw, who is also the president-elect of the International Society of Endovascular Specialists. “This is about us being able to showcase other women, and other people.”
The show also aims to foster a community among women working in medicine, particularly those working in vascular surgery.
Surgery has long been dominated by men; a 2020 report from the American Association of Medical Colleges found just 15 percent of vascular surgeons are women. Studies have found that women have historically faced barriers to becoming surgeons, such as discrimination, sexual harassment and gendered expectations that their career could detract from their ability to start a family and raise children.
Dr. Alan Lumsden, the chair of cardiovascular surgery at Houston Methodist, said the field of surgery needs to evolve. He believes Sisterhood in Surgery is helping to change the conversation.
“If we don’t make our specialty attractive to women, at the end of the day, we’re going to suffer from it. And so are the patients,” Lumsden said.
Sisterhood in Surgery is part of the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center’s broader strategy to reach a much larger audience through online content, Lumsden said. In the past, Houston Methodist experts like Le would have given a lecture or presentation to an audience of 50 or 100. Today, the Houston Methodist DeBakey CV Education channel on YouTube, which hosts Sisterhood in Surgery, has nearly 85,000 subscribers.
Lumsden initially asked Le, who was pregnant at the time, to host a show focused on balancing her pregnancy with her career. Le was on board with the idea, but asked whether the show would end after her daughter was born. They decided instead to focus on a range of topics, mostly related to the experience of being a woman in medicine.
Lumsden suggested Le team up with Shaw, who he knew through the ISEVS. Le and Shaw had only met once, when the latter was in Houston in 2019, but they quickly developed a rapport.
The first show focused on pregnancy and aired March 16, 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic forced everyone to isolate. Sisterhood in Surgery was well-equipped to adapt because its hosts were already using videoconferencing, with Shaw appearing from her office. They continued to stream new episodes throughout the pandemic, only taking a break during the summer.
New episodes are typically released on the third Monday of each month, with topics alternating between the academic and the everyday. Their most popular episode focused on divorce; it garnered so much feedback they decided to do a second episode on the topic. Another popular topic, personal finance, has also become an annual staple, Le said.
Most themes come from Le and Shaw’s everyday lives. Shaw is a single mother who has been divorced, so Sisterhood in Surgery did shows on both subjects. Every so often they’ll also take suggestions from their audience.
“A lot of it is personal experience. Sometimes it’s just what happens to us, globally, as vascular surgeons,” Shaw said.
Le and Shaw generally act as moderators and let their guests offer expertise. They occasionally share their own experiences, such as when Le talked about her pregnancy.
Lumsden admitted that sometimes, the thought of doctors delving into subjects that aren’t strictly related to their work makes him nervous. But he also believes it’s a large part of the reason Sisterhood in Surgery is resonating with viewers.
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“The reality is these are topics in medicine that have really not been touched, and we all deal with them,” he said. “I think it’s certainly a niche, but I do think it’s being appreciated.”
Because the show is live, it also has an interactive element: Audience members can submit questions through text message or an online form. Le, Shaw and their guests answer as many questions as possible toward the end of the hourlong episodes.
Shaw said it’s been rewarding to co-host Sisterhood in Surgery because throughout her career, women had been discouraged from discussing many of the topics that are discussed on the show. She feels that’s starting to change, though.
“When you would go to work as a female surgeon, you never wanted to do things that would make you stand out as a woman. You had to do what the guys do. You’d fall in line,” she said. “But now we feel like we can.”
Talking about everyday experiences helps the show connect with a broader audience, and especially with younger women working in medicine, Le said. Two years ago, Le and Shaw did an episode about mentoring millennials in the digital age.
In the past, it was harder to connect with other women working in vascular surgery, or in medicine in general, Le said. Many discussions would be about something they read in an academic journal, or an issue directly related to the workplace. Sisterhood in Surgery has helped build a community in an entirely new way.
“Academics is fun, but it’s really boring to always talk about ‘OK, let’s read this new journal article,’” Le said. “This is way more fun.”
evan.macdonald@chron.com