Despite the rising number of women entering medical professions, surgical specialties are still largely male-dominated. That gender gap is the widest in the neurosurgery field. But at JFK Medical Center in Edison, female neurosurgeons are inspiring other young women to walk the same path.
Dr. Schekhtman, director of education at JFK Neuroscience Institute, says in addition to diversity, having more women in the neurosurgeon field can also impact patients in a number of ways.
“I feel like sometimes female patients prefer a female doctor. Often times it can be a religious reason for example I have Muslim patients who prefer a female surgeon for modesty reasons and sometimes female patients feel more comfortable speaking to other women about their problems,” Schekhtman said.
Dr. Asha Iyer says she always knew she wanted to be a neurosurgeon. Dr. Iyer went to medical school at UCLA and pursued her PhD in neuroscience, and ultimately ended up at Mount Sinai in Manhattan for her residency. She credits female mentorship for reaching her goals. Dr. Iyer says representation is critical when it comes to more women feeling confident about becoming neurosurgeons.
“I’ve seen more and more female medical students come through and express interest in surgery and neurosurgery specifically , to have them come through and shadow and say women are functioning at the same level, they’re doing the same things I think it’s very exciting for them. And to hear more of the personal stories and say ‘yes and they have a family and they [do] this’ I think it makes their dreams a lot more tangible and attainable,” Iyer said.
