Children's Hospitals Today - Spring 2017 - 8

ROUNDS / COMMENTARY

A medical minority
Pediatric neurosurgeons reflect on their roles and the future of the profession.

Drs. Taryn Bragg and Ruth
Bristol debunk myths about
being a neurosurgeon.

eurosurgery is a bit of an acquired taste among surgical specialties. According to the American College
of Surgeons Public Health Institute, the number of neurosurgeons in the U.S. grew by 26 percent between 2005 and 2009.
Compare that to dermatological surgery, the fastest-growing
surgical specialty, which grew at a rate of 188 percent.
For women neurosurgeons, the numbers are even smaller.
To put it simply: There is never a line for the ladies room
at national conferences.
The number of women entering neurosurgical residency
is disproportionate to the number of women in medicine.
Women account for 46 percent to 60 percent of medical school
graduates in the U.S., but only 5 percent of board-certified
neurosurgeons, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Bucking the national trend, the pediatric neurosurgery
team at Phoenix Children's Hospital is made up of 50 percent
women. "We work hard to construct teams who challenge
each other to develop the best solutions for our patients,"
says Daniel Ostile, M.D., surgeon in chief, Phoenix Children's.
But why aren't more residents choosing neurosurgery? For

CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL S TODAY Spring 2017

some, it comes down to perceptions. Ruth Bristol, M.D., neurosurgeon at Phoenix Children's, was exposed to neurosurgery
early in medical school. "I had an interest, but I was concerned
about the stigma: If you're entering neurosurgery, you can't
have a personal life," she says. "But I realized the connotations about neurosurgery were outdated-from a day when
residents were expected to live at the hospital." Today, she
says, neurosurgery residents have manageable hours and a
life outside of residency.
Another factor could be the amount of education required
to become a neurosurgeon-it can take around 11 to 13 years
following college, which is daunting. But encouragement and
camaraderie among peers is key to thriving during residency
and beyond. "My peers are like family," says Taryn Bragg,
M.D., neurosurgeon at Phoenix Children's. "We support each
other and push each other's limits to break boundaries."
As practicing surgeons, networking at national meetings
also helps build camaraderie. Doctors share their expertise
and exchange best practices with peers outside their immediate circles. And often, these connections span states and
countries and offer new perspectives.
Bragg and Bristol say their strong interest in working with
children and a desire to creatively solve complex problems led
them to the job. They say the best part of their work is the opportunity to improve the quality of a patient's life at an early
age. And they want more people to experience that.
"Now that women make up more of the top candidates in
every medical school class, we are anxious for that to be reflected in neurosurgical training," Bragg says. "It's our job to
encourage talented medical students to consider this field and
to stick with it." To do this, Bristol suggests facilitating mentoring among faculty and residents. "Having a female counterpart, even if not in the same facility, can make a difference in a
resident's early experiences."
To ensure the specialty continues to advance, organizations should build teams who challenge each other by looking
at patients' issues from all perspectives. "This will push the
field forward," Bristol says.
Ruth Bristol, M.D., and Taryn Bragg, M.D., are pediatric neurosurgeons at the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix
Children's Hospital.
Share your opinions. Email magazine@childrenshospitals.org.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Children's Hospitals Today - Spring 2017