#ILookLikeASurgeon

Episode 15: Dr. Susan Pitt

In this special edition of the Surgery Sett, host Jonathan Kohler sits down with Dr. Susan Pitt, an Assistant Professor in the Division of Endocrine Surgeon here at UW, who’s received a lot of media attention lately. Earlier this month (April 2017), Dr. Pitt made waves when she decided to recreate the cover of The New Yorker’s annual Health, Medicine & the Body Issue, which features four female surgeons standing over an operating table. She posted her recreation to Twitter on April 3, and invited others to join her with #NYerORCoverChallenge. Within days, the tweet caught fire and female surgeons from around the world began posting their own versions of the cover along with #ILookLikeASurgeon. This viral movement has empowered female surgeons to express solidarity and increase their visibility in a traditionally male-dominated field. Currently at the UW Department of Surgery, 20 of 38 general surgeons are female. This is significantly higher than the national average of surgeons who are female, which sits around 19% according the American Medical Association. In this episode, Dr. Pitt will delve into some of the specifics of this social media frenzy, and discuss her rational behind the posting. We hope you enjoy! Recorded 4/20/17