24. Jamie Coleman - on saving lives and fixing bullet holes
Jamie Jones Coleman is a trauma surgeon. As she puts it, most of what she does is "fixing holes in people", but that massively down-plays the complexity, skill and adrenaline of her job. The bleep goes, the team swings into action, and all hands are on deck to save a life. It sounds thrilling, but Jamie juggles this with being a wife to a former NFL player turned lawyer, a mother to two little boys, an international public speaker, and a writer. She has a successful blog with a readership of over 2 million, and has contributed to the HuffPost and US News. She is open on the challenges a female surgeon faces, the joys and challenges of motherhood and how writing allows her to bring a more creative aspect to her work.
In this episode we discuss:
- Jamie's upbringing and how her grandmother and other women in her family shaped her education and her goals
- Being a "glorified plumber" (her words, not mine!) and why she enjoys the practical challenge of surgery
- Being a mother and a surgeon, and the struggle of the juggle!
- Why Jamie thinks being a mother makes her a better surgeon
- The media's pitching of women with children and those without against one another, and why defining women as a stay-at-home-mother or a working mother or a childless woman is potentially harmful
- How she keeps her career fresh and avoids burnout in a job that is incredibly stressful
- Dealing with failure and learning from mistakes
- Women supporting other women in work and beyond
- Her writing, and how that took off initially
Where to find Jamie:
Website: https://jjcolemanmd.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-jones-coleman-258497128/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@JJColemanMD/
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