“The mentorship in OBGYN is huge.
We have to depend on each other; we cannot do this alone.”
The following story extract is from a conversation with an OBGYN mentor and mentee.
Mentee: I think for me, I’m in awe of how strong women are in different scenarios—pushing a baby out, which is really hard work, and then the immediate caregiving side. Hearing all the things women juggle, and how vulnerable they are with us—it’s an honor. It’s a gift. And for them to trust us with those vulnerabilities and secrets, because they’ll leave the exam room and put on their cloak, their superpower, to forge on, whether it’s in their marriage, with their kids, their jobs, or their bodies. Our bodies change so much—through puberty, pregnancy, and menopause. We are transformers, like the old-school transformers. It’s rad to understand the science and physiology of it.
Having you as a mentor was always great. Pelvic pain, for example, is something residents dread. I remember you saying, “These are the exciting ones. We get to use our brain, compassion, and patience.” It’s true. Now I tell newer docs the same thing. Pelvic pain is where we can really make a difference. The mentorship in OBGYN is huge. We have to depend on each other; we cannot do this alone.
We've been through watching partners go through pregnancy, remembering our own pregnancies, watching kids grow up next to each other. There’s always stuff. Being in a relationship like we had at our practice, with long partnerships and friendships, we’ve been through trials. That was really special—not just with patients, but within the group. At our practice, the culture has been to do in-person sign-outs. When we finish our shift, we sign out in each other’s presence. After talking about each patient, the next person can take on the emotional load if something bad happens. We also find out about personal struggles—divorce, empty nesting, trying to get pregnant. We are really enmeshed with each other.
One point of this conversation: when my mentor was leaving, it was really tough. She was one of the ten people I trusted to tell things to that I couldn’t even tell my husband, because he’s a doctor but not an OBGYN.
