Kaitlyn Crow

Mr. Ratliff
ISM-1
8 October 2019
Trauma Surgery
Research Assessment #5- First Interview

My first interview was Thursday, September 26th at Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas with
Dr. Amy McIntosh. She is a pediatric orthopedic trauma surgeon that I plan to ask to be my
mentor. She performs trauma surgery at Children’s Hospital Dallas and orthopedic surgeries at
the Socttish Rite Hospitals in Frisco and Dallas.
We spoke about both types of surgery and I learned a lot about orthopedics that I never
expected to in this program. I had originally planned to do general trauma surgery, but after
speaking to Dr. McIntosh I realized that orthopedics has a lot of aspects that I am very interested
in. In addition, trauma cases usually have two or three types of trauma surgeon in the room, so I
would be given the opportunity to observe many types anyways. I learned that orthopedics
consists of more direct applications of science and mechanics than general surgery. Dr. McIntosh
discussed how she applies physics to her job after I told her I wanted to be a physics major, and I
began to see connections between the fields that I had never considered.
I also enjoyed learning about her perspective on pediatrics. She acknowledged that many
doctors shy away from pediatrics because they do not want to deal with the parents, but in her
experience parents were very accommodating and understanding. I love working with children,
and knowing that this has not been an issue for an accomplished surgeon is very reassuring. Dr.
McIntosh described some of the orthopedic cases she had been working on and I found them
extremely interesting. She told me about the connections she forms with her orthopedic patients,
sometimes meeting them at a few weeks old and treating them until they are 18. While trauma
surgery is very active and engaging, having the opportunity to form personal connections with
patients would be very special.
Perhaps in the future I could split my time between trauma and scheduled surgery, which
would also help relieve some of the stress of the trauma surgeon lifestyle. She also said that she
spends some of her time conducting research and mentoring residents, since teaching is one of
her passions. She also spoke about her family and how she makes time for them outside of her
intensive work. Balance is very important to me, and I both admire and hope to emulate the
balance Dr. McIntosh seems to have found in her own life.
Our final main topic of conversation involved her discussing her experiences as a woman
in a male-dominated field. She mentioned that most of her medical peers have been men, which
gives her the opportunity to stand out for better or for worse. If she made mistakes in medical
school or her residency, they were highlighted and at times exaggerated. However, she was
simply inspired to work harder and stand out as exceptional.
I feel that simply from this interview I have already learned so much from Dr. McIntosh
regarding not only the practice of medicine but the life skills required to be successful in the
field.