Learning to Lead from Trailblazers

By Suzy Kim, MD, MPH, FACOG

In looking back at my career, two women stand out as inspirational and influential in all the right ways: Gloria Sarto, MD, PhD, and Carolyn Westhoff, MD, FACOG.

When I applied for residency in obstetrics and gynecology in the mid-’90s, Dr. Sarto, then chair of the University of New Mexico’s obstetrics and gynecology department, held the distinction of being one of the few woman chairs at the time. Two things stood out during my interview with her. One: she implicitly understood how difficult it was to be a woman in medicine even as enrollment in medical schools had reached gender parity in the 1990s; and two: the road she had traveled had been fraught with far more obstacles than I could imagine, but she had cleared them all and was stronger for it. Unlike some women of her generation, who had survived by burrowing inward and closing themselves off from political stands, Dr. Sarto embodied a different kind of woman leader. She made no bones about where her allegiance lay or what causes she was passionate about, and seemed very eager to extend a supportive, encouraging hand to women who were starting out in their obstetrics and gynecology careers. That’s not to say she didn’t have her share of detractors: some thought her inaccessible, too rigid, too autocratic.

Dr. Sarto’s legendary imprint was what drew me to apply to the University of New Mexico obstetrics and gynecology program in the first place. While I never did get a chance to experience her teaching firsthand—by the time I started my intern year at University of New Mexico, she had left—the legacy she left behind of a dynamic, outspoken, mostly woman-led department at a time when that was still an anomaly shaped me in profound ways. Women could command the operating room, teach advanced surgical skills, reference and conduct cutting-edge research. They could lead.

I finished my residency in 2000 and started my fellowship in what is now known as complex family planning at Columbia when the fellowship was in its infancy. There I met another woman powerhouse: Dr. Westhoff. She was accessible, brilliant, sharp as a tack. She had a wicked sense of humor and knew her way around statistics and research methodology like no one else. And, like Dr. Sarto, she held out the proverbial hand and guided me along my chosen career path. She was understanding and supportive when I faltered, when I struggled, even when I failed. Dr. Westhoff could easily have pulled that ladder up after her steep ascent so that no one else could threaten her standing at the top, but because she was generous or secure or both, she kept it firmly in place. When she retired last year from an illustrious, trailblazing career in family planning, her mentees—many of whom had themselves gone on to establish and helm family planning programs around the country—showed up to pay their respects to the woman who had set them on their path.

I am deeply grateful to these two women who saw something in me that was worth cultivating. I think I speak for many others, women and men alike, whose careers may have taken a different turn were it not for the leadership they displayed, when I say that we see you and appreciate you.

Suzy Kim, MD, MPH, FACOG, earned her MD from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in Rochester, New York, and completed her ob-gyn residency at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She then went on to complete her fellowship training in complex family planning at Columbia University. Dr. Kim also has an MPH from Columbia University.

This year’s national theme for Women’s History Month, as determined by the National Women’s History Alliance, is Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations. ACOG recognizes that women in medicine have changed how medicine is practiced and how our specialty especially has evolved. We welcome members to share with us their reflections about the women who, throughout their education, inspired them in their pursuit of a career in obstetrics and gynecology—or who have helped them grow as a physician by contributing to the lifelong learning that occurs over the course of a career.