The rate at which women are training for and performing surgery is growing — and while delaying starting a family and navigating the busy world of a clinical lifestyle can introduce complicating factors, peer support goes a long way.
“Without her, I would have never realized that it was possible to have a family, be an academic surgeon and be able to balance both.”
That’s what Shiayin Yang, MD, says about one of her mentors. An associate professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Yang takes inspiration from the female leaders who have helped her throughout her career and is leading the charge to pass that inspiration along to others at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
What began as small, informal get-togethers between female surgeons has turned into an opportunity for colleagues across the institution to build relationships and discuss their shared experiences about working in surgery. Those experiences, of course, may include juggling a variety of elements of personal and professional life unique to women who pursue surgical careers, notably navigating the complex path of advancing in academia and medicine while hoping to start a family.
“The time you’re in training is, for a lot of people, that prime time to start a family,” Yang said. “And when you’re in surgery, some people don’t necessarily have time to take off and start a family.”
Yang has two children of her own, but she knows that under different circumstances, her career path could have presented difficulties for being a mother.
“I was lucky, and I was able to have a family without difficulty, but I was well prepared that [infertility] could happen. I had so many friends who had fertility issues because of the age they were when they finished training.
“You assume since you’re a physician that you should know these things, but you don’t, because no one talks about it,” Yang added.
In addition to timing obstacles, family planning can be more difficult for women in surgery because of health risks associated with the rigor of being a surgeon. A 2021 study published in JAMA Surgery found that female surgeons are at greater risk for infertility and negative pregnancy outcomes such as miscarriages, preterm delivery and postpartum depression.
While many of the rigors of medical training and practice are common to women and men, no one needs to go it alone. That’s why, with support from colleagues at VUMC, Yang wanted to take the initiative to bring people together to discuss these unique challenges.
“The main reason I’m doing this is because I didn’t have as many female mentors when I was going through training, and I really want the female trainees to be supported and realize they can do this too,” Yang said. “We all struggle through the same things, whether it is figuring out how to balance our family, our friends or other things.”
Yang’s leadership initiative has so far included a two-year program that paired residents with veteran surgeons in mentorship roles to explore topics relevant to women in surgery. She has also led the creation of sessions to discuss those topics, and when presented with an opportunity to grow the initiative even further, Yang enlisted the support of Lauren Corona, MD, assistant professor of Urology, to organize a panel to discuss guidance on family planning as surgeons.
Corona serves as wellness director for the Department of Urology and was eager to join the effort to reach female surgeons with special programming. Following brainstorming to discuss the vision for this programming, Corona and Yang held the first session, which covered egg cryopreservation and in vitro fertilization (IVF), in November 2024.
The session’s panel, which spoke to an audience of about 20 people — mostly trainees and mostly women — included a representative from the Nashville Fertility Center, a pair of residents who shared personal experiences with egg cryopreservation, a faculty member who discussed the process of IVF, and Michelle Roach, MD, assistant professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, who is set to lead Vanderbilt Health’s IVF program when it opens in 2026.
Corona shared that her own experience becoming a mother during her surgical training influenced her perspective and desire to help educate others on the topic.
“It was really hard to figure out the whole ‘surgeon-mom’ thing,” said Corona. “When you speak to more people, you realize that you’re not alone. It’s a big transition for every new mom. But especially when you have significant demands — you’re working 80 hours a week, trying to be a good resident, a good surgeon, a good partner and a good mom — it is hard to find the balance.”
In line with the optimistic, action-oriented approach of tackling this heavy subject, the programming thus far has included steps women can take to address the challenges being a woman or mother in a surgical career can present, Corona said.
One of the residents who spoke at November’s panel shared a presentation that broke down the costs of egg cryopreservation, including tips and tricks for cost-saving measures during that process.
“I thought that was really empowering, and there were some members of the audience who, now armed with this knowledge, seemed pretty serious about wanting to move forward with freezing their eggs,” Corona said.
“The Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility is very excited to be expanding with a new state-of-the-art IVF center in 2026 at One Hundred Oaks,” said Roach. “With the creation of this clinic, Vanderbilt Health will be able to offer full-scope fertility services to patients, including IVF and the option for fertility preservation with egg or sperm freezing.”
Roach added that egg freezing remains the best way to preserve fertility and is a good option for female trainees and staff who elect to delay childbearing. Further, egg freezing may help prevent infertility or increased miscarriage risk associated with increased maternal age.
“I want to give people the resources they need to be successful as a surgeon, but also to be successful in their life outside of surgery,” said Yang. “Mentorship is such a huge part of being successful in our field and in all other aspects of life, so I want trainees to have strong mentorships so they have people they can lean on and have the resources to be successful in their career.”
