Most people are uncertain about their future when considering what career they want to explore, as it was for Dr. Audra Duncan, who originally planned a career in pediatrics. She selected her medical profession based on the representation, or lack thereof, of women surgeons during her time in medical school.
“There were few women in the surgical residency during medical school, but the ones I met struggled to compete with male counterparts - not because they weren't skilled, but because of systemic bias,” said Dr. Duncan.
Of course, Dr. Duncan doesn’t mean that women surgeons didn’t exist already in the specialty. In her pursuit in medical school, she didn’t have access to work with them, hear them speak or understand their perspective. For her, a key component of Women’s History Month is to highlight successful women and understand their stories, challenges and how they impacted global history.
When she worked with her vascular team, she felt equal and accepted to her male counterparts. She could picture herself specializing in surgery, particularly complex vascular procedures, as a profession. Her satisfaction extended to the care she provided for her patients.
Dr. Duncan has spent the last decade establishing herself as a notable vascular surgeon in the Ontario region. She covers a breadth of surgery, including clinical and research interests in complex open aortic surgery, thoracic outlet syndrome and nutcracker syndrome. She is a professor of surgery and the chair of vascular surgery at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada, and chair of the SVS Women's Section.
She was born, trained and worked for 17 years at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and she expresses how this range reflected the broad referral base she was privileged to care for at both institutions. Her experience has allowed her to fill the gaps in representation in the medical field.
“Every time I meet a woman medical student who is unsure whether she can imagine a life as a vascular surgeon or a surgeon, it is a moment when I realize how important diversity is,” said Dr. Duncan.
She wears many hats that deserve praise, not only as a surgeon but also as a division chief, mother, wife, runner, and even avid baker. For her, it is critical to be present and assist in the work the future generations will do to allow them to grow and take on unlimited opportunities.
Dr. Duncan’s philosophy is to always make her leadership decisions based on what is best for the patients.
“Patient care is always the end goal of everything I do, so diversity provides the best patient care (we have data that shows it does) or allows us to recruit the best surgeons regardless of gender, then that is what we should pursue,” said Dr. Duncan.
Her message for the next generation of women vascular surgeons is one of self-reflection. They should look back at what the past has shown women in the field and build on their momentum to create a world where gender differences and struggle with diversity inequalities are a thing of the past.
“I have seen how the presence of women in leadership is making a real impact in understanding different perspectives to improve patient care, recruitment, education and even advocacy,” said Dr. Duncan. “We need all these voices to keep our specialty strong and enduring.”
Dr. Duncan stresses that now more than ever, we need to ensure that gender equity is not lost as we focus on the many stresses of research and healthcare delivery. She lists the improvements made in including women in research, both as patients and investigators that are present, but how more needs to be done.
The Vascular Care for the Underserved (VC4U) Award, funded by the SVS Foundation and Women’s Section, is crucial to supporting this mission.
“The best reward we can have as physicians is excellent patient outcomes, and I believe the VC4U truly supports that goal, as do the other excellent Voices of Vascular campaigns,” said Dr. Duncan.
The Women’s Section is collaborating with other SVS member sections to host a “Virtual Partner Series” of educational discussions aimed at utilizing the collective experience of the SVS Women's Section to address clinical practice challenges.
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