When Jasmine Lee, MD, was in medical school at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, she was skeptical about pursuing a career as a surgeon.
“I tried to run from it all through medical school. I was worried that I couldn’t have a family or anything with how busy surgeons are,” Lee said. “But it just stole my heart.”
Lee credits the many women in surgery she met who were mentors to her for finally feeling like she could pursue the typically male-dominated specialty. Now a fourth-year surgery resident at Indiana University School of Medicine, Lee is thankful that she matched at IU, which is known for the variety of patient cases, both simple and complex, that trainees can experience.
“In general surgery we go through all the major chest and abdominal rotations, and the program is either five or seven years. I’m going to do seven, because I want to be an academic surgeon, so I’m doing more research work right now,” Lee said. “I’m also very passionate about taking care of children, so I plan to further specialize in pediatric surgery, where I will take care of children as young as their first day of life.”
The Ohio native said she has a passion for teaching and spends time with medical students and junior residents as an upper-level resident, which has fueled her interest in academic medicine. She’s also the president of the Department of Surgery residency program’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, working to improve DEI efforts and learning opportunities in the program as well as recruiting more residents from diverse backgrounds.
“A few years ago, we came up with the idea of hosting a surgical health disparities conference. This gathering aims to delve into the social determinants of health and the barriers that prevent certain marginalized patients from accessing equitable care,” Lee said. “Our last meeting was about obesity bias and how patients who have obesity could experience different biases in the health care system.”
Despite sometimes working up to 80 hours in one week, Lee said her time at IU has been a great experience, helping prepare her for her future work as an academic surgeon.
“This was one of my top programs when I was interviewing for residency, and there are so many leaders here that I look up to. I couldn’t be happier to be here.”
