The Woman in the Surgeon's Body

by Joan Cassell

Surgery is the most martial and masculine of medical specialties. The combat with death is carried out in the operating room, where the intrepid surgeon challenges the forces of destruction and disease. What, then, if the surgeon is a woman? Anthropologist Joan Cassell enters this closely guarded arena to explore the work and lives of women practicing their craft in what is largely a man's world.

Cassell observed thirty-three surgeons in five North American cities over the course of three years. We follow these women through their grueling racing through corridors to make rounds, perform operations, hold office hours, and teach residents. We hear them, in their own words, discuss their training and their relations with patients, nurses, colleagues, husbands, and children.

Do these women differ from their male colleagues? And if so, do such differences affect patient care? The answers Cassell uncovers are as complex and fascinating as the issues she considers. A unique portrait of the day-to-day reality of these remarkable women, The Woman in the Surgeon's Body is an insightful account of how being female influences the way the surgeon is perceived by colleagues, nurses, patients, and superiors--and by herself.

Genres: Medical, Nonfiction, Medicine

Paperback

First published June 15, 1998

Reviews

[Dax · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surgery is tough. Being a female surgeon is even tougher. Joan Cassell interviews 33 female surgenos and explores their experience in the field. Being a female in any male-dominated industry is tough; the medical field is no different. Although I already admire anyone who has put themselves through surgery, I particularly admire one who has done so in against constant struggle like this. Cassell dives into the fact that women in our society are expected to do it all. The male surgeon often has a wife to fall back on such that pursuing a career in surgery and having a family are not mutually exclusive. The female surgeon (as in other fields) must choose. Other issues include the female to female head-butting between female nurses and female surgeons that often does not occur between female nurses and their male counterparts.

[Sarah Davisson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a female surgeon, I can say that my time in training was the most inspiring yet traumatic part of my life. This book made me feel very seen, and very proud!