Charged: Stories from the Women Leading Health Care

Human activity is changing the planet at a rate “unprecedented in human history.” For many of us, the massive scale of this problem makes finding solutions feel daunting—if not impossible. But for pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Tina Duhaime, it’s not hard to explain our struggle with climate change when you consider how the human brain works. In this episode, Dr. Duhaime discusses her work studying how the brain’s reward system might relate to our drive toward increasing consumption.

As a medical student, the last thing Dr. Cristina Ferrone thought she would ever become was a surgeon, as the male-dominated specialty forced the few women in it to make hard lifestyle choices. However, when she entered her surgical rotation, she was surprised to discover how much she loved it. She is now a leader in pancreatic cancer and bile duct cancer. By focusing on work that excites her and honing in on a unique niche, she has found her identity and built a balanced career in a field that is still largely male.

September is National Recovery Month. This month has two goals: to increase awareness and understanding of mental and substance use disorders. And to celebrate the people in recovery.  In honor of the month, we are bringing back this episode from season one with Dr. Sarah Wakeman, an addiction medicine specialist and the medical director of the Substance Use Disorders Initiative at Mass General. She discusses her commitment to changing both how addiction is treated and how it is understood by the public. 

Physicians put in a tremendous amount of work into providing quality care for their patients, but sometimes the challenges that physicians face go unnoticed. Many physicians experience burnout, which leaves them feeling stress, exhaustion and less enjoyment in their work. More women than men report feelings of burnout. In this episode, we hope to spark discussion about the challenges that the women at Mass General face.

For transgender people, finding health care providers knowledgeable about their unique needs can be challenging. One essential component of care for many is hormone replacement therapy which helps the body align more closely with their gender identity. Endocrinologist Dr. Frances Hayes has provided this care to transgender patients for many years, and today she is helping helm the Transgender Health Program at Mass General. In this episode, she discusses the importance of providing multidisciplinary care for transgender patients in a supportive and affirming environment.

Kelly McInnis, DO, is a lifelong sports lover. After residency, the former Division 1 soccer player launched a new sports medicine training pathway that allowed her to spend time with orthopedic surgeons and non-operative sports specialists. At Mass General's Sports Medicine Center, she has demonstrated how her background in non-surgical care can complement the work of orthopedic surgeons. She discusses her passion for helping athletes recover and return to doing what they love.

Traditional treatments don't always help people who struggle with the most severe depression. Cristina Cusin, MD, has dedicated her career to working with patients with the most severe forms of depression. She is interested in ketamine, a drug traditionally used as an anesthetic that has shown promise for treatment-resistant depression. Dr. Cusin talks about what first drew her to this field, how she hopes to provide relief for her patients and why it’s important to support them in rebuilding their lives when they find a depression treatment that works.

True innovation comes from seeing the world differently. In nursing, something as simple as using tape to modify equipment can drives innovation in patient care. Hiyam Nadel, MBA, RN, BSN, a mentor for nurse-entrepreneurs at Massachusetts General Hospital, wants to solve problems, improve patient care and advance new ideas. She discusses the pursuit of innovation within nursing and how it’s creating exciting opportunities to improve the quality of patient care.

In 2005 Noopur Raje, MD, came to the Mass General Cancer Center with a plan to establish a new type of lab dedicated to the study of multiple myeloma, a cancer that affects the plasma cells and weakens bones. Like any uncharted territory, establishing this narrowly-focused lab required some tenacity. Noopur was up to the task, working hard to build a successful research program that has expanded our understanding of this cancer. Today, Dr. Raje directs the Center for Multiple Myeloma at the Mass General Cancer Center. In this episode, she discusses why she thinks risk-taking is important to success and how she draws inspiration from her patients to keep pressing forward.

While completing her master’s in criminal justice at Northeastern University, Bonnie Michelman, MBA, CPP, CHPA, became fascinated by the security industry. Over the years, she has worked hard within the industry, earning her extensive leadership experience, particularly within healthcare. In this episode, Bonnie discusses the importance of increasing diversity to enrich the functionality of the security industry.