THRIVING IN THE COMPLEXITY AND IMMEDIACY OF TRAUMA SURGERY

When Lauren Steward, MD, was 5, her parents presented her with three career options: doctor, lawyer, or engineer.

They’d offered the same options to her three other siblings, who didn’t bite, but their quiet, introspective third child gave it some thought. She wasn’t much of a talker, so being a lawyer didn’t seem like a good fit. Both her parents are engineers, “but they didn’t seem to be doing anything interesting,” she recalls, “so I thought, ‘I guess I’m going to be a doctor.’ And I’ve been on this medicine train since I was 5.”

There’s a lot more to the story, of course, but the theme is that she made the right choice for herself.

Now Steward, an assistant professor of GI, trauma, and endocrine surgery in the University of Colorado Department of Surgery, is working with CU colleagues to increase recruitment and retention of individuals from diverse backgrounds.

“I feel like I had all the resources I needed, but I feel very privileged to have had that,” Steward says. “I realize there are plenty of people who have not had access to that and who are incredible people who could bring so much insight and innovation to medicine. We need to be seeking out and supporting these people.”