While orthopedic surgery remains one of the most male-dominated medical specialties, a team of leaders at Minneapolis-based Hennepin Healthcare is trying to change that, according to a Sept. 29 report from Fox 9 Minneapolis.
Five female orthopedic surgeons at the system make up roughly half of the practicing orthopedic surgeons on staff at Hennepin County Medical Center, compared to the latest numbers from the Association of American Medical Colleges, which show that just 6.2% of all practicing orthopedic surgeons across the entire country are women.
Female orthopedic surgeons at Hennepin include Gudrun Mirick Mueller, MD, interim department chair Jackie Geissler, MD, Jessica Downs, MD, Nancy Luger, MD, and Emily Wagstrom, MD.
Several surgeons on the Hennepin team trained at the University of Minnesota under Dr. Arendt and Ann Van Heest, MD.
Dr. Arendt was the only woman in her orthopedic residency program in the early 1980s.
By contrast in 2024, a full 20% of orthopedic first-year interns across the nation are women, the highest it’s ever been. At the University of Minnesota, the percentage is even higher at 25%.