At Memorial Regional Hospital, Doctors Day Goes Hand In Hand With Women's History Month

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Standing in the middle of an operating room Dr. Heather Wright gets right to the point, "I would tell the women out there who are considering surgery as a career, they would have the best career in the world."

Dr. Wright is the chief of breast surgical oncology at Memorial Cancer Institute, who mentors a five-member all-female surgical resident group.

Rachel Pruett is a member of that unique group, in her 4th year as a resident, who told CBS4 News photojournalist Barry Smith, "I was almost through medical school... I decided I wanted to be a surgeon because I wanted to use the hands I got in order to make a change in people's lives."

March 30th is Doctors Day, a national celebration of all the work the nation's doctors perform, but at Memorial Regional Hospital, the month of March is Women's History Month, which is also celebrated.

Women are truly making strides and history in the medical profession, especially becoming surgeons.

"If you look at medical school classes, often 50% or more are women," said Dr. Wright.

That's a contrast to a decade or so ago when there were few women such as the five women that make up Memorial Regional's resident group.

"The classes that follow the first class, they are largely comprised of women, so we have a lot of women in surgery here at Memorial," adds Dr. Wright.

The members of Memorial's all-female resident class are certainly soaking up medical knowledge and skills but also how to live the life of a female surgeon.

Dr. Rachel Pruett told CBS4News, "Having the ability to see practicing female surgeons living a life as surgeons and living life as mothers and our mentors have provided a light at the end of the tunnel... my residency."

Who are those mentors? Doctors Heather Wright's team of surgical oncologists who happen to be all women.