“I highly recommend going to Vegas for medical school.” - Dr. McLean
Not too long ago, I got to interview Dr. Kimberly McLean, an orthopedic surgeon at Oaklawn Hospital in Marshall, Michigan. A word I would use to describe Dr. McLean is tough. Dr. McLean pursues her life and her career with a resilient exterior, which factors heavily into her career success. Orthopedic surgery requires a strong backbone (ha, bone jokes!), which Dr. McLean has. It’s wonderful to see an assertive, kind person in such a competitive field.
Dr. McLean began her medical journey at Western Michigan University (WMU) for her undergraduate degree. She spent her first two years at WMU as Math and Secondary Education majors, however, she ended up transferring her junior year to a Sports Medicine major. Dr. McLean explained that she has always had a deep love for sports medicine and orthopedics, which was why she made the change. She graduated from WMU with her degree in Sports Medicine, though she found there weren’t a lot of career opportunities, which caused her to direct her life in a different direction. Fueled by her love of education and knowledge, Dr. McLean went back to college to complete prerequisites to pursue a master’s degree in Physical Therapy.
Going back to school was a pivotal point in Dr. McLean’s academic career. In deciding what to do, Dr. McLean realized the prerequisites for PT school, PA school, and medical school were all the same. The more she looked into it, the more she realized that the things she loved--sports medicine, physical therapy, and orthopedics--overlapped in a variety of careers. Realizing this caused a lot of doors to open.
At the time, Dr. McLean’s brother and father were moving to Nevada, so she started researching different preprofessional programs in Nevada. Upon finding a medical school in Nevada, Dr. McLean decided she was going to try and become a physician. “I was so adamant about the sports medicine path… and then I was like, ‘Ah, maybe I should just go to med school.’” Dr. McLean was accepted into Touro University Nevada in Henderson, Nevada. So she packed her things and moved to Nevada to pursue medicine. “It was never really ‘I want to be a doctor’; more so I knew I wanted to pursue education and knew I liked that particular track.”
For Dr. McLean, the hardest part of medical school and the medical journey was the schooling and academics. “My whole life school came very easily, very naturally. I was just very gifted intellectually. And throughout the medical field, it was a slap in the face...I really had to focus and study more than I ever had in my entire life.” Through hard work and dedication, Dr. McLean pushed through the struggles of academics and made it through medical school. Dr. McLean explained that medical school provided her skills that she later utilized in residency, such as time management.
Dr. McLean did her residency at Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital, which was later taken over by McLaren in Oakland, Michigan. Dr. McLean described residency as a very demanding time, filled with a lot of learning curves. “In residency, I think the biggest challenges were time management and stress management. So, you know, medical school really preps you to take on time management and really… makes you focus on your career and school. And then in residency all of a sudden, you’ve got the time management skills, but the stress level really starts to pile up. All of a sudden, you’re in charge.” Dr. McLean commented on how residency placed the world on her shoulders, and how it was stressful being in-charge all of a sudden. “If I make the wrong decision or, you know, I do something wrong, it’s going to result in a bad patient outcome or my attending’s going to be upset with me.” Residency is often described as one of the most difficult times in a physician’s career, but Dr. McLean’s go-getter attitude and tough backbone pushed her through to become the amazing orthopedic surgeon she is today.
Who are some role models Dr. McLean had throughout the process?
Dr. McLean described her mentors as extremely encouraging. She admired their passion for the job and their ability to have normal, happy lives outside of medicine.
Dr. McLean also commented on the main attending she had in her residency, who unfortunately passed away when she was a senior resident. “His passion to help people was absolutely stunning and phenomenal… He was extremely willing and adamant to help the patient with zero bias.”
As for advice, here is some Dr. McLean would like to give to pre-med students:
“I would say… remember why you went into medicine or why you’re here. It’s very stressful, we have the weight of the world on our shoulders, but it’s such a rewarding position.”
“Remember that you’re here to help people but you cannot fix or heal everyone, and that comes with a lot of weight itself.”
“And also remember that although that’s your primary job and your focus, you also really need to focus on yourself.”
An interesting experience Dr. McLean had in her medical journey was when she did a fellowship in Pittsburgh called the Orthopedic Sports Medicine Fellowship at Allegheny General Hospital, which is affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates. She was the first woman to ever get this position and explained that this was a fascinating and positive experience. For students who are interesting in traveling and obtaining unique, intriguing experiences, this is a great example of different ways to do so!
Orthopedic surgery often seems like a daunting field for young women. It is predominantly men and is one of the most competitive fields to match into. However, Dr. McLean is a fabulous role model for young women and men looking into orthopedics. Her story goes to show that anything can be done through patience, hardwork, a strong backbone, and a love for education.
Happy Sunday, everyone!
Best,
E.F.