Ep 06: How High-Achieving Moms Balance Career and Family with Leah Backhus MD

The pandemic has altered the lives of high-achieving career moms. Now more than ever, they are continuing to juggle their careers, while spending more time with their families, doing household chores, providing care and guidance, and helping out with their children’s online education.   In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Leah Backhus, MD, Chief of Thoracic Surgery at VA Palo Alto  and has been in practice for 19 years.. She’s also a mom and an academic surgeon at Stanford University. On the 6% podcast, we talk to women from different career paths but I have to say that I have a great deal of respect and a soft spot for my fellow surgeons. Leah and I discuss her experience being one of the few black female surgeons, her childhood, and why she pivoted from wanting to become a neurosurgeon to cardiothoracic surgery. We talk about the value of women supporting women in the workplace, being true to your passions, your path, and forging your way to success on your terms. We also tackle how the pandemic made her realize that she needs to be with her kids more, why coaching trainees and providing emotional support can change their lives, and how a spouse's contribution is important as well. Episode highlights: How to balance your career and home life The unique strengths of female leadership Why having a female mentor in the workplace is incredibly important Leah’s priceless advice for women who want to work in the field of medicine Why you need to figure out your passion before pursuing a career How you can deal with imposter syndrome Why you have to develop resilience and your own meaning of success The value of peer-to-peer counseling to get you through tough times How to empower yourself through optimism and self-care The significance of positive feedback given by people in positions of power The necessity of having a supportive spouse or partner How women expect more from themselves and become even more stressed out Get in Touch with Leah: Twitter @leahbackhusmd Doximity doximity.com/pub/leah-backhus-md Stanford stanfordhealthcare.org/doctors/b/leah-backhus.html# --- Did you enjoy today’s episode? Please click here to leave a review for The 6%, with NancyMD. Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast app to get notified when a new episode comes out!  Do you know someone who might enjoy this episode? Share this episode to inspire and empower! Let's get social! Instagram @_nancymd Facebook @nancymdpdx Twitter @_nancymd LinkedIn @nancyyenshipleymd Website www.nancymd.com Subscribe to The 6%, with NancyMD ++ Apple Podcasts ++ Spotify ++ Google Podcasts

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The 6% with NancyMD is dedicated to women thriving in traditionally male-dominated fields. As a female orthopaedic surgeon, I belong to the 6% that are women in this field - and thus the inspiration for the title. The birth of The 6% came about when I was at an airport and saw a female commercial airline captain. Though I didn't know her, I wanted to talk to her and ask her all about her life and path - and I wanted to hug her, knowing she likely experienced many of the same challenges that I had. I realized that across disciplines and careers, we have parallel experiences and struggles in following our passions. I hope that by sharing these stories, we will inspire the next generation of women surgeons, scientists, firefighters, engineers, CEOs. In The 6%, I talk to women about how they arrived at their careers, and the facets of their lives that brought them there. We talk about imposter syndrome, microagressions, barriers to entry, pay gap, mentoring, obstacles and failures - more importantly, how we get up from those failures. If you love stories grit, perseverence, resiliency, then The 6% is for you!