Denver Health Women Blaze A Trail

In 1849 Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to graduate with a medical degree. Florence Nightingale started the world’s first secular nursing school in 1860. And in 1881, Clara Barton, the famous Civil War nurse, founded the American Red Cross.

We’ve come a long way since then. As we round out Women’s History Month, we're proud to say that 72 percent of Denver Health’s employees are women. Women dominate in nearly all of our advanced practice provider areas too, including: nursing, certified nursing assistants, medical assistants and even our physicians.

In the traditionally male dominated field of surgery, we also do well. Nearly 40 percent of the surgeons here are women. So we thought it would be a fun idea to sit down with some of them to hear how they got into the field. 

“I’ve always enjoyed working with my hands and fixing things, which is why I enjoy spine trauma. It allows me to put spines back together and help people get back to their lives. Three of my best friends from high school and college are women that are now surgeons as well. We all supported each other through school and residency and to this day.” – Dr. Jennifer Kang, Neurosurgery.

“Being a reconstructive and plastic surgeon has been fulfilling for me, and my daughter proudly tells friends at school that her mommy gets to help people get better.” – Dr. Corrine Wong, Plastic Surgery. 

“I was drawn to the field of surgery as it gives me the ability to see a problem and definitively fix it. I enjoyed the satisfaction that comes from a long day of hard work that helped people in a very tangible, immediate way. Since entering the surgical field, my mentors have primarily been male surgeons who happen to really understand me as person and can sometimes see my potential better than I can. If I had to do it all over again, I would still choose to be a surgeon. I love what I do and am amazingly privileged that patients trust me to be their surgeon.”  – Dr. Kshama Jaiswal, Surgical Oncology, Breast Surgery. 

Denver Health is immensely proud to have so many female leaders. We hope you’ll join us in honoring their many successes during this Women’s History Month!