Women in Medicine: An Interview with Chief Accreditation Officer Mary E. Klingensmith, MD, FACS
Mary E. Klingensmith, MD, FACS has dedicated her career to advancing surgical education, physician training, and excellence in graduate medical education (GME). Originally from Beckley, West Virginia, Dr. Klingensmith earned her medical degree from Duke University and completed her general surgery residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital before building a distinguished academic career at Washington University in St. Louis. There, she served as the Mary Culver Distinguished Professor, Vice Chair for Education in Surgery, and program director of the general surgery residency program, helping to shape the development of countless surgical residents and fellows. The institution annually hosts the Mary E. Klingensmith, MD Lectureship in Surgical Education.
Now the ACGME’s Chief Accreditation Officer, Dr. Klingensmith brings those experiences to her work advancing competency-based medical education, accreditation, and learning environments that support excellence and well-being.
In recognition of Women in Medicine Month, we spoke with Dr. Klingensmith about her unexpected path to surgery, the lessons she has carried from a career in education and leadership, and what makes her optimistic about the future of GME and women in medicine.
ACGME: What first drew you to medicine and ultimately to surgery? How did your experience as one of relatively few women in your chosen field shape how you approached your career?
Dr. Klingensmith: I was naturally drawn to STEM through high school and intended to become a biomedical engineer when I started college. Over time, I came to realize that I loved working more directly with people and having the capacity to impact them in an immediate and tangible way. Medicine seemed like a great fit, and it has been in that regard. Once I got into medicine, I was certain I would pick anything BUT surgery for a specialty; as a result, I sequenced it first in my clinical rotations to get it out of the way, but (no surprise in hindsight) loved it, with the chance to work with my hands, head, and heart to make a difference for individual people. Fast forward to my later career in surgery and medicine, and I would say that having been one of few women in my surgical residency made me empathetic to others who are not in a majority. It helped me to appreciate the importance of seeing all individuals for who they are and treating everyone with the same respect and kindness that I would like to receive.
ACGME: You went on to spend 12 years as a program director. How did that experience shape you as an educator and leader?
Klingensmith: I remember the day that I started being a program director was probably one of the happiest days in my life. I was really excited to be given that responsibility. When I stopped being program director 12 years later, I was a bit relieved, but also kind of wistful because I knew that it had probably been one of the best positions I would have occupied in my professional working life. And I think the reason for that is I had the responsibility for a lot of relatively young learners, and I was able to help them, especially in times of distress and crisis.
Looking back on that phase of my professional career, I will say it was one of the most satisfying. And to the program directors who continue to put in the hours that are required to be an excellent program director, hats off. It is a very challenging job, but one that is incredibly rewarding.
ACGME: Looking ahead, what excites you most about the future of GME?
Klingensmith: There is a lot to look forward to in the future of graduate medical education. We have a generation of residents and fellows that are eager to learn and be engaged in providing excellent care for their patients, both in the context of their programs, and later in independent practice.
This is a very giving generation, and I think the fact that we have so many eager learners is exciting… [and] medical advances make possible the care for patients that has been impossible in the past. We know so much more that science has brought to bear - everything from understanding management of complex cancers to the ways in which technology can provide interventions for patients. There are lots of really exciting things happening in medicine at large right now.
ACGME: Your career in surgical education was recently recognized through Washington University in Saint Louis’ annual Mary E. Klingensmith, MD Lectureship in Surgical Education. What does that recognition mean to you, and as you reflect on your own career, and these future considerations, what excites you most about where surgical education is headed?
Klingensmith: [This annual event] gives the institution a moment to pause for a lecture that specifically focuses on surgical education in the context of a big, busy, clinical academic department that mostly has conferences on clinical care or research advances.
I was really pleased and honored that the academic home I had for 21 years before I came to my position at the ACGME honored me as I was departing by establishing a lectureship in my name in surgical education at Washington University in Saint Louis. They also chose to place a large plaque outside of an education conference room and renamed the room itself in my honor, which was also surreal.
In terms of the future of the field, I think the biggest thing that is coming down the pike and is here in surgical education is competency-based medical education and the use of entrustable professional activities, or EPAs, to define the progress of an individual surgical resident on their journey to becoming an independent practitioner. The data that's coming out of this work is really exciting, and I'm kind of envious of the residents who are getting to train in that environment and have very specific feedback that guides them on their way to becoming an independent practitioner.
ACGME: As we reflect on Women in Medicine Month, what makes you optimistic about the future for women in medicine?
Klingensmith: It's really exciting that for some time now in many of our medical schools, more than half of the enrollees have been women. Many of our [GME] programs are now a majority women.
Compared to when I was a medical student and a surgical resident, the tide has turned, somewhat. I was in the minority for a long time, both in my gender in medicine in general, but specifically in my chosen field of surgery. That meant that there were times earlier in my career when I was the only person who looked like me in an operating room, in a classroom, or in a clinic. I love for the women who are now in those learning environments that there are communities of other women that can be relied upon to help make the experience easier.
I also think that for women generally in the workforce, it's a much more friendly environment than it was 50 years ago, as it should be.
From being one of relatively few women in her surgical training to seeing communities of women grow across medicine today, Dr. Klingensmith has witnessed significant change during her career. During Women in Medicine Month, the ACGME celebrates the women physicians, educators, and leaders who continue to shape GME and help create learning environments in which the next generation can thrive.