Birgit Werner Fellowship
dr Birgit Simone Werner is the namesake of the Birgit Werner Foundation. She was a longstanding member of SECEC-ESSSE and DVSE. She accompanied the annual congresses of these professional societies from 2009 to 2018 as a constant participant or as a speaker.
Promotion of young doctors in the field of shoulder surgery
Birgit's motivation for this funding
Birgit Werner*s idea was to use the work of a foundation to change and improve the various life situations of young women; In her opinion, this also included the situation of young female doctors in the fields of orthopedics and surgery.
A short passage from her unfinished book, in which she wrote down memories from her life, gives insights into her attitude towards her profession, her successful career and her motivation to contribute to the further training of young women in shoulder surgery:
“I fought for my professional success for a long time. It's not easy being a woman in a man's world. Orthopedics is still not a subject where a woman is taken for granted. I remember easily saying phrases that should make me realize that I didn't have the physical requirements for this job. And yet I prevailed. I've always looked for the hard way. There had to be a trick, otherwise I wasn't interested. Hence my initial interest in neurosurgery and later in shoulder surgery. A diverse area, difficult, mixed patient population. Always something new that I had to adapt to, every case is different and every operation a challenge that I was allowed to face. I've always liked working with my hands. I loved the operating room because I didn't have to talk much here if I didn't want to. I could rely on the work of my hands, a connection between mind and body, always striving to bring out the best. I am not and will not be satisfied with anything less than 100 percent. This perfectionism made me spend many a sleepless night preparing lectures and scientific articles after work and on weekends.”
Women are still in the minority in the medical profession in surgery Across all surgical specialties, their share was around 22 percent in 2020, according to statistics from the German Medical Association. After all, the trend in recent years has been upwards.
The experience reports of 3 young doctors from the specialist field of surgery have been published on the Internet and give hope for a further positive development in the proportion of women:
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The founding of the Surgeons Association is also gratifying
With this award, the foundation wants to encourage young doctors to pursue a successful path in shoulder surgery. Birgit's involvement in this field of medicine during her active time and beyond can serve as a guideline.
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