“Incoming orthopedic surgery resident at Yale,” writes Louise Atadja excitingly, when updating her bio on social media. An alumna of Concordia Shanghai, the recent University of Texas Southwestern Medical School graduate is preparing to start her residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital in June.
“Incoming orthopedic surgery resident at Yale,” writes Louise Atadja excitingly, when updating her bio on social media. An alumna of Concordia Shanghai, the recent University of Texas Southwestern Medical School graduate is preparing to start her residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital in June.
Louise has dreamed of pursuing a career in medicine from a young age, and it is exciting to see her hard work and dedication come to fruition. Though her path to becoming an orthopedic surgeon has not been exactly direct, it has been full of achievement and social mindedness. Before pursuing an MD at UTSW, she first studied neuroscience at Amherst College. As an undergrad, she joined the Being Human in STEM Initiative and worked to help create a curriculum to encourage scientific inquiry and confidence in young girls. “As one of few women of color in my own major,” she writes, “I became passionate about finding ways to increase diversity and specifically representation in our STEM classrooms.”
Louise is now excited to be adding to the number of women practicing orthopedic surgery (which only accounts for about 6.5% in the US, with even fewer being African American).
After hearing the news of her residency match, we reached out to Louise to learn more about her experiences in hopes of benefiting other young girls interested in pursuing careers in STEMM-related fields, such as medicine.
Your major at Amherst College was Neuroscience. What made you change your research specialty to Orthopedic Surgery?
I actually wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon from a younger age. I grew up loving bones and actually taking anatomy in Concordia senior year made it come even more alive. I absolutely loved neuroscience and even briefly considered a career in pediatric neurology but in the end, surgery was more my calling! Everything came full circle when I was faced with my own health challenges. I struggled with hip dysplasia – an abnormality of the hip joint preventing the thigh bone from properly connecting to the pelvis – and underwent multiple surgeries in my early adult years. The anatomy of my hip was so complex that my doctors printed a 3D model of it to explain the process to me. Here, I got to see the biomechanical complexity of the surgery and I knew orthopedics was for me.
What challenges have you faced in your medical career and how did you overcome them?
As a former college athlete, my hip dysplasia diagnosis caused a major shift in my active lifestyle. I underwent surgery on both hips – the second just a few weeks prior to starting medical school. That first semester was incredibly challenging. Without family in Dallas, my recovery was made even more difficult. The experience helped me realize that you do not need to be a “superhero.” Ask for help when you need it, and take advantage of your resources and community.
What advice would you give to young girls interested in pursuing STEMM-related careers?
The key to success is being both confident and humble! Look for those around you who will support you in your future goals—on the hard days, they will be the ones that get you through.
During your time at Concordia, were there any classes (or activities) you took that helped to fuel your interests in STEMM areas?
Anatomy with Dr. Gordon was an important milestone for me!
What do you miss most about your time at Concordia and the school community? What experience at Concordia has influenced your future career/life goals?
Concordia has an amazing community. The friends I made there are still some of my closest today. The Concordia drive and spirit have helped me in so many areas of my life, especially in medicine. Being captain of the track and cross-country team helped me develop important leadership skills that I'm still using today. Medicine is a long journey, and I don't think I would be able to do it without the support of my friends and family both at Concordia and all over the world.
Congratulations to Louise on her accomplishment! Exciting times up ahead for her at the Yale-New Haven Hospital, and we wish her a very successful career!
