By Cherranda Smith
May 11, 2021
A Texas woman made history after becoming only the ninth Black female pediatric surgeon in the United States, according to the American Pediatric Surgical Association.
Dr.
Good Morning America last month that she was eight years into her medical education before she saw another Black female surgeon. Now, she’s among the few Black women surgeons in the country.
“I honestly had never thought about it before because there are so few of us, that’s always been my reality,” Dr. Bowen-Jallow told the outlet. “You’re just used to that.”
A native of Texas, Bowen-Jallow attended college, medical school, and completed her residency in her home state. Becoming a surgeon for Bowen-Jallow had been a dream since the second grade, making her the first doctor in her family, though the journey hasn’t always been easy.
Texan Becomes 9th Black Female Pediatric Surgeon in the U.S.
(Image: Facebook-Kanika Bowen-Jallow)
Dr. Kanika Bowen-Jallow, a board-certified pediatric surgeon at Cook Children’s Pediatric Surgery Center in Prosper, TX, is now the ninth Black female pediatric surgeon in the United States, according to the American Pediatric Surgical Association.
Data from the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) show the growth of Black or African American applicants, matriculants, and graduates lagged behind other groups as recent as 2019. Thus, Bowen-Jallow’s accomplishment represents a lack of diversity in the medical field.
(Image: Facebook-Kanika Bowen-Jallow)
The native Texan told
Good Morning America that medical school was the first time she had encountered Black physicians in any field. As a result of low number of Black doctors in the U.S., many of her young patients are not accustomed to encountering female doctors like Bowen-Jallow.
That statistic could still be, if not for one woman s determination, perseverance and faith.
Andrea Hayes journey started when she was just a baby. My mother tells me when I was just 2 or 3 years old that I said I wanted to be a baby doctor, Hayes said smiling. I think God puts it in you and that s what I was supposed to do.
There were many times, however, Hayes wondered if that dream would ever come true.
From Dartmouth College Medical School, Hayes did her residency at the University of California Davis, while at the same time doing a two-year fellowship in molecular biology at the University of California San Francisco.