Welcome to Our Voices, Our Future, the podcast
where we amplify the voices driving change and
equity within medicine and beyond. Brought to
you by the Gender Equity Task Force, a committee
of the American Medical Women's Association.
We're here to challenge norms, break barriers
and ignite conversations that matter. I'm Rhea
Manohar and in each episode, we'll bring you
candid discussions with leaders, change makers
and advocates working to create a more inclusive
and just world. no more silence, no more waiting.
You're listening to our voices, our future. Let's
get into it. Today, we are welcoming Dr. Beth
Siva, where so? He was an obstetrician, gynecologist,
educator, and women's health advocate whose work
sits on the intersection of clinical expertise,
public health, and community empowerment. As
the founder of Dr. Sheba's Fibroids and Fertility
Coaching, she specializes in guiding women through
the complexities of fibroid care and fertility
planning. She earned an MD from Meru Medical
College, and PhD from Harvard University, and
completed residence at Georgetown University
MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Rather than
take a traditional path in medicine, she chooses
to practice medicine as a locum tennis travel
doctor, where she's licensed to practice medicine
in several states around the country. Beyond
the clinic, Dr. Wurso is a dynamic communicator
known for her clear, compassionate teaching style
and her growing online expertise on TikTok and
Instagram, where she provides accessible reproductive
health education to a global audience through
her digital education platform. coaching programs,
and speaking engagements, Dr. Wareso has helped
thousands of women understand their diagnosis,
feel seen in their health journeys, and access
care pathways that honor both their medical needs
and lived experiences. She is deeply committed
to advancing health equity, uplifting women's
voices, and redefining what culturally competent
fibroid care looks like. So thank you so much
for being here. Of course, I'm so glad to be
joining you here. Thanks for inviting me. So
to start, can you share what first sparked your
passion for patient advocacy and women's health
education? Was there a defining moment or experience
that led you down this path? I would say that
for me, it was almost like a culmination of experiences.
After being in medical school, being in a residency,
you start to hear some stories overlap. You're
kind of hearing the same story over and over
again. And in my case, hearing women coming with...
symptoms of fibroids, but being told that their
symptoms were, air quote, normal, right? That
the pains that they were having were minimized
and that they weren't feeling like they were
being heard. And one of the things that we know
is that in medicine, of course, we do everything
to treat that one patient in front of us, but
on the larger point, there are so many more women
who experience those same things. And that's
what really got me motivated into. creating this
global platform and being able to reach even
more women who have that same story. Well, that's
awesome. Yeah, it kind of makes sense that it's
kind of a combination as you were going through
your different educational practices. So. What
we're curious about is so many women experience
fibroids or fertility challenges, yet these topics
are often overlooked or misunderstood, kind of
like what you were saying. So from your perspective,
what are the biggest gaps in patient education
or awareness when it comes to these conditions?
Yeah, you know, when we talk about fibroids,
Here in the United States, over 70 to 80 percent
of women have fibroids. So they're incredibly,
incredibly common. However, we find that nobody
is really talking about it. Oftentimes when it
comes to women's health issues in general, their
issues tend to be silenced and kind of put on
the back burner. So a big part of what I do is
one, spread awareness about what fibroids are
so that people can be able to one, identify if
they have those symptoms and now be empowered
to move forward with getting assistance, right?
Next, we talk about prioritizing these issues.
So these are things that shouldn't be waiting
until tomorrow, waiting until next year, next
month. But yes, you don't have to wait until
things get to be so bad that then you seek care
in the hospital. And also knowing that your level
of urgency should be honored because you know
how your body feels, how it feels when it's well,
how it feels when it's unwell. So being able
to not lose your voice when you are in the hospital
setting. That's awesome. Kind of like what we've
talked about, you have used social media as kind
of intersection for this global platform. Could
you talk to us a little bit about that? Absolutely.
So social media is becoming, I think, one of
the biggest, biggest ways that people are connecting
all over the world. And I think it's an amazing
tool that especially as healthcare providers,
we can leverage it to be able to meet people
where they are, right? A lot of times when people
have issues, their first stop is actually not
their doctor's office, right? It might be Google,
or it might be a friend, or it might be TikTok,
right? There are so many other places that people
go to before they come to care. So by being a
provider on this digital space, you're able to
now meet people where they are, right? And especially
from you having your expertise, you're able to
provide quality information in a way that people
can access it quickly and a way that people can
access it on an international standpoint as well.
That's awesome. You've talked a lot about access
and equity playing such a large role in women's
health outcomes. What systemic or cultural barriers
have you seen most often affecting women's care
in seeking for fibroids or fertility issues?
And then how can we address them? Oh, that's
a really good question. So there are so many
different levels. to addressing that question.
so many. But I think the biggest thing that we
think about is one, cultural norms and stigma,
right? When it comes to women's health issues,
it tends to be a bit more hush hush, right? Not
a lot of people are talking about women's health
issues. And of course, that includes fibroids
and that includes fertility. Because not only
are these issues that no one talks about, but
there is a degree of shame that comes along with
it, too. Stigma is big when you talk about infertility
and not being able to have a body, a womb that
is accomplishing the one thing that for some
people feel is their purpose and their mission
in life to use this womb to be able to procreate.
So when one finds that they're having issues,
whether it be from their womb or just from couple
infertility issues in general, it tends to be
something that a lot of people don't want to
talk about because they feel like their womanhood,
for example, is attached to this ability to procreate.
So by going online, by going in front of people
and saying, hey, you are not alone in this journey.
You're not alone. There are solutions, right?
And there are evidence -based solutions that
can help you to overcome this issue. And please,
please, please come see us. come see your doctor
in the hospital. We're here to support you. There's
so many resources available. It can be so empowering
for people who otherwise have been going through
this journey alone or going through this journey
in the dark. So I think that's a very big part
of helping people to get better access is by
letting them know they're not alone. There are
resources and there is community here to support
you in that effort. For sure. You had talked
a lot about how this kind of clinician journey
that you've taken is a culmination or summation
of your experiences throughout your educational
journey. So what would you like to see in an
education perspective or from an educational
platform related to this? that one thing that
we do really well in medical training is, of
course, learning the medical knowledge. We learn
the science. We learn the pathophysiology. We
learn the pharmacology. We learn all the technical
things to help with treating and curing disease.
But we don't spend nearly enough time talking
about all of the other things within the healthcare
ecosystem that make this actually be possible.
And that's where I think my background with public
health kind of came in to play when I was deciding,
what do I want my career in medicine to look
like? We know that even here in the United States,
as well as abroad, there are so many healthcare
deserts everywhere. right? There's so many places
where the ratio of people to doctors to nurses
is just something that is overwhelming and the
system in itself is not effective. So how do
we go about fixing this? How do we get more providers
into these areas? How do we also empower other
people who may not be doctors to be able to have
this information to help communities where doctors
may not be available for one reason or another?
And I think that was a big part about me creating
a big part with me deciding how I want my career
to look like as a locum provider. So doing locum
tenants and practicing travel medicine, I'm able
to go to many different communities where there
are not doctors or there are doctor shortages
for one reason or another, and be able to provide
quality care to women in those areas that need
assistance. And I think that that's something
that has been super empowering for me on my journey
and I look forward to doing more of in the future
as well. That's awesome. So for some of us who
may be less familiar with the locum tenants model,
can you kind of provide a little bit of explanation?
Absolutely. So, locum tenants, also known as
travel doctors, locum tenants is essentially
a type of work where you are going to be the
surrogate provider for people either when they're
out on medical leave, maternity leave, paternity
leave, or maybe there are certain hospitals or
certain health care systems that have difficulty
with recruiting providers there long term. So,
you go to the areas that need doctors the most,
the areas where there are doctor shortages. and
you provide care at those hospitals. Locum Tenants
is something that's been around for a long time.
I think a lot of times people hear it more so
associated with nursing, but here we also have
it in the setting of, you know, physicians, PAs,
nurse practitioners, really any type of healthcare
worker. could choose to practice within this
model. It's a model that I think lends to people
who are looking for things like flexibility with
their practice schedule, who are interested in
practicing in different locations. Although some
people do do locum tenants locally as well, we
call it local locums. So like especially if you're
in an area that's kind of in a hub where there's
a lot of needs. So the people may, you know,
work at different hospitals in their area but
still come home to their own beds at night, if
they kind of designed their career that way.
But I think it's something that is an excellent,
excellent tool with getting access to care in
places that need it the most. And it has, I mean,
medicine in general has a tremendous reward,
but certainly doing travel medicine is very,
very rewarding. Well, thank you for kind of sharing
and explaining some of that to some of our listeners
who may be less familiar with that model. So
you've emphasized education as a form of empowerment.
What are some of the most effective ways clinicians
and public health advocates can better educate
women about reproductive health, especially in
these communities where stigma or misinformation
still persist? Absolutely. I think that in our
healthcare settings, in our hospitals, in our
clinics, there's a lot of hurdles that come to
the distribution of medicine in general, right?
A lot of times, many physicians, especially in
primary care, are in models where we're seeing
30 patients in a day, right? 30 patients in eight
hours, not including your lunch break if you
take one. And naturally, if you have patient
visits that are 10, 15 minutes long, you have
a time challenge on your hand, right? Some of
that stuff we can work through, some of it is
the systems that we're in. But I think that that's
where being able to provide quality care in a
platform where you're able to meet people where
they're at, such as social media can be so impactful,
right? Social media is... Let me put it in perspective
of time. When you're in the hospital, you might
have 10 minutes, 15 minutes to spend with one
patient. Whereas on social media, if you made
a five -minute post, that five -minute post could
reach maybe a couple hundred to maybe a couple
thousand people. So I think that it's... excellent,
excellent tool with us being able to leverage
our expertise and get it out to our communities
and also get it in a way that they're able to
receive it. Now, I really appreciate that kind
of quantification of how social media can be
impactful and it kind of. Trace this into the
next part of our segment. You have been such
a strong advocate and voice for patient advocacy.
How can healthcare providers empower their patients
to take a more active role in understanding their
reproductive health and treatment options? Yeah,
that's a good question. I have found that in
my experience, people coming to see me in the
hospital, they're coming in because they want
to learn, right? They want to learn, they feel
something is wrong and they're looking for a
solution. And I think that one, having a level
of compassion as we're practicing medicine and
recognizing that people are already making a
lot of sacrifices to even get to the hospital
for that clinic visit. I trained in Washington,
DC, and we would have patients that sometimes
might have to take two buses over the course
of three hours to get to that one appointment
to see us for that 15 -minute visit, right? So
when we're working with people, understanding
and especially coming from a place of compassion
is so big. I think the next thing is making sure
that people are getting information in a way
that makes sense to them, right? We always talk
about things like medical jargon and being able
to speak in common English. That is very, very
important because when we're talking to people,
we want to make sure that what we have expressed
is something that they're able to retain. Being
able to give it to people in a way that they
understand is so important for that. Then I always
like to leave any appointment with. making sure
that the door is open. I want people to know
that they can still reach out to me even when
they walk out of this room and all the questions
come flooding in as they're on their way back
home. I want them to know that they can still
reach out to me again after the visit as well
to help with closing those loops of communications.
Because we do it in the clinic, we do it outside
of the clinic too. And I also, and I'm going
to probably be a bit of a, what do you say? What's
the word like? I'm looking for the expression
where it's like you keep on saying the same thing
over and over and over again. What's that expression?
Oh, gosh. Like the broken something. The broken,
the squeaky wheel gets the most squeaky. Right.
But I will probably be that way when I keep talking
about social media. But I'm like, you guys, your
voice is so powerful. I would like love, love,
love, love, love to encourage health care providers
to post online, share that information online.
It goes on. It keeps circulating. Even when you're
asleep, somebody in another country is learning
from what you said. Right. And that is something
that I think is super, super powerful. I always
also encourage people to do health coaching.
So I got interested in fibroid coaching because
I knew that when we're in the hospital, seeing
someone for 10, 15 minutes is not the same level
of impact as being able to see them in 10, 15
hours, right? So that's what. I'm doing as a
fibroid coach is I'm able to take that conversation
that's 10, 15 minutes and expand it over the
course of 10, 15 hours so that now we're able
to really, really hone in on that learning process,
right? When we were in medical school, we didn't
read the book one time and get out of there.
You had to read it once, read it twice, maybe
watch a couple of videos to really get that knowledge
to be ingrained into you. And that's the same
way that it works with fibroid coaching or health
coaching in general is when you're able to come
back around, have these follow -up visits, follow
-up conversations, small group discussions. It's
almost like small group tutorial sessions, but
people are now learning about their body. With
this knowledge, that is how they get the empowerment.
It's hard to be empowered over something you
don't understand. So really being able to get
that solid foundation and understanding helps
you to better advocate for yourself in the healthcare
setting as well. So let's actually talk about
those conversations a little bit. What conversations
do you think we need to normalize in medicine
to support women through these reproductive health
experiences that may not be just physical? They're
also emotional. Oh, yeah, absolutely. So. It
can be hard after a while as a healthcare provider
to remember this side of things, but I remember
I had an attending in my training who told me,
for you, this surgery is something that you do
every day. You're doing it multiple times a day.
But for that patient, this is the first time
that they ever had this surgery being done to
them. So making sure that you hold on to that.
as you're practicing medicine and retain that
level of compassion is so important. It's so
important because for people, it's not just removing
a fibroid, but this is their future fertility.
This is them being able to go to work when they're
on their period without having to, you know.
pack extra clothes, pop pain medicine, like,
you know, tic -tacs, right? This is them being
able to get back a sense of normalcy. And for
them, it means everything. So making sure that
when you're engaging, you don't lose track of
that as you're practicing medicine because it's
so important. Well, thank you so much for sharing
that. To end this off, what advice would you
share with both patients navigating these challenges
and healthcare professionals striving to support
them more effectively? My advice would be don't
be afraid to think outside of the box. Medicine
has been around for a long time, but we have
so many more strides to make in medicine as well.
So when you are, you know, as a provider thinking,
how do I reach out to my patients in a way that
is more effective for them? It's OK to create
something new. I didn't see fibroid coaching
anywhere before I decided to do it. I've heard
of health coaching. I heard of life coaching.
I knew about fibroid care in general from a medical
practitioner standpoint, but putting Fibroid
-focused coaching is something I never saw done.
So I went out and I created it, right? Knowledge
of a medical practitioner with the coaching experience
as a lifetime educator, and you can create something
new and it can be beautiful and it can be effective.
So go out and do it. I know I said this was our
last question, but as a student and as a trainee,
as many of our listeners are, what is your advice
for them as they are navigating in ever -changing
medical world and maybe they're interested in
these non -traditional paths? I say go for it.
Go for it. you know historically in the traditional
path everyone often time will say kind of take
take the road that's already charted in front
of you but one thing about the future is nobody
knows what the future will look like right and
you especially as the next generation of providers
you guys are the ones creating what the next
next generation of health care will look like
so If you can dream it, you can do it. And it's
OK as well to build things with other people
too. For me, I have friends in all different
fields that are outside of medicine, people in
tech, people in IT. And when you are able to
build networks of people who maybe they trained
in something different, when you guys put your
brains together to collaborate, literally the
sky is the limit. The sky is the limit. Well,
thank you so much for sharing your advice and
your journey and experiences with us today. That's
a wrap on this episode of Our Voices, Our Future.
We hope today's conversation inspired you, challenged
you, and reminded you of the power of raising
your voice. The fight for equity doesn't stop
here. Join us in the movement. So subscribe wherever
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it until next time. Stay bold, stay vocal and
keep the conversation going. This is our voices,
our future.