Sciaska

MS3 @UCSFMedicine • former Research Assistant @BrighamWomens @HarvardMed • @Penn 2021 • 1913 | Γ • she/hers | interests = ortho, PROMS, and health disparities

[Kevin Pho, M.D. @kevinmd]

85 to 90 percent of women physicians are eldest daughters.

That is not a coincidence. That is a pipeline.

Eldest daughters are trained, before age five, to over-function. They take on a parent's worry. They organize the family. They clean up without being asked. They do not ask for help, because they were rewarded their whole childhood for not needing any.

Then they walk into medicine.

A career that demands hyper-responsibility, hypervigilance, perfectionism, and silent sacrifice does not have to ask these women to give those things. They were giving them before they could read.

The system is not stumbling into a burnout problem. The system is recruiting from a pool of people whose entire childhood was a training program for it.

This is what pediatrician and certified coach Jessie Mahoney has been finding when she asks the room. In every group, in every retreat. Maybe one or two women are not eldest daughters. The rest have been carrying something since before they could spell their own name.

Most of those women blame themselves. "Why don't I have boundaries?" "Why do I over-function?" "Why can't I delegate?"

Because at five years old, your family rewarded you for over-functioning. Because every teacher praised you for it. Because the medical training system selected for it. Because every job since has reinforced it. The pattern is older than your medical degree by twenty years.

The other piece nobody names: by the time these women are in their fifties, they are carrying eldest-daughter responsibility for aging parents AND running a department as chief AND running a household. The role does not retire when the children do. It just compounds.

Jessie's reframe is the part worth bookmarking.

The "hero" framing is the trap. Eldest daughters were made the savior of the family before they could read. Then medicine made them the savior of the patient. Then the department made them the savior of the team. At every stage, they learned that if they did not do it, terrible things would happen and it would be their fault.

Awareness is the first move. Non-judgment is the second. Excellence is not doing everything yourself. Excellence is letting other people do their jobs.

You are allowed to gift some of it back. You can ask your siblings to carry the aging parent. You can let your medical assistant do the medical assistant's job. You can stop covering the gap that nobody actually asked you to cover.

Most eldest daughters in medicine have never asked for help. When they finally do, they discover people are willing to help. The asking was the whole obstacle.

Listen to the full conversation on The Podcast by KevinMD. Link in the replies.

What is the one task you have been carrying for your family or your team that no one ever actually asked you to carry?

#ThePodcastbyKevinMD

[Sciaska @sciaska]

So glad I could be a part of this!

[NEJM @NEJM]

A new Double Take video explores how a comprehensive patient-centered approach can provide high-value care for older patients. Watch “The Whole Patient — Toward Holistic, High-Value Care” on YouTube: https://t.co/y5hsXEp3Lh

[brandii @nalaa_11]

Super proud to share that I Matched last week into Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation residency at @MontefiorePMR 💙👩🏾‍⚕️✨🦾 #match2026 #aucmatchmadness #pmnr #blackmedtwitter #blackwomeninmedicine

[Aliyah @Aliyahnmed]

Beyond excited to share I matched at UCLA for orthopaedic surgery!!
I’m so grateful to my mentors for helping me navigate this path and to my family for being my inspiration. #match2026

[Alexis Price-Moyer, MS @lexipricemoyer]

Giving my heartfelt gratitude to everyone for the outpouring of love and support during SOAP. I’m honored to announce I have accepted a preliminary position as a general surgery resident at @TempleSurgery! Thank you for giving me a chance to prove myself. I won’t let you down! ♥️

[Kenechukwu Charles-Obi, MD @kenemedtweets]

Lord, I thank you. I matched into Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery!! Phil 4:12-13

#match2026 #nrmp #otolaryngology

[Destiny Green MD, MS² @__DestinyGreen]

I can’t stop crying!! God has never failed me 🙌🏾

I’m going to be a NEUROSURGEON!! 🤍🙏🏾

#Match2026

[Nth Dimensions @nth_dim]

Match 2025 was one for the books! Proud to celebrate our incredible students and scholars who matched across the country into competitive specialties and top programs. Your dedication, resilience, and hard work have paid off — the future of medicine is in great hands!

#Match2025

[Sciaska @sciaska]

Fortunate to be back in one of my favorite cities this past weekend (Boston) to present some of the research I’ve been working on! @harvardmed @HarvardCatalyst #MedTwitter s/o to new friends and old!

[Sciaska @sciaska]

Last week I presented my research on distal radius fractures using my favorite childhood board game, Monopoly!

Thank you to the UCSF Core Center for Musculoskeletal Biology & Medicine and the UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery for the Outstanding Slam Talk award! #ortho

[UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery @UCSFOrthosurg]

We are thrilled to welcome our eight outstanding new orthopedic surgery residents to the UCSF family! 🎉 Their diverse backgrounds, exceptional skills, and commitment to excellence will strengthen our program and impact our community.
🔗 Learn more: https://t.co/lRMBsCdCku

[Sciaska @sciaska]

@simplyant_ congrats!!!

[Antoinette J. Charles, MD MPH @simplyant_]

I matched into Orthopaedic Surgery at the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program. Grateful for the unwavering support from family and friends, and for the mentorship that helped make this possible. God is so faithful! 🇭🇹#Match2025 #OrthoTwitter @harvardortho

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

Second time’s the charm. Congrats to the @Eagles, Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, Nick Sirianni and an outstanding defense for winning one for Philly. You earned it!

[Sciaska @sciaska]

what I would give to be in Philly tonight! 🦅#NFLSuperbowl2025

[Sciaska @sciaska]

Attending a talk on the “Modernization of student mentorship in Orthopaedic Sugery” and meeting the co-founder of Orthomentor, Dr. Amiethab Aiyer at orthopaedics grand rounds! #orthotwitter

[Sciaska @sciaska]

Can’t believe it’s already November but wanted to share some of my October highlights:

1) teaching local underrepresented premed and college students lower limb anatomy and the unhappy triad through the annual UCSF SNMA Medical Student For A Day Conference

[Sciaska @sciaska]

Meeting Dr. Jane Fualal Odubu, the first female president of COSESCA, which covers 14 countries and is the primary surgical society for East, Central and Southern Africa (minus South Africa)