Professionalism, discipline and empowerment are what characterize these great cardiology specialists.
By: Luisa Ochoa
In recent years, the women have started to become leaders reaching places of recognition that were previously dominated by men. In the field of medicine, this transformation has not been the exception, since there are hundreds of women who are trained in highly complex specialties and are benchmarks for other colleagues.
In the area of cardiology, Dr. Norma Devarie, a clinical cardiologist, as well as Dr. Gisela Puig Carrión, a specialist in advanced heart failure and heart transplantation, and Dr. Carla Rodríguez, a specialist in congenital heart disease at the adult and in cardio-obstetrics, are women who are at the forefront of the medical field in Puerto Rico, and continue to open paths for the new generations.
In her experience, Dr. Devarie, who has been practicing cardiology for 27 years and is part of the faculty of the Cardiovascular Center of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, revealed what it was like to train in cardiology as a woman.
“I did cardiology at the San Juan Municipal Hospital, my senior was a woman and in the other programs there were perhaps 1 or 2 women“, expressed Dr. Devarie while explaining that most cardiologists are men, which led her along with other female cardiologists to found the Association of female cardiologists of PR
As women and specialists have faced multiple challenges in medicine, but their achievements have also contributed to making cardiology in Puerto Rico a cutting-edge specialty.
“My training process was interesting. I was the only woman for two years, my classmates were men and at the university they were also all men, but I never felt intimidated by them, to this day they are my classmates, my colleagues, my friends”, acknowledged Dr. Puig.
“I am also the only woman in the School of Cardiology at the University of Puerto Rico and it fills me with pride every time other women They come to me for advice. That is extremely satisfying,” she highlighted.
For her part, Dr. Rodríguez was the first Puerto Rican to specialize in congenital heart disease in adults, a memorable recognition for the advancement of cardiology on the Island.
“In all the training programs in Puerto Rico and I can say the same about the United States, where I did my training; The number of women that these specialties and subspecialties do has increased drastically, which is very good because these myths that you cannot have a balance between the role of mother, wife and work are collapsing”, explained Dr. Rodríguez.
For her, being the pioneer in this medical field in the country is a source of pride that highlights the positioning of the women in medicine and opens doors to the growth of more professionals in the health in different subspecialties.
“I think that those of us who were pioneers traced a path so that those who come later will find it much easier and now there are many more women in training programs. It fills us with pride to see how they fill fields that were abandoned. In my group there was no female cardiologists congenital, electrophysiological, heart failure, we have been filling places that were not there before”, stated Dr. Devarie.
The specialists also consider that more effort should be made in the prevention of cardiovascular conditions in the womensince it is one of the main causes of death in the women for not being detected and treated on time.
“I empower women with my example and I am always telling them: you have to work twice as hard because you have more risk than men. Here the women they exercise less, are overweight and eat poorly, this may be due to the multiple roles they play”, emphasized Dr. Devarie.
In this sense, Dr. Rodríguez indicated that in her medical practice it is common to see that the patients suffer from hypertension, a silent but life-threatening disease.
“I see younger populations and you see a lot of hypertension. even though they are patients congenital, there are hypertension problems, and the other thing is arrhythmias, because there are certain factors including stress and health emotional that destabilize the health of the women”, commented Dr. Rodríguez.
The experts invite other professionals who are training in areas of medicine or are going to start their university studies, to trust the processes and break down any type of barrier that prevents them from becoming a great leader for science and health from Puerto Rico.
“Thanks to pioneers like Dr. Devarie, who told us if possible we continue to open paths”, stressed Dr. Rodríguez.