大象影院

When Dr. Stephanie Ibekwe鈥檚 mother, Sarah, came home from her nursing job, she would tell her daughter stories about her patients and the conversations she had with them.

鈥淣ursing is pretty stressful, but my mom had an amazing way of handling things,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y mom really loved to build relationships with her patients, and I鈥檝e taken that on as a physician.鈥�

Now, as an anesthesiologist and assistant professor at the Baylor College of Medicine at Ben Taub Hospital in Houston, Ibekwe has short but meaningful conversations with patients before they go into surgery. She is talking with other doctors as an ambassador for the Harvard Medical School women鈥檚 leadership course, , which encourages women to recruit and retain women into careers in the medical field and support their re-entry if they have left the profession.

鈥淚t has come full circle,鈥� Ibekwe said, noting how she inherited her mother鈥檚 conversational style with patients.

Ibekwe obtained her bachelor鈥檚 degree in biology at Baylor University before she came to The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth to pursue her master鈥檚 in biomedical sciences. She wanted to learn more about medical school before she entered it 鈥� and 大象影院鈥檚 program offered classes in public health, physics and anatomy that was a perfect fit for her. She noted she was daunted by taking a statistics course, but the professor鈥檚 patience and kindness made it easier for her, just as 大象影院 helped her get ready for medical school.

鈥淭hey helped prepare me for the next step I felt I wasn鈥檛 quite ready for,鈥� she said.

She earned her Master鈥檚 of Public Health degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and her medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio 鈥� to the pride of her parents, who immigrated from Nigeria in the 1970s.

鈥淲hen I received my white coat, my dad gave me a hug and said, 鈥榃e did it,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淚 feel proud and honored I was able to have that moment with my parents.鈥�

After working as a surgical intern at WellStar Atlanta Medical Center, she completed her anesthesiology residency at Emory University in Atlanta and later completed an adult cardiothoracic fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Anesthesiology allows her to work with physiology in real-time.

鈥淚 get to be with patients in the most difficult time of their lives,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 tell them, 鈥業鈥檓 going to be there taking care of your body, and I will make sure you鈥檙e safe.鈥� A lot of people don鈥檛 remember their anesthesiologist. I鈥檓 OK with that. I get my joy out of those short, intense relationships with my patients.鈥�

With the Invest in Her campaign, sponsored by the American Medical Women鈥檚 Association and the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine, she works with fellow female medical professionals and gives them the tools they need to succeed in their careers.

鈥淲e鈥檙e there to build each other up,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e support each other and we鈥檙e there for each other.鈥�

And just as with her mother鈥檚 patients and with her own patients, a conversation can make a difference. She remembers when she was pregnant in 2016 while she was in her residency at Emory University. Her supervising physician, Dr. Bola Faloye, gave her advice she never forgot.

鈥淚 just remember her saying that it was not going to be easy, but she would be there to support me,鈥� she said.

They still text each other today. So, what would Ibekwe tell aspiring doctors? First, set a small goal each day.

鈥淚 would say persevere,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t may seem daunting. It probably seems like a huge task, but keep taking small steps toward your goal, and you will get there.鈥�