Dr. Jeannette Lager

RM: What is one thing you know now that you wish you had known during your training?

JL: Residency can be really hard sometimes. You will get feedback and sometimes that feedback can feel very personal. I think when it becomes personal, it makes training harder, as a student or as a resident, anytime you're in that learning process. The more one can recognize it as objective feedback of your behaviors, rather than anything that is personal about your identity as becoming a doctor or future physician will help immensely. You'll receive the feedback better, people will be more apt to give feedback, and it won't bring you down as much. It was really hard on me at times to receive feedback and feel like, “I could have done this better. I'm terrible.” But the reality is you are doing great and will keep on learning different techniques, and that's what makes you better and better.

RM: I think that's very good advice! What impact would you say mentorship has had on your surgical career?

JL: It has had a tremendous impact. Mentorship is great for so many reasons--to have people that you connect with and discuss complicated cases. It's nice to develop a relationship with colleagues where you can talk to them about something step by step. My first mentor at UCSF was Robert Domush, a valued faculty and surgeon, and I still see some of his longstanding patients. Another aspect of my career is medical education, and Patty Robertson, who is an obstetrician, was the clerkship director and the director of medical student education before me. She provided me with opportunities to advance my skills in leadership to educate students. Those opportunities really helped from the standpoint of surgical teaching techniques and connecting with colleagues, because we will sometimes do combined surgeries for complex procedures with our general surgery, colorectal or gynecologic oncology colleagues.

RM: That's amazing. All right, the next question is if not surgery, then what? Or if not a doctor, then what?

JL: There is this old TV show, In Living Color, and they had these dancers called the Fly Girls-- that would be my true joy. Actually, way back when, JLo was one of the Fly Girls. They would do dance performances in between each break of the comedy skits.

RM: Oh wow, that's very cool! What are you most proud of, personally and or professionally?

JL: So professionally, one of the things I'm most proud of is seeing our medical students that choose to go into OBGYN and minimally invasive gynecologic surgery and seeing them progress in their careers. I really enjoy mentoring and helping to counsel learners as they're going through this process. I have so much pride in seeing what former students are doing today. There are so many examples, but I've had colleagues like Jessica Kim and Jiajia Zhang who were here as medical students and residents, left for fellowship, and then came back as faculty as minimally invasive gynecologic surgeons. It’s just incredible to have them as colleagues.

RM: I feel like that's really taking the whole “U Can Stay Forever” slogan to heart!

JL: Yeah. Then personally, I would say it's raising a family with my partner and having two great kids and being able to spend time with them. Both of my kids play soccer, so I am a proud soccer mom in my free time.

RM: That is so important. I was curious to know, why did you decide to pursue minimally invasive gynecologic surgery?

JL: I became interested in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery because I've always loved surgical procedures and the ability to identify a diagnosis, offer treatment options, and see patients improve their quality of life. That's what really inspires me to do the work-- to be able to treat patients and focus on a patient-centered approach to provide minimally invasive surgical options. It enables patients to recover quickly and return to their normal activities. The complexity and advancing surgical techniques is a part of surgical practice that I absolutely love. But my favorite part is when I get an email from a patient with updates. I have a patient who will intermittently send me photos of herself at picturesque places in the city saying that she's happy, living her best life, and feels better after having had surgery. Or I'll receive pictures from patients where surgery was part of their reproductive journey, and they share the wonderful news of a new baby! Those moments really resonate for me and give a lot of meaning to what I do.

RM: That's amazing. I feel like MIGS is all so very up and coming, right?

JL: Yes! There are numerous advances in minimally invasive procedures such as hysteroscopy, laparoscopy, and robotics. It is great to be on the forefront of novel techniques and identify opportunities to provide advanced care for all patients.

RM: Oh, absolutely. And like what you were saying before, it definitely makes sense that more minimally invasive approaches help people get back to their everyday lives.

JL: Yeah, too many patients have delays in diagnosis in gynecologic care as we discussed in our Life Stages lecture. My hope is that I can help to educate learners about gynecologic conditions such as endometriosis, fibroids, and abnormal uterine bleeding, and provide patients with a clear diagnosis of what condition they are suffering from. If we can then provide patients with a minimally invasive approach that brings them back to their activities quicker with a clear understanding of their condition-- I think that those things are such high value. It makes our jobs satisfying.

RM: It sounds like a really rewarding type of surgery to be in. This sort of ties into my next question. What inspires you to do what you do?

JL: Seeing patients get better. I enjoy the intellectual stimulation of thinking about complex medical problems. I love the hands-on part of doing surgical procedures, and I love the clear-cut part of an outcome with surgery. There's a plan in place, although it may vary based on operative findings. But there is a plan in place, and then we have a planned outcome. I really enjoy that.

RM: That's wonderful. Next question: What are your hobbies outside of the hospital?

JL: I love to bike and find any way that I can get outside, so road biking, mountain biking, hiking, and going out with my family and our dogs. If I can be outdoors, I'll be happy to get out there for any activity.

RM: Being outdoors is definitely one of my happy places, as well. My last question is, what is the best piece of advice you have received?

JL: People always say, don't say yes to everything. Know your boundaries. But I think that it's also important to say yes to the things that you find interesting and want to do, because, generally speaking, those are worth the sacrifice. It opens doors to things that you might not ever otherwise do. When opportunities come up that may not have time, percentage, pay, or anything that's associated with it, if it is something that really lights a fire inside, I think that's something that is worth taking on. I've gotten that advice from my mentors as well. Often times, that is what opens doors. When people see that you're passionate about something or interested in it, they connect you with someone else who might be interested in that, and it grows from there. You may eventually start to take on different roles or discover a leadership opportunity.

RM: I think that's really good advice, figuring out what you can handle but also challenging yourself. That was the last question. Thank you so much for your time.