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Published on: 8/1/2006
Last Visited: 4/1/2009
This September, Kay Kirkpatrick will mark her 20th year of practice as a hand surgeon.
As the first woman to undertake an orthopaedic residency at the University of Louisville, and one of only 250 female orthopedists in the country, Dr. Kirkpatrick has a unique view of this challenging field.
An undergraduate of the University of Kentucky and graduate of the University of Louisville School of Medicine, Dr. Kirkpatrick interned in general surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
She returned to the University of Louisville for her residency, where she also served as the Christine Kleinert Fellow in Hand Surgery.
Currently co-president of Resurgens Orthopaedics, Dr. Kirkpatrick spends approximately 65 percent of her time in practice, and the rest of her time running the Resurgens group.
"It's a fairly large job," said Dr. Kirkpatrick of Resurgens Orthopaedics, which is made up of 80-plus doctors working in 20 different locations.
As one of approximately 15 orthopedists who specialize in hand surgery in Atlanta, Dr. Kirkpatrick performs a lot of elective surgeries, including operations for carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, ganglion cysts, and congenital problems.
She also treats a number of fractures and hand injuries caused by accidents.
"Orthopaedics is a very fun specialty," she says of her interest in the field.
...
Since entering the field almost 20 years ago, Dr. Kirkpatrick has seen a lot of changes take place.
"Some of the doctors I work with talk about the 'good old days,'" said Dr. Kirkpatrick, who adds that she is barely able to remember a time when there was less scrutiny, less onerous rules and regulations, and less paperwork involved in the practice.
"While I certainly think that practices have changed in as far as the patients we see and improved technology, I think that the practice of medicine as a whole has changed in even bigger ways."
Dr. Kirkpatrick gives the example of a patient undergoing total joint replacement.
"Years ago, that person would have been in the hospital for a couple of weeks," she said.
"Now, most are done with a short hospital stay.
Many surgeries are also done arthroscopically, through much smaller incisions.
This has greatly changed the nature of the practice."
Dr. Kirkpatrick says that there are also better materials available for fixing orthopaedic injuries, including better implants and allografts, or spare body parts provided by cadavers.
"The imaging services we use have also improved," she added.
"Though we've always used X-ray, over the last 10 years, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) has become much more advanced and more widely available."
One concern of Dr. Kirkpatrick's is that research funds, which have been used for such successes as finding new options for the treatment of arthritis, are becoming more limited as a result of regulatory issues.
"We got where we are today through research," she explained.
"Twenty years ago, a torn knee ligament would have required a large incision and extensive time in rehab.
When I had my knee ligament replaced seven weeks ago, it took a tiny incision, and I only missed one day of work."
Dr. Kirkpatrick added that despite less funding for research, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Society for Surgery of the Hand have continued to make a commitment to see that research in these areas is ongoing.
One other change that Dr. Kirkpatrick has seen during her tenure is a change in the types of patients treated.
"More and more, I'm seeing an increased number of non-English speaking patients," said Dr. Kirkpatrick.
"If I were to do anything different in my career, I would have learned another language while in school.
Dr. Kirkpatrick says that many practices are also looking for bilingual physicians to hire.
As for the need for more women in the field, Dr. Kirkpatrick encourages female medical students to pursue orthopaedic specialties.
"Though I've heard that women have to be better to be considered 'good enough' in this typically male-dominated field, I never had a problem," she said.
"I was always treated fairly.
It's a great field for women, and after 20 years, I still love it."
For more information or to reach Dr. Kirkpatrick, call (404) 847-9999 or visit www.resurgens.com.
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