<span itemprop="author">Nancy Yen Shipley, MD

Author's posts

How a physician finds laughter during this dark time

As I write this, we are in dark times. Over 23,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus, and there are half a million diagnosed cases – even with testing far from comprehensive. Most cities are on some sort of lockdown. Most of us have become…

Cocktails during COVID-19

During this time of social distancing, most of us are struggling to keep our social connections alive. I found that in this flurry of planning how to continue to care for my orthopaedic patients, making sure childcare is lined up, and setting up “decon…

How can women surgeons change the dominant culture and not alienate the majority?

Recently, I read this great article from Dr. Chethan Sathya, a male surgeon who commented on how women surgeons in this day and age are still treated as second class surgeons. There has been much good commentary and discussion on the topic, particularl…

To have success and fulfillment, sometimes you have to edit your life

This year, I learned that to have success and fulfillment, you don’t just do, sometimes you have to undo. What do I mean by that? The process of undoing — or editing — it a key part of different areas of our lives. For example, we edit in m…

The inspiring story of a female orthopaedic surgeon

As a female orthopaedic surgeon, I am often asked how I ended up in this field. Although seeing women in orthopaedic surgery is becoming more common, we are still makeup only 6 percent of the orthopaedic surgeons in the U.S. I actually had no idea what…

How this physician fought imposter syndrome

It took me a long time to put a name to what I was feeling. Only recently had I started to read about imposter syndrome. I’ve had this feeling multiple times throughout my life, and it always had the potential to pull me backward instead of allow…

The journey from a low GPA to an orthopaedic surgeon

I’m an orthopaedic surgeon, but if you told me I’d be here when I graduated from college, I’d be laughing at you. When I got started in college, I thought I was going to be pre-med and apply to medical school. It was not a well-thought-out decision. I …

Does running cause arthritis?

In general, physical activity is important in maintaining your health. Many people falsely believe that running can cause arthritis but research show that this isn’t necessarily true. In reality, walking, running or strenuous exercise can signifi…

An orthopedic surgeon’s guide to tennis elbow

As a sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon, I often see patients with complaints at their elbow. One of the more common diagnoses is tennis elbow, otherwise known as lateral epicondylitis. Surprisingly, most of my patients with this condition don’t even …

How to prevent ski injuries: tips from an orthopedic surgeon

Ski season is here, and it’s time to think about how we can avoid injuries on the slopes. As an orthopaedic surgeon, I most often see knee injuries, but also plenty of wrist, elbow and shoulder injuries as well. Hopefully, you’ve done some …