Entry Thirteen: Dr. Elizabeth Ignacio, Certified Pinoy Surgeon Lady

Last Friday, we were fortunate enough to have Dr. Elizabeth Ignacio, a well-regarded orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine practitioner, visit us in Seto Hall and talk about her life and what it took for her to be a surgeon. It was very insightful, as she talked about her Iolani career (National Merit Scholar-chee), and her extra-curriculars like piano, cheerleeding, and winning Junior Miss Hawaii and earning Academic Recoginition at the Junior Miss USA competition. I could connect with her experience as a student at Iolani who is a musician, but is involved in sports and aspires to be a role model to young girls everywhere.

She also talked to us about her career as an orthopedic surgeon and her medical school experiences. I, along with my fellow classmates in attendence, was impressed to hear how high she climbed up on the med school ladder considering that she attended Georgetown Medical School and was chosen in "The Match" (like The Matrix) to become an orthopedic surgeon, one of the most competitive fields in medicine. She explained to us how many hours of work and years of education went into becoming a surgeon, but that it is all worth the effort because she can help people improve their quality of life.

She is also a sports fan, worked with many college and professional teams as team physician, and is a mother to two children. I was inspired by her life story, especially her reasons for choosing her career and her love for her family and faith. Most of all, she is a successful Filipino, so our people can claim her for our cause. She is a very cool lady.



She showed us a severed hand during the presentation. Yummy!