Getting to know: Belinda Beltrán-Salinas
Belinda Beltrán-Salinas, head of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department at “Hospital Metropolitano Dr. Bernardo Sepulveda” (San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, Mexico) is proof of AO CMF’s opportunities for women. She discusses her role as an AO CMF woman ambassador, as well as her career path, asserting that role models can play a significant part in young surgeons’ lives.
Where are you now? Where do you practice and/or teach/do research?
I work in the “Hospital Metropolitano Dr. Bernardo Sepulveda” in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, Mexico. I am a professor in the “Facultad de Odontología of the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León,” a public university and the second largest in Mexico. I teach and practice oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral pathology, and I participate in the clinic and in the operating room in the hospital. I am also the founder and Head of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department at “Hospital Metropolitano Dr. Bernardo Sepulveda” in San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, Mexico, and founder of the Oral and Maxillofacial (OMFS) Residency Program.
What do these roles mean to you?
They mean service and responsibility. The goal of my program is to ensure that the most vulnerable population in my state has the opportunity to be attended by this specialty, and nobody was attending them. Patients who do not have health insurance, are out of opportunities, or do not otherwise have the resources to get treatment for their conditions like facial trauma, infections, pathology, temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ), oral cancer and orthognathic surgery.
Of course, last but not least, I have the opportunity to train oral and maxillofacial surgeons of excellence.
What inspired you to become a surgeon?
I was 19 years old and had just finished dental school when I read a very inspiring patient testimonial in a journal. The patient had been bitten on the face by a horse when he was three years old, and he described how a very famous surgeon in Mexico had changed his life by reconstructing his face. I was very touched by this situation which inspired my desire to help people and later on became a surgeon.
Why did you choose oral and maxillofacial (OMF) surgery as your specialty?
Since my professional practice during my career—The first time I held a scalpel, I felt that I had found my place. And I still feel that way.
What is your experience as a female OMF surgeon?
I have had a lot of challenges. For example, when I founded the residency training program, I encountered a lot of obstacles because that kind of endeavor requires navigating politics, selling the project, and building relationships with predominantly male decision makers. Maybe they saw my genuine passion for taking care of patients. Surgery in general is dominated by men, and when I started this program. I believe that decision makers wanted to see if the program would run well before really committing resources to it; I was the only female surgeon in the operating room (OR) in my hospital, so I think it’s clear that the hesitance was related to my gender. Colleagues in other specialties were always very polite to my face, but at one point, I had to become assertive and say, “I was trained as a surgeon and it doesn’t matter whether I am male or female. I am a surgeon, and this is my OR, too.” Finally, they stopped treating me like a student or some other subordinate.
