By Olatioluwase (Ola) Olatona
For the month of July, each Monday we are featuring an interview with a UBC Department of Orthopaedics member about how equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) appears in their life.
In our third spotlight of our four-part introductory EDI Spotlight Series, we speak with third-year Resident Taylor Crown.
Read the interviews with Professor Emeritus Dr. Stephen Tredwell and Clinical Fellow Judith Nassaazi. Watch for our upcoming interview with Clinical Professor Shafique Pirani.
TAYLOR CROWN
SECOND-YEAR RESIDENT
Site:
Vancouver
Tell us about your background and interest in orthopedics.
Taylor is originally from Victoria Harbour, Ontario where she went to school in a mainly French community. As such she identifies as francophone and Metis. She grew up doing gymnastics and played volleyball for the duration of her first degree at Guelph where she studied biomedical sciences. It was during her degree that she fell in love with anatomy. Over summer breaks she enjoyed her time tree planting in BC, where she eventually met her husband.
She was initially accepted into a program for midwifery at McMaster but decided to defer her admission and take a year off and travel. It was during that year that she applied to medical school and earned a spot at the University of Ottawa in the francophone stream. She assumed that due to her admittance to the midwifery program, she would end up as an OBGYN but later discovered her love for orthopedics during her clerkship years. Within orthopedics, Taylor loves that there is so much to explore—the anatomy, the subspecialties and everything else included. Orthopedic surgery became a place where she felt at home. She will be going into her third year of residency.
What does EDI mean to you?
For Taylor, EDI can be defined in many ways. She attributed it to orthopedics in regard to its inclusivity—whoever wants to go into ortho or wants to be connected to ortho should be allowed to without any barriers. Orthopedics has its stereotypes, and EDI is playing a key role in tearing down those stereotypes. Though they may not yet be gone, they are improving across UBC and Canada.
What role do you see yourself playing in trying to improve EDI in our department and for healthcare in general?
Taylor felt well supported as a female going into orthopedics. She stated that if she hadn’t received that kind of support, she may have ended up in a different specialty. Taylor believes that her job now is to foster a positive learning environment where students and residents feel safe. In the future, she hopes to play a bigger role in EDI.
What has been the most exciting thing about your training so far?
Taylor has found that the more time she spends away from the trauma unit, the more she’s drawn to it and the realization of how much she truly loves it. Eventually, she would like to be a community orthopedic surgeon whose primary practice will be trauma and arthroplasty. She also loves the people that she gets to interact with regularly. The department is made up of people that make her excited to show up every day.
When you’re not working, where can we find you?
Taylor spends most of her time with her two-year-old and her husband hiking and camping. Whenever the opportunity arises, she also enjoys playing beach volleyball.
