A top level athlete struggles with an eating disorder…a diver petitions to wear a stud in her tongue while leaping from the platform. These are some of the issues that Dr. Elizabeth Arendt, Medical Director of the Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and Associate Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Minnesota, has dealt with through the years.
But she is accustomed to finding—or being—the calm in the middle of the storm. Dr. Arendt: “I am the seventh of nine children, a pack which includes five brothers. We all played sports, much of which took place at the park across the street from our home in Chicago. The park district actively engaged boys and girls in a variety of sports, including floor hockey, horseshoes, and ping pong. There was a point system and prizes given to the winners (I was the champ at horseshoes and ping pong).”
With such a large contingent of children, bringing order to chaos was necessary…and instructive. “As so often happens in big families, ” says Dr. Arendt, “the older kids were put in charge of the younger ones. I took care of my little brother and we had a good working relationship. There was definitely a team mentality in the household, with lots of role delineation…things which would obviously translate well to both sports and medicine.”
For women coming of age in the early ‘70s there was a paucity of role models for life outside the home. Dr. Arendt elaborates, “My dad was the only white collar professional in our parish, a German Catholic enclave; my mom stayed at home to raise the children. Of the 325 graduates of my all girl Catholic school, less than 80 went to a four year college. It was interesting to note, however, that at the 20 year reunion I found that many females had gone back to school for professional degrees.”
“My interest in science and in the workings of the human body motivated me to be an athlete. Despite these leanings, I had my sights set on being a nun, a nurse, or a teacher. Later on I realized that those were the only three professions visible to me that were open to women at the time. Before I carved out a path, however, my brother, four years my senior, took up a premed track. I was instantly intrigued and never looked back. I was fortunate that no one in my family or small community ever said, ‘You can’t.’ or ‘Don’t.’”
Alongside the study of biochemistry and microbiology, Elizabeth Arendt would get an education in sports politics and administration. Obtaining an undergraduate degree at the University of Rochester, she remained at that institution for medical school. Dr. Arendt: “I sought out a college where I could play volleyball, but found only Division 1 schools (I wasn’t of that caliber). I did discover, however, that the University of Rochester was very focused on athletics. Soon after I enrolled, I took a volleyball gym class. One day the teacher asked what I was doing there, to which I replied, ‘This is the only way I can play volleyball.’ She then said, ‘Why don’t you help teach it?’”
Dr. Arendt grabbed the opportunity and ran with it. “Inspired, I started an intramural team using the rules of the U.S. Volleyball Association. In my third year I was approached by the university to start a women’s Division 3 varsity program in basketball and volleyball. These were the emerging years of Title IX, the legislation designed to ensure equal opportunity in education, and our school was on track to fulfill all of the related requirements. For example, we had to create a training room for women as the only one in existence was for the men. In my senior year the administration talked me into starting an athletic training program for women. I dropped my science classes (I was already through all the necessary pre-med requirements) and began establishing, and then running, this program.”
Although others focused on her gender, Dr. Arendt focused solidly on her training. She undertook a general surgery residency at the University of Rochester in 1980 followed by an orthopedic residency at the same institution. “After my internship year I matched into a three year program that included two years of general surgery. During this time I did eight months of orthopedic surgery training. When I was accepted as an early admit to the University of Utah’s orthopedic residency program, I asked for 24 hours to consider. Their response was, ‘You seem like an indecisive woman and we’re not sure if we want you.’”
Little did they know, Dr. Arendt was very decisive regarding her goals. “I did find support, however, at the University of Rochester, ” states Dr. Arendt. “Some of this was in the form of Dr. Macollister Evarts, the departmental Chair. Together we crafted policies on pregnancy and maternity leave. I was neither married nor pregnant at the time, but I knew these were important issues. My philosophy is that I don’t care if the male surgeons wanted their daughters to go into the field or if they thought I was doing the right thing. I wasn’t out there to change their philosophy—my goal was to get trained. Besides, I knew that the best way to change people’s minds about something is by actions. Women in this and other fields should know that if they can consistently demonstrate that they are competent, people’s minds will eventually change. Every time I walk into a patient’s room and that person thinks, ‘This is a woman orthopedic surgeon, ’ I have slightly changed their perceptions about what is possible and/or appropriate.”
The team member in Dr. Arendt would then be front and center once again. “After finishing my residency in 1984 I set out to do a fellowship in sports medicine, programs that were scarce at the time. There was no match at the time—it was just a matter of who you knew. I had mentored under Dr. Ken Dehaven, who helped guide me through this process. A big part of the equation was that my future husband had designs on law school. Also important was my long term goal of working with a Division 1 female athletic program. We looked at the ‘Big Ten’ schools in the Midwest with law schools and found that Minnesota fit this category. Also appealing was that one of my brothers was living here. I was accepted into the school’s fellowship program for six months, then extended it to 12 months including six weeks of touring key orthopedic centers in Europe. It was helpful to get an understanding of the level of medicine in different countries.”
Her medical horizons broadened, Dr. Arendt would then have her thinking expanded on the administrative front. “After completing my fellowship in July, 1985 I sought, and found, a faculty position here at Minnesota. I also approached the community doctor who was managing the university Women’s teams (we had split men’s and women’s athletic departments at that time) and for three years I helped him with this work. At the same time, I worked with the men’s hockey and basketball teams at the university. When the community doctor left in 1989 I took over women’s sports; soon after that I began to manage the men’s and women’s university athletic programs.”
“It was a tough transition because there were many people who couldn’t see a woman doing the job, not to mention a university person. One of the most interesting things I learned doing this work, however, was the administrative side of collegiate sports, and how much of a team effort it is to keep a sports department in action.”
Having sharpened her administrative skills, Dr. Arendt would then be called upon for another “behind the scenes” effort in the sports world. “In 1991 I was asked to be on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) medical safeguard committee. The program is divided into drug testing and injury surveillance—I worked on the latter effort.”
“As things unfolded, I began to understand the complexities involved in the administrative side of national athletic programs. How do you help/manage female athletes with eating disorders? Will the NCAA pay for a medical workup for this condition? How do you manage the multitude of issues surrounding the pregnancy of an athlete? What about the athlete who demands to wear a stud in her tongue while platform diving? (An issue of individual expression versus the safety of the athlete.) All of these things must be looked at from a variety of standpoints, namely, that of the patient/athlete, the NCAA and the institution. We would always try to shoot for the ideal, i.e., that because someone is in Division 1 sports, he or she is part of an athletics family that will try to help care for them.”
Being female in orthopedics sometimes means that you have to do battle with fiction. Or you can rise above the fight. Dr. Arendt explains, “As a new hire at Minnesota I knew that females were under scrutiny. While the general impression was that I possessed the intelligence for the job, some people fell prey to the old myth that females lack hands. Even recently, one of my community physician colleagues asked a resident if I really operate. But no matter. I was focused on my simple, five year goals. I would make my mark as a credible, respected orthopedic surgeon, would be married to the same man, and my kids would call me ‘mommy.’”
Dr. Arendt’s experience crafting maternity leave policy then came back into play in a very personal way. She continues, “When I was hired by the University of Minnesota I was pregnant. The school had no pregnancy policy, however. Instead of being flustered by me, the university’s first woman surgeon to be pregnant, the administration sat down with me and created a policy on pregnancy. I was pleased to see that there was no jealously from the other women, and that the majority of my male colleagues were supportive.”
Her in-depth experience with women’s orthopedic issues recently led Dr. Arendt onto an even larger stage. “Only several weeks ago I became Chair of the Women’s Health Issues Advisory Board for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). Thus far it has been a rather overwhelming endeavor. Fortunately, Dr. Mary O’Connor, the brilliant former Chair, has been a great guide. I am amazed at how many activities AAOS is involved in with regard to women’s health, and impressed by the amount of work that goes into making the AAOS initiatives successful. Each Chair typically advances a certain topic to advance during her tenure. Because I am from a sports background, I will likely focus on sexual dimorphism and its importance in the health and safety of young female athletes.”
With regard to gender and mentorship, Dr. Arendt notes, “Women typically—and understandably—look to women for mentorship. Having had no female mentors, I learned that you should help one another whether you are male or female. If I didn’t get help from the talented men around me I never would have made it. Some of the best pregnancy and parenting advice I’ve ever received came from men. ‘Champion the parent, not necessarily the mother, ’ one person said. Other words of wisdom included, ‘Liza, whatever you do, do it well’ and, ‘Don’t spread yourself too thin, and ‘Don’t go into battle unless you have the winning card in hand.’ We doctors can get too compartmentalized when talking about mentorship and leadership, thus missing out on some good learning opportunities.”
A real leader moves forward confidently, even with difficult, unpopular decisions. Dr. Arendt carried that philosophy in her professional and family life. “My husband and I have two wonderful children, who, if asked, would say that I was hard on them in the activity realm. I refused to drive them places if I knew they could walk. I also strongly encouraged exercise, including a lot of bike riding. They survived, and now our daughter is in college heading for a career in either public health or public policy. Our son has finished college and plans to attend graduate school and study economics. My husband and I, who will soon celebrate our 25th anniversary, spend a lot of time walking, hiking, and bike riding. Throughout the years we made it a point to try to eat dinner together at least four nights a week. To this day, our children continue to look forward to Sunday family dinners.”
Dr. Elizabeth Arendt…bringing practicality and professionalism to the field.
