Dr. Monica Tadros Recognized As Role Model In Her Field
New York, NY – Dr. Monica Tadros is the director of Facial Plastic Surgery Education and an assistant professor of Clinical Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City.
The Chair-Elect of the Young Physicians Committee, Dr. Tadros received her medical degree from Thomas Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia before moving on to residency training at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC. She pursued dual fellowship training in Cranial Base Surgery and Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan, in affiliation with Columbia.
The daughter of a surgeon, Dr. Tadros said it was a natural inclination for her to be inspired by and choose otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, because it offered so much diversity.
“ENT has so much to offer and so many ways to work with your training and tailor it to your own interests,” she said. “There is just so much to do in such a small area. I do a lot of facial reconstructive plastic surgery, which allows me to use so much of the knowledge I have procured through my ENT training. It really is an amazing field with regard to the diversity of what you can do and the kinds of cases you can work with.”
Dr. Tadros said she chose to go into academic medicine because of an assortment of challenges.
“I would have to say that the teaching perspective and academic environment keeps you thinking and on your toes- always learning and giving back,” she said. “I got a sense of that as a med student and that always intrigued me.”
Dr. Tadros said she was also intent on creating a niche practice in facial plastic surgery that was more comprehensive than those she had seen, and academic medicine lent itself to that scenario.
“You get an amazing diversity of cases,” she said. “The difficulty keeps you challenged, always thinking. You’re always having to come up with ways to solve special problems and get creative, especially in the plastics realm.”
Staying stimulated is the key to enjoying your career, Dr. Tadros said. “You never want to get bored,” she said. “You want to have a practice that always keeps you engaged, keeps you working to stay better, and again, that is why I chose the academic setting. For me, I knew it would continue to be challenging and would keep me stimulated.”
As a new mother, who was on maternity leave at the time of this interview, Dr. Tadros is also a believer in establishing a healthy work/life balance, and took the decision to raise a family very seriously.
“I struggled with the decision [to have a child],” she said. “I always wanted to have children, but it is a very conflict-laden decision when you are so very focused on your career. It never seems like it is the right time.”
Dr. Tadros said having a family is possible, but it is important to make sure you’ve set up an environment that allows for balance.
“I have good help and a great support structure,” she said. “You have to have a good, practical structure and mind-set going into this phase of your life if you plan to have both a family and continue your career.
“I have several friends who have tried to do too much on their own, and were forced to cut back and I feel sad for them. I think you have to make sure you have a tight structure in place before you make the decision to go forward.”