By creating a new mentoring and peer support group called Suture Sisters, Erica Wunderlich and Lauren Ellis are hoping to address some common threads among fellow female medical students at KU School of Medicine-Wichita.

After transferring to the KUSM-Wichita campus in 2024 to finish her final two years of medical school, Wunderlich visited with Laura Tatpati, M.D., about “building a community among women here in Wichita” with other medical students and with attendings and practicing physicians who could provide mentorship.

At the time, Tatpati, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology, was associate dean for undergraduate medical education in Wichita; in April she became dean for the Wichita campus when Garold Minns, M.D., transitioned to dean emeritus.

“She introduced me to the Blackwell Club,” Wunderlich said.

The Blackwell Club is a female-focused peer support and mentoring group for surgical residents and attending physicians that KUSM-Wichita general surgery residency alumna Lindsay Strader, D.O., started in 2020. It’s named in honor of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to earn a medical degree in America. While there’s a socializing aspect, Blackwell Club meetings always have an educational component on topics that relate more specifically to female residents and surgeons, like work-life balance, higher rates of infertility among women surgeons as well as career and professional development issues.

“Since that’s for general surgery residents, I wanted to emulate something similar for medical students,” Wunderlich said.

Wunderlich knew Ellis felt the same; together they founded Suture Sisters. The two initially met as undergraduates at the University of Arkansas and reconnected as first-year medical students at the KUSM Kansas City campus. They are both interested in careers as surgeons.

For its first meeting this past fall, Suture Sisters invited longtime surgeon and KUSM-Wichita educator Marilee McBoyle-Wiesner, M.D. — who achieved significant firsts for women in medicine in Kansas —  to speak to the group before she retired at the end of 2024. In 1977, McBoyle-Wiesner was the first woman accepted into the KUSM-Wichita surgery residency program and the first female board-certified surgeon in Kansas.

About 25 students showed up for the meeting at the home of Theresa Cusick, M.D., clinical professor in the Department of Surgery, who is the faculty sponsor for Suture Sisters.

“I thought that was a really good turnout,” Ellis said. “During my time attending other student interest group meetings, I rarely see such strong participation.”

At its second meeting, Suture Sisters invited female residents and attendings to share their insights and decision-making on starting a family while pursuing their education or careers. In April, Suture Sisters met with Blackwell Club members to talk about mentorship, the surgical clerkship and applying to surgery residency programs.

"When I think about my future, I want to be regarded as equal to my male counterparts,” Ellis said. “At the same time, there are aspects of being a woman that present unique experiences. What I like about this group is that it provides a space to discuss those important topics and fosters connections with others who understand and can relate.”

“It’s important to hear stories from women who’ve gone through (similar experiences) … and pass on those insights to the next generation,” Wunderlich added.

Suture Sisters meetings, approximately one every three months, are open to first- through fourth-year medical students.

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