Pamela Mehta, MD

Dr. Pamela Mehta, board-certified orthopedic surgeon, is focused on surgery of the shoulders, knees, hips, hands, and foot and ankle and is passionate about getting her patients back to their active lifestyles. Dr. Mehta founded her private practice, Resilience Orthopedics,  after five years as an orthopedic surgeon within a large managed care organization.

Having her own practice enables Dr. Mehta to care for her patients on a concierge level, while also giving her ample time with her family. She is passionate about placing women at the forefront of medicine in the public eye, and in helping women achieve what they want personally and professionally.

 In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Mehta advises several medical companies and startups. She serves as the Chief Medical Officer of the Good Feet Store (including The Good Feet Store, Stretch*d and ING Source), advises several nationally-recognized brands, and is a social media influencer—she’s the top female orthopedic surgeon on TikTok (@dr.pamelamehta) with nearly 150K followers, she has another 53K followers on Instagram (@dr.pamelamehta) and is a TedX speaker. Passionate about placing women at the forefront of medicine in the public eye, and in helping women achieve their personal and professional goals, Dr. Mehta uses her platform to help women navigate healthcare careers and co-founded Pinnacle, a national conference for women in healthcare.

Dr. Mehta lives in the Bay Area with her husband and three children.

What year did you graduate?

2011

Tell us about your journey following residency—you're one of the few alumni who chose not to pursue a fellowship, why? Do  you ever regret that decision? What have you been doing since residency and how did you end up where you are now?

Zero regrets. It was 100% the right decision. In my fourth year of residency, I landed a very coveted job in Los Angeles at a large managed care organization with a competitive salary, benefits and full patient panel on day one. I moved for my husband within the same organization in the Bay area and that department turned out to be quite toxic. With an 18- month-old and 3-month old I began the path of starting my own practice.

It has been an exciting journey and I have surprised myself at how entrepreneurial I've become. I wouldn't feel comfortable being in solo practice if it wasn't for the excellent surgical training I received at Columbia and the large surgical volume I had in the first four years after training in the employed position. While I maintain a fulltime practice, I also lend my surgical knowledge as an advisor to several startups as well as serving as the Chief Medical Officer at The Good Feet Store, Os1st and Stretch*d. I also cofounded a national women's medical conference which we hold every year for the last five years teaching women the skills to run a successful practice while advocating for women to stay and elevate their careers in clinical medicine.

You have more than 53,000 followers on Instagram! How did you get started? What's it like being a social media influencer? How did you first start getting involved? 

I first started on social media as a way to advertise my private practice—but it quickly turned into a women's empowerment platform. I had amazing mentors at Columbia in Ortho but outside of that no women to look up to or even women in other surgical fields- this gave me a chance to connect with other women in medicine and surgery and also be an "online mentor" to other students and residents or at least be a small source of inspiration.

How have you handled the 'haters," especially with respect to how this can impact your family? 

Anytime you put yourself out there, there will be critique and "haters." I just decided early on I wasn't going to let it invade any space in my brain. It is interesting because I used to shy away from talking about orthopaedic education online with some fear that I would be critiqued but with all the misinformation out there and everyone being an "expert," I have thrown my hat into the ring and recognize I have an amazing platform to not only educate students and residents, but the general population as well.

What companies are you currently working with and how do you balance your time as an orthopedic surgeon, brand contributor, social medial influencer, mother, and wife?

Being on social media has opened up a world of opportunities for me that I otherwise wouldn't have been exposed to. I am chief medical officer to The Good Feet Store (which is also parent company to Os1st and Stretch*d) and I am a brand ambassador and healthcare advisor to FIGS. I have also advised multiple startups and find it an interesting way to exercise my brain. First and foremost always comes my patients and practice so while I have grown my platforms it is certainly still just an adjunct to my clinical practice.

Can you share some of your favorite memories from your time at Columbia?

I have the fondest memories of my residency at NYOH/Columbia. I remember our class call rooms and always having a place to go and call our own. I remember the early mornings and late nights in the Ortho library, taking call at the Allen with our small but mighty teams, trauma rounds with Greisberg, shoulder conference with Levine, and grabbing a PB &J at the hole in the wall coffee shop near the med school lecture hall. I truly felt we had a tight knit residency class and the classes above and below us- we always felt a sense of belonging. 

What message would you send to the current residents at NYOH/Columbia?

Try and enjoy the journey. Watch and ask as many questions— it may not click right now but it will at some point down the road. The attendings at Columbia are more than willing to always teach and answer questions— take advantage of that— it is one of my biggest regrets about training that I didn't utilize those resources more. 

Any final words of wisdom?

Get out there and pave your own path. Being an orthopaedic surgeon can look different to different people— there isn't one way to have this career. Try not to get down on the "politics of medicine" (e.g., a broken system, decreased reimbursements, etc) we have been blessed with such a special skill set and we get to truly change people's lives.