From Yale Soccer Star to Pioneering Neurosurgeon — Dr. Theresa Williamson on Pressure, Precision and Performance

One of only 33 Black female neurosurgeons in the U.S., Dr. Theresa Williamson joins Bonnie Bernstein to reveal how her Yale soccer experience shaped her path to the operating room.Williamson currently serves as the Director of Minimally Invasive Endoscopic Surgery at Brown University Health. She explains how sports shaped her ability to perform under pressure, communicate effectively, make critical decisions, and harness the resilience required to thrive as a brain and spine surgeon.Williamson and Bernstein discuss research illustrating how athletes often outperform their peers in medical training, surgical precision, leadership, grit, and mental toughness throughout medical school and residency.Dr. Williamson also opens up about the challenges of facing down skeptics early in her career, and becoming a fierce patient advocate after witnessing her family's struggles with the healthcare system.This conversation explores high performance, women in STEM, sports psychology, leadership, resilience, patient trust, and the powerful connection between athletics and excellence in medicine.Show Notes:   This episode is dedicated to Karenna Groff: 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year, gifted student, all conference, MIT soccer player, aspiring neurosurgeon studying at NYU. Gone too soon. Research Karenna shared with Bonnie discussed in this episode:  https://journals.lww.com/jbjsjournal/fulltext/2009/11000/factors_associated_with_successful_performance_in.34.aspxAdditional Research: From Athlete to Surgeon Examining Sports and Grit Among General Surgery Residents https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1931720424003313Dr. Theresa Williamson:https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresa-williamson-2a416710/https://www.instagram.com/docterwilli/The Athlete Effect™ :instagram.com/the_athlete_effect tiktok.com/@theathleteeffect www.youtube.com/@TheAthleteEffect  Bonnie Bernstein:twitter.com/BonnieBernsteininstagram.com/BonnieBernstein       https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonnie-bernstein/The Champions Edge: https://www.instagram.com/championsedgetvhttps://www.tiktok.com/@championsedgetvhttps://www.facebook.com/championsedgetv