New Dimensions
Arthritis Today|September/October 2019

Bonnie Mason used to mend bones. Now she nurtures dreams.

Michele Cohen Marill
New Dimensions

Bonnie Simpson Mason, MD, faces the conference room in a power pose, hands on hips, and the medical students rise from their seats to copy her stance. Poised and confident, genial but firm, she shares her tips for success: “Be an initiator. Be a problem-solver. Be resourceful. Be that person who’s there early, who stays late, who’s always enthusiastic.”

Dr. Mason herself is all of that. Those attributes helped her become an orthopedic surgeon – an African American woman in a highly competitive, male-dominated field. And when rheumatoid arthritis (RA) made it too difficult to continue, those qualities helped her continue to succeed in another career.

Dr. Mason, 48, runs Nth Dimensions, a nonprofit organization she created to provide mentoring, scholarships and research opportunities for women and minority students seeking to enter competitive medical and surgical specialties. She also helps physicians learn the business of medicine through her company, Beyond the Exam Room, and is a visiting professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Kentucky.

This story is from the September/October 2019 edition of Arthritis Today.

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This story is from the September/October 2019 edition of Arthritis Today.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.