S7E5: Chief Insights: Dr. Bernadette Peltier

S7E5: Chief Insights: Dr. Bernadette Peltier

From The WISER Podcast by Women In Surgery at the Emory Residencies

April 8, 2026 · 28 min

About this episode

Dr. Bernadette Peltier discusses her journey into surgery and the importance of mentorship and patient care.

On this episode of the WISER Podcast, we continue Chief Insights , our mini-series highlighting the experiences of Emory’s female chief general surgery residents. Through these conversations, we explore their paths to surgery, the mentors who shaped them, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. For this installment, WISER co-presidents Julia Burns and Rachel Holstein sat down with Dr. Bernadette Peltier. Dr. Peltier attended UT Southwestern for medical school and completed her general surgery residency at Emory, where she is currently serving as a chief resident. She will be heading to the Cleveland Clinic next year to begin her thoracic surgery fellowship. In this conversation, Dr. Peltier shares her nontraditional path into surgery, from initially considering internal medicine to discovering her passion during trauma rotations. She reflects on how she ultimately found her fit in thoracic surgery, the role of mentorship and advocacy in a competitive match process, and how she approached residency without taking dedicated research years. She also offers thoughtful advice for medical students and interns, emphasizing the importance of mastering the fundamentals of patient…

People in this episode

Hosts: Rachel Holstein, Julia Byrnes, Lily Kamat

Guest: Dr Bernadette Peltier

Topics covered

  • female chief residents
  • mentorship
  • thoracic surgery
  • medical education
  • women in surgery

Keywords

  • general surgery
  • Cleveland Clinic
  • trauma rotations
  • residency
  • patient care

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Chief Insights

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