After working at Ascension St. John Hospital for 16 years, Shiva Maralani became the first woman to be chief of urology, joining other recently appointed women to high positions, including the chief of transplants, head of breast cancer and head of gynecology.
The Grosse Pointe Farms resident fell into her love for urology nearly by accident during her time in medical school. She had been intrigued by general surgery, but found all such electives booked after procrastinating until the last second to sign up.
Shiva Maralani prepares to see a patient with COVID-19. Photos courtesy of Shiva Maralani
“Nobody took urology,” she remembered. “So my adviser said, ‘OK, well you’ve got to do three rotations.’”
She met her husband, Mark Herman, who currently is a general surgeon at Troy Beaumont but at the time also was a resident, a week after moving to Detroit; the two married a couple months after she finished her residency.
“Here I am now, first woman in (the Wayne State Urology) residency, first woman to graduate the residency (and) first woman to come into the east side practicing,” she said.
At the time she completed her residency, she estimated there were probably 200 women urologists in the country. Today, only 8 percent of urologists are women.
“It’s kind of funny because even back then we had some issues with getting women into urology programs, so I didn’t send a picture,” Maralani said. “It wasn’t required. It was optional, so I didn’t send a picture when I applied for residency. Nobody could tell whether I was male or female, so I just showed up on my interviews and it worked out OK.”
Now, 26 years later, urology has turned out to be the best of both worlds.
“You’re a surgeon, but you also see some of your patients in long-term follow up, so you really have a chance to get to know some of your patients long term and take care of their children or their parents,” she explained, “and then if you’ve been around long enough, you end up taking care of maybe multiple generations of a family.”
Having been chief of urology at Ascension St. John four years, she considers every day a good day when you like what you do.
“I have to say, I love working for her,” said Stacie Borowicz, executive medical assistant. “Not only as my boss and someone I respect, but also someone that has become my friend. She is one of a kind and I’m forever grateful for her.”
Maralani along with her husband, Mark, and daughters, Ariana and Sophia, during a 2019 trip to China.
Through her additional position as a clinical instructor for the Wayne State Urology Program, Maralani also has worked to make women in urology more visible.
She has been boarded in urology, as well as female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery and was involved in training the robotics team at Ascension St. John.
“I always tell my kids you have to always remain curious, because curiosity is what makes you improve,” she said. “The way we practice now might not be the way we practiced 20 years ago or the way we’re going to practice in 20 years. When I was a resident, there was no robotic surgery. That’s been around since I was a resident and if we weren’t curious, I wouldn’t have been out there learning it 10 years ago, so I think you have to remain curious so that you remain updated with your skills.”
However, the chief of urology looks past accolades when considering her greatest accomplishments in the medical field.
“When other physicians send you their family members … then you feel like you have gained their trust,” she noted.
Outside of her career, Maralani loves to ski and garden and is the mother of two high school students, Ariana and Sophia.
“For me, being a physician is part of who I am,” she said. “Being a mom and a wife is a very major part of it as well.”
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