Association of Women Surgeons

American Surgical Association (ASA) - Proposal for Membership is Now Open

The American Surgical Association was founded in 1880 and is the nation's oldest and most prestigious surgical organization. Its members include some of the most prominent surgeons from the country's leading academic medical institutions, many of whom are Chairs of the Departments of Surgery at these institutions.

The 2013 ASA Proposal for Membership is now open and must be initiated online by an ASA member. The deadline for submission is March 1, 2012. They have strongly encouraged their members to seek out colleagues who are women or belong to other underrepresented groups and propose them for Membership. Click here for more information on ASA Membership.

Save the Date for the 3rd Annual International Women in Surgery Career Symposium

You are cordially invited to the 3rd Annual International Women in Surgery Career Symposium. Hosted by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, it will be held May 31-June 2, 2012. The WIS symposium is a professional and academic event dedicated to encouraging more women to pursue careers in surgery. The annual WIS Career Symposium series serves to discuss the issues and challenges confronting women as they seek to advance in a changing but still male-dominated field, and to share successes and advice for breaking the glass ceiling in surgery.

More information is available on the attached document. To register, go to: www.cme.hsc.usf.edu/wis

Woman Surgeon Wins Courage to Teach Award

We congratulate Mary Klingensmith, who is one of the 2012 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award recipients. Click here for more information on her award.

ACS Appointments

Congratulations to all the women surgeons with new American College of Surgeons leadership roles and awards:

Mary McGrath received the ACS Distinguished Service Medal

BJ Hancock (Canada) - Board of Regents
Lena Napolitano - Chair, Board of Governors
Heena Santry - Chair, RAS

Amalia Cochran - Surgeons-PAC Board
Celeste Hollands - Vice Chair, Committee on Medical Student Education
Traci Hedrick - Vice Chair, Women in Surgery Committee

Hilary Sanfey - President-Elect, U.S. Chapter, International Surgical Society

Dr. Leigh Neumayer, a former AWS President, has recently published a book, entitled Meet Virginia: Biography of a Breast.

The book is a photographic chronicle of a woman's journey from diagnosis of breast cancer through her surgeries. A collaborative effort between a world-renowned breast cancer surgeon and plastic surgeon who have successfully treated thousands of women with a total skin sparing mastectomy and breast reconstruction, it is designed for patients, their families, and their physicians.

See the before, during, and after images as they chronicle one woman's journey through the surgical process.

Read notes by the surgeons and the patient herself as they describe each step through this journey.

It is meant to be used as an educational tool. You can check out their Website for more information and to purchase a copy. www.meetvirginiabook.com

Mentorship of Women in Academic Surgery

Click here for a copy of the article: "Mentorship program designed to advance women in academic surgery" (Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons - October 2009; Vol 94, Num 10)

General Surgery News Special Report

A Special Report was published in the October 2008 issue of General Surgery News. Supported by a grant from Covidien, the report has some interesting statistics on the role of women in surgery.

Download a copy here: Critical Mass - With the Stakes High, Women May Assume Crucial Role in Surgery's Future

Closing the Gender Gap

The World Economic Forum recently released a report with some interesting data on closing the Gender Gap. Most European countries are way above the USA (#26).

Click here for a copy: The Global Gender Gap Report

Physician Spouse Network and Resources from AWS

Research shows that physicians consider their most toxic stressor is the struggle with work/family balance and its effect on home life. In fact, research shows that even in dual-doctor families, female physicians are still more likely to make sacrifices in their career for family. The AMA Alliance is a nationwide network of physician spouses and physicians, resident physicians, medical students and their spouses that recognizes this additional need for resources and provides this advantage for members.

Alliance members help each other obtain the opportunities they want for the physician(s) in their family, reach work/life balance in their medical family, connect with each other when transitioning through practice changes and moving to a new state or community. Together, they comprise a link between medical families, a resource for finding work/life balance at every stage of the medical career, which is so crucial to physician well-being.

Many physician spouses have busy careers of their own, whether in health care, education, business or the law and yet want to do what they can to support the practice in their family. The Alliance offers a convenient avenue for involvement at a time and pace suited to each member, their interests and their community's needs, including ways to be actively involved from the comfort of an Internet connection and resources that can be downloaded and easily shared.

Alliance members advocate for physicians, working toward shared objectives for fair reimbursement from publicly funded health care programs, tort reform caps in the state and access to care. They act together to promote Internet safety for children, violence prevention in our schools, healthy eating and exercise and health education resources. They raise funds for medical scholarships, free clinics and disaster response.

Members of the AWS are encouraged to invite their spouses to join the Alliance and take advantage of its resources.

We are providing a link to this organization on the AWS site to give all AWS members easy access to the resources provided by the AMA Alliance for spouses, community action, public health information and advocacy. We have secured an affordable introductory first-time membership for AWS members and spouses: $25 to join, $40 for physician and spouse together. Visit the Alliance and join.  www.amaalliance.org

AAHPM Announces Selection of Training Sites

The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine announced selection of the eight training sites that will host its Clinical Scholars Program. The program provides physicians one week of participation with a clinical team, under the supervision of physician faculty at the training site. The sites were chosen based on their outstanding reputation, superior service, and well regarded expertise in the field.

For further information on this program, visit www.aahpm.org/education/clinicaltraining.html.

Women Surgeons - Cutting New Paths

On November 13, 2006 a group of AWS members participated in a panel presentation at Radcliffe Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The topic - "Women Surgeons - Cutting New Paths."

The panel included Myriam Curet, MD, FACS, Julie Freischlag, MD, FACS, Verna Gibbs, MD, FACS, Margaret Kemeny, MD, FACS and Patricia Numann, MD, FACS.

If you would like to hear the presentation follow this link to the Radcliffe Institute Website.
http://www.radcliffe.edu/events/paneldiscussions/2006_surgeons.php 

Gaining Force

The Association of American Medical Colleges published an analysis of women in academic medicine, reporting that for 2005-06, women represented:

50% of applicants to medical school
48% of first-year students
49% of medical students
49% of graduating medical students
42% of residents and fellows
32% of medical faculty members
38% of assistant professors
28% of associate professors
16% of full professors
19% of division/section chiefs
10% of department chairs
43% of assistant deans
31% of associate and senior associate/vice deans
11% of medical school deans