VIRTUAL PROGRAMS

• December 13 at 8pm ET - Surgical Mentoring Program: Surgical Careers in Surgical Education, Rural, Community, Private, Military, and other practices (invitation only)
• January 8 at 7pm ET - Building an Academic Foundation: How to Evaluate, Structure, and Negotiate Your Job (register here)
• January 9 at 8pm ET - Resident & Fellow Committee Meeting (register here)
• January 10 at 8pm ET - Surgical Mentoring Program: How to Network at Conferences and Find Other Opportunities for Networking (invitation only)

NEWS & OPPORTUNITIES

• Complete the AWSF donor survey by January 5.
• Give the gift of AWS membership this holiday season.
• Review successes from the 2022-2023 year in the AWS annual report.
• Listen to the AWS Podcast, including new #KnotsForThoughts episodes.
• Check out opportunities on the AWS Job Board and sign up to receive alerts about new postings.
• Interested in posting to the AWS blog? Apply here to share content as an AWS blog author!
• It's time to join or renew as an AWS Institutional Member! 

Dr. Meredith Baker MD, pediatric surgeon and attending physician at Maine Medical Center, grew up in the state of New Hampshire. She recounts following her veterinarian father around in childhood and that for as long as she can remember, she wanted to be a “doctor for human children.” However, it was not until medical school that she realized the type of doctor for children she wanted to be was a pediatric surgeon.

“Become the Boss MD: Success Beyond Residency”

Author: Amy Vertrees

Book Reviewer: Denise Nemeth, OMS III

AWS Invites You to Submit Your Nomination for the Council of the American Board of Surgery

Deadline November 10, 2023

The American Board of Surgery has moved from representational to competency-based composition for its membership. AWS has the opportunity to nominate up to three nominees from their membership to serve on the American Board of Surgery Council.

Dr. Christen Russo is an attending orthopaedic surgeon and associate professor at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). She specifically focuses on pediatric orthopaedics, and outside of the clinic she has established herself as a prominent leader and mentor within the orthopaedics community. Dr. Russo graduated from Georgetown University with a B.A. in English Literature & Literary History, after which she earned her M.D. at SUNY Downstate. She completed a general surgery internship at Brown University followed by orthopaedic surgery residency at SUNY Downstate and pediatric orthopaedics fellowship at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital/CUIMC. In addition to her clinical and university positions, she currently serves as the President of the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society, an organization that aims to support women and minorities in pursuing careers in orthopaedic surgery. 

The Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS) and the Association of Women Surgeons (AWS)

Visiting Professor & Host Institution Announced
University of California San Francisco (UCSF)

The Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS) and the Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) are pleased to announce that Chelsea Dorsey, MD, has been selected as the 2023-2024 SBAS & AWS Visiting Professor. Dr. Dorsey will be hosted for two days by the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) to offer presentations and connect with local women surgical faculty, residents, and students.

About the SBAS & AWS Visiting Professor Program

Description:

AWS Partnership with Panamerican Trauma Society

Apply by September 18

"Breaking the Glass Ceiling”
Winners Announced

The Association of Women Surgeons is pleased to announce the 2023 Breaking the Glass Ceiling Leadership Education Program Awardees!

ASA Surgical Leaders Fellowship Grant 

Deadline to Apply is August 11

The Executive Council of the Association of Women Surgeons is pleased to invite you to submit self-nominations for the American Surgical Association Surgical Leaders Fellowship Grant for 2024.

The Fellowship Grant covers in part a two-week travel period and pays a grant to the Fellow’s institution of $5,000 ($2,500 each from the ASA and the AWS). The Fellowship grant is ideally suited for mid-level or senior academic surgeons with leadership training who seek a future leadership role and are at the stage in their career to benefit from exposure to a leadership shadowing experience.

Behind Her Scalpel: A Practical Guide to Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery with Stories of Female Surgeons 

Authored and Edited by Cathy Hung, DDS

Dr. Cathy Hung is a board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon and a solo practice owner in New Jersey. She is a native of Taipei, Taiwan and came to the US alone at age eighteen on a student visa. She earned her BS in psychology with a minor in music from UC Berkeley and DDS from Columbia University. She received her OMFS training from Lincoln Medical and Mental Center in the Bronx, New York. She is an alumna of the American Dental Association’s Institute for Diversity in Leadership program. She is also a speaker, writer, and Certified Life Coach in cultural competency. She is an author, blogger, and selected member of Forbes’ Women Forum and Rebecca Minkoff’s Female Founders Collective.

Physician Scientists are uniquely positioned to bridge scientific discovery and clinical care. As such, our training involves learning clinical skills, understanding how to design and test hypotheses, as well as mastering the art of writing and presenting our findings. While these are crucial for developing our clinical-care skills and research acumen, there are innumerous other professional opportunities that physician scientists often partake in, including national or institutional leadership, medical/graduate education, outreach and mentorship, policy/advocacy, industrial consulting, and entrepreneurship. As such, training MD-PhD students often requires a personalized approach that empowers them to gain the skills necessary for their unique career interests.

AWS Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Travel Awards

2023 AWS DEI Travel Awardees

AWS, in collaboration with our partners, is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 AWS DEI Travel Awards! 

AWS Resident Travel Award
2023 Awardees Announced

The 2023 AWS Annual Conference is taking place in Boston from October 21-23. The conference offers residents an opportunity to network, expand their knowledge, and develop new leadership skills. To assist residents in attending the #AWS2023 conference, The Association of Women Surgeons is offering scholarships to four AWS resident members to assist with their travel to the conference in Boston.

Congratulations to the 2023 AWS Resident Travel Awardees:

1. Dr. Andrea Riner, University of Florida
2. Dr. Lauren Janczewski, McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University
3. Dr. Natalia Correa, University of Miami Holycross Health
4. Dr. Isabella Faria, UTMB

The AWS Resident Travel Award is made possible through the generosity of Dr. Margaret Dunn, Dr. Lauren Nosanov, and the AWS Foundation. 

AWS Starr Research Forum

Calling all students, residents, and fellows with research to share!
Due June 30

Student, resident and fellow members of AWS may submit up to two abstracts for the AWS Starr Medical Student and Resident Research Forum at the 2023 AWS Annual Conference. Abstracts are limited to 300 words and must have an Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusions, and supporting author information. Incomplete abstracts will not be considered. Case reports and literature reviews will not be accepted. The deadline is 11:59PM EST on June 30th. 

Abstracts presented at other conferences are allowed, except for abstracts that you plan to present at the ACS conference. You cannot send an abstract on a project that is published prior to the conference. If your abstract is accepted, you must register for the 2023 AWS Annual Conference as a Student/Resident and present your work in person during the Scientific Session at the conference. (Please note that this session does not conflict with the medical student or resident activities at the ACS Clinical Congress.)