USF Launches Women in Surgery Initiative

USF-TGH general surgeon Dr. Sharona Ross addresses guests at the launch of the USF Women in Surgery initiative.

The USF Women In Surgery initiative, the first Tampa area professional and academic organization dedicated to encouraging more women to pursue careers in surgery, was formally launched last month. About 100 people attended the group’s inaugural program Sept. 26 at the home of Sharona Ross, MD, an assistant professor of surgery and director of surgical endoscopy at USF Health and Tampa General Hospital.

Most attendees were women, including undergraduate students, graduate and PhD students, medical students, USF Health physician interns and residents, and USF-TGH attending surgeons.

Dr Ross, together with a distinguished panel of guests, addressed the Women in Surgery attendees. The speakers stressed the importance of developing and furthering an organization dedicated to addressing issues that arise when steering more women toward careers in surgery, as well as in providing effective and practical remedies for those issues.

L to R: Lindsay Rumberger, Linda Barry, Krista Haines, Lori Starr, Linda Richetelli, and Dr. Ross.

Across the country, including at USF, more than 50 percent of medical school students are female. Yet, Dr. Ross said, only a fraction of those women actually choose careers in surgery. A 2006 article published in the journal Archives of Surgery concluded that, while women were not more likely than men to be deterred by lifestyle, workload issues or lack of role models in deciding on a career in surgery, the surgical culture and personality were sex-specific deterrents to women.

Dr. Ross said she plans to work with a growing team of innovative and highly motivated students and professional colleagues to develop the USF Women in Surgery organization into a national resource for women who want careers in surgery.

The Women in Surgery kickoff meeting drew a large group of women, including undergraduate students, graduate and PhD students, medical students, interns and residents, and USF-TGH attending surgeons.

USF Women in Surgery will sponsor its first regional program, The 1st Annual Surgical Career Symposium, on Feb. 27, 2010, in Tampa. The symposium will feature keynote speaker Julie Freischlag, MD, the William Stewart Halsted Professor Chair and Department of Surgery Surgeon-in-Chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

For more information about USF Women in Surgery or the upcoming symposium, please contact Dr. Ross at sross@health.usf.edu or 813-844-4006.