The small percentage of women in surgery persists at a time when women make up more than 50 percent of all medical students.
Organizers said women who enter surgery face a field with few female role models, a male-centered culture and a work environment that often doesn’t account for family life.
The keynote speaker will be Julie Freischlag, MD, chair of surgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and one of only three women chairs of academic surgery programs in the country
Organizers said new limits on workloads, more flexible schedules and family-friendly policies may help steer more women into surgery. They advise would-be women surgeons to find mentors including males, especially men with daughters.
Read the University of South Florida’s release on women surgeons.
