Fellows
Scrubbed in for the ABSITE: Webinar Highlights
Authors: Natalia Correa MD, Alizeh Abbas MD, Camila R. Guetter MD MPH, Nensi Ruzgar MD This blog summarizes key advice, tools, and resources discussed in the AWS Resident & Fellow Committee webinar “Scrubbed for the ABSITE”. What is the ABSITE? The American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE) is an annual test taken by all general surgery residents across the United States. It is a four-hour, computer-based exam of approximately 250 multiple-choice questions spanning the breadth of general surgery. Recent change to ABSITE Score Reports Historically, ABSITE scores were reported percentiles; however, recently, the ABSITE has shifted to reporting only raw scores, expressed as the percentage of questions answered correctly. This change encourages emphasis on personal improvement rather than comparison and competition. While this may decrease anxiety around small fluctuations, longitudinal performance still matters. Programs expect residents to maintain or improve their score percentage over time and programs set certain...
Navigating the Transition from Residency to Fellowship
By Brienne Ryan You think one would be used to this by now. As medical professionals, we transition frequently into new environments, new roles with new responsibilities. It is the dogma of medical training that we gain graduated autonomy with each step we advance and the closer to attendingship we become. So, what makes fellowship different and why do some struggle? If you are one of the hundreds of fellows in the early months of fellowship who find yourself uneasy about your performance, uncertain about your decision, or just plain overwhelmed with your new position, please know that you are not alone. Struggling during fellowship is commonplace and these might be a few reasons why. Fellowship is an entirely different beast from residency. First and foremost, it is a much smaller cohort of peers. When I graduated from surgical residency, a friend and prior senior co-resident said something that I,...
Parental Leave in Surgical Training: Webinar Highlights
Authors: Kylie Dickerson, MD, MS; Nensi Ruzgar, MD; Camila R. Guetter, MD, MPH; Alizeh Abbas, MD; Maria S. Altieri, MD, MS In March 2025, the Association of Women Surgeons Resident and Fellow Committee hosted a discussion on Parental Leave in Surgical Training. The session began with a presentation by Dr. Maria Altieri, Section Chief of GI Surgery and Director of Bariatric Surgery, Pennsylvania Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania, who has published multiple papers on parental leave policies during surgical training. The presentation was followed by a Q&A session with a panel of trainees who shared their experiences related to childbearing during clinical residency or dedicated research time, being a non-birthing parent, and exploring adoption. The goals of the webinar were to discuss different pathways to childbearing and parental leave policies during surgical training. Dr. Altieri discussed her personal experiences with childbearing during different phases of training, from medical school...
Finding Joy in Food and Culture During Residency
By Dr. Victoria Prete This is a special edition blog post presented in partnership with the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. ‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’ is a sentiment commonly attributed to Hippocrates and often preached in medicine, but rarely followed by residents and fellows. The stress of training, combined with limited time and access to quality food, makes prioritizing delicious meals difficult if not impossible. Like most first- and second-generation Asian-Americans, much of my life revolves around sharing food as part of a community. While I sacrifice much of myself to training, I hold onto my love of food and this link to my heritage. Food plays a pivotal role in Asian culture, serving as more than sustenance for the body; food provides a means of replenishing the soul. Throughout my life, my mother...
Surgical Rotations as a International Medical Student
By: Sarah Bueno Motter As an international medical student, doing elective rotations in the US brings us many challenges, but this experience also can open unexpected doors. I would like to talk about the good people we meet on this path. Seeing how people can help without knowing you well is very inspirational; they give us their best, taking our word as proof of commitment. The beauty is recognizing those people in your path and allowing them to help you. First, you must put yourself in their view and try connecting. Set up meetings, ask for conversations, ask questions, share your goals, and ask advice from the people you work with. We often focus on meetings with the PDs, for example, but we must remember the ones we are with daily. Ask your residents for feedback, and connect with them and other medical students. The medical staff, nurses, and surgical...
4 Part Blog Series: Considerations as Junior Faculty: What Should I Be Doing? – Part 1: You Are Done with Training, Now What?
By: Christine Castater, MD, MBA Congratulations! You've completed surgical training and are now a junior faculty member. This is the culmination of years of research and training, and this transition changes your career and lifestyle. When I finished training, I felt like I had been running a marathon and suddenly ran face first into a wall. The sudden cessation of everything that had been my reality left me feeling stunned and confused. I seriously wondered about my identity since for 15 years, my identity was “trainee.” It took me a year to breathe and acclimate into my new job. At that point, I was able to look around and figure out my next steps. Setting Goals and Expectations: The first thing I did was to set realistic goals for my next five years. These goals partially depended on the dynamics of my new setting. Goals in academia can look quite...
Authenticity and Queer Joy in Surgery
By Aeryn Kangas-Dick, MD The art of surgery is the art of connection. As surgeons, we have the unique privilege to meet our patients in times of need and offer them real, concrete, often rapid solutions to their diagnoses. As vital as the surgeon’s skills in the operating room are, the surgeon’s mandate is to create an immediate connection forged with trust and understanding with our patients. We ask them to be put under general anesthesia and to place their lives in our hands. In return, we become their fierce advocates. The sense of ownership in patient care is unmatched in any other specialty. We make ourselves available to tend to their needs after typical business hours and drop everything to care for their issues whether we are on call or not, often to the neglect of our personal lives. Creating a meaningful connection requires honesty, openness, skill, confidence, and...
What @womensurgeons Has Done For Me
By: Katerina Jou Setting the scene: My medical school didn’t have an AWS chapter. Surgery was just starting to become a growing presence on the school’s campus, with most students pursuing specialties like pediatrics, internal medicine, and emergency medicine, and few, in this new era, choosing surgery. For a little background, my medical school is now eight years old. I’m a student in the 7-year BS/MD Sophie Davis Program for Biomedical Education/City University of New York (CUNY) School of Medicine – we used to be a 5+2 program, where students would complete five years at Sophie Davis and “match” into affiliated medical schools to complete clerkship education. Our program historically has prioritized primary care, and despite expanding surgical presence with coordinators and advisors of practicing surgical background, a good part of my time there was spent wondering how I was going to get from point A to point B -...
Exercise and Fitness During Medical School
By: Amber Park The way physicians provide care for their patients versus the way physicians care for themselves has been one of the most controversial and puzzling concepts I have yet to grasp. The undeniable hours and extent of effort we put into our studies and work can interfere with our ability to work out. However, I have realized that much of the disconnect truly comes from what we prioritize and how we schedule our days. As a former athlete, I have the advantage of knowing what kinds of exercises I like and can do in the gym. I know what has fueled my love for fitness. Given this background, I wanted to provide some tips for medical students, residents/fellows, and attendings who might not have had the same experience as myself in terms of learning about nutrition, scheduling, and the types of workouts that we can be doing. Nutrition...
The Imprint of 3D-Printing in Health: A Students Perspective
In a technology driven world, the abundance of information and ease of communication has influenced every aspect of our lives. Not only has it affected the way we interact as humans, but it provided new outlets for skill development and creativity. One of my favorite expressive outlets is 3D-printing. From designing flower vases to replicating anatomical models, my engagement with 3D-printing allowed me to bring theoretical ideas to life by combining the natural sciences, technology, and art. When I first observed my older brother use a 3D-printer, I was fascinated by the geometric lattice in which the machine ejected thermoplastic, as it closely resembled the molecular arrangement of atoms observed in structures like crystal and bone. My curiosity with both technology and human health, led me to learn more about 3D technology and its applications in research, specifically on improving and enhancing human health. Introduced in the 1980s as a...
