Category: gender differences

Blog

The Rising Force of Female Neurosurgeons

08 Sep 2021

by Alex Miner  Two years ago, on my first day of medical school, I was touring the hospital with a group of classmates when our tour guide asked us if we knew which specialties we were interested in...

Blog

Avoiding Bias in Letter Writing

08 Jul 2021

By Dr. Chantal Reyna It has been shown that implicit bias exists within letters of recommendation written for medical students applying for residency. In regard to gender, female applicants were more...

Blog

One of these things (is not like the other)

18 Feb 2021

Patricia Martinez Quinones  Remember joyfully singing to the Sesame Street tune “one of these things is not like the others, [...] just doesn’t belong, can you tell which is not like the others ...

Blog

Overcoming Bias

25 Jun 2020

By Joyce Majure, MD, FACS The Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) has come a long way since its founding in 1981. Looking back, it is amazing to see not only how our organization has grown, but al...

Blog

Working Towards Equity in Surgery

18 Jun 2020

By Patricia Martinez Quiñones  As a nation, we are facing the reality that systematic racism exists at all levels, affecting the communities we live in, the institutions we train in, and the patien...

Blog

A Stealth Misconception

13 Sep 2019

By Monica Farrulla Five years have elapsed since I took the Hippocratic oath and was bestowed the highly-coveted “MD” (Medical Doctorate) to follow my name. In these years of training I have e...

Blog

Remember: You’re Strong enough!

05 Jun 2019

The AWS blog is thrilled to recognize the experience and accomplishments of women surgeons around the world.  While women surgeons share many common experiences, we differ in our cultural norms,...

Blog

Women in Surgery – How to Deal

07 Nov 2018

There has been a lot of conversation about what is the role of women in the workplace and especially surgery with the #MeToo and #ILookLikeASurgeon campaigns and what are ways we can prepare ourselves...

Blog

The Leadership Gap in Surgery

12 Jun 2018

[caption id="attachment_16785" align="alignleft" width="300"] Figure 1- Thoracic Surgery Pipeline[/caption] As more women medical students choose general surgery and surgical subspecialties as a ca...