By Abigail Forbes
As a medical student I have learned to seek out opportunities that will foster my journey through medical school and facilitate my goal of becoming a surgeon. The Go Green Contest is one of those many opportunities I came across through AWS. I gained an invaluable mentor and was able to promote a great cause: benefitting our environment. Students and residents should take advantage of this opportunity!
When I was formulating a ‘green solution’ to submit, I benefitted from my surgeon mentor’s knowledge. Additionally, I was able to communicate my commitment and wide interests in the medical field. I found this unique interaction with faculty that allowed me to stand out as a medical student and to explore the possibilities and process of improving healthcare in my community. Together, we were able to outline an educational plan to train medical students about operating room procedures by saving unused opened gloves, suture, gowns, and drapes, further promoting environmental conscientiousness in the operating room.
I would recommend contacting a surgeon at your institution and sharing your interest in submitting an idea for this competition. They will undoubtedly be willing to collaborate with you by offering suggestions from their professional experience and feedback for your ideas.
Should you win, you will be recognized at the AWS national conference, and gain yet another opportunity to learn and grow as a future surgeon. Plus a 200$ prize is a great bonus! Submissions can be sent to abbyforbes826@gmail.com by 5:00 PM EST Friday, April 3rd.
You can start by looking here for inspiration:
- https://practicegreenhealth.org/initiatives/greening-operating-room
- Greening the OR Competition Details
Abigail Forbes is a third year medical student at University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. She completed her undergraduate degree at Baylor University where shediscovered her passion for anatomy and went directly into medical school wanting to pursue surgery. She is active in her Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Interest Group and helped found the UTMB Association of Women Surgeons student chapter. Her research interests involve improving patient distress and hypertrophic scarring after burn injuries.
Our blog is a forum for our members to speak, and as such, statements made here represent the opinions of the author, and are not necessarily the opinion of the Association of Women Surgeons.