Women in Surgery prepares OHSU students, residents and fellows for surgery careers

Education
1739121
1739121

Dr. DeveneyOHSU and Covidien hosted a Women in Surgery career development seminar in October. The conference was organized by Karen Deveney, MD, Professor, Vice Chair of Education and Program Director, Department of Surgery, and featured a diverse group of presenters who spoke about the opportunities for medical students, residents and fellows interested in a surgery career, as well as the challenges faced by women in this field.

“Women pursuing a career in surgery still face obstacles because of a variety of cultural and institutional preconceptions,” said Dr. Deveney. “Surgery is a specialty all women in medicine should absolutely consider.”

Several OHSU faculty members spoke at the event, providing information about the importance of mentors and role models, choosing a surgical specialty, deciding on practice options and balancing family life and a two-professional marriage.

Susan Orloff, MD, Professor, Department of Surgery and Chief, Liver and Pancreas Transplantation Division, spoke about the field of academic surgery during a panel on practice options. Although women make up nearly half of U.S. medical school classes, she said, 15 percent of entering surgery residents and 13 percent of faculty members in surgery are women.

Covidien, a health care products company, created the Women in Surgery platform to “champion current and future female surgeons at all stages of their careers.”


Pictured: Drs. Deveney (left) and Orloff (right) speak with Dr. Nicole VanDerHeyden of Salem Hospital during the Women in Surgery conference.


OHSU Communications
503 494-8231