When interviewing for postgraduate residency positions soon after giving birth to her third child, Sharona Ross, MD, was very hesitant to bring up the subject of children. She was concerned that divulging having an infant and two small children at home would hinder her chances for a career in surgery.

Now when Ross interviews surgical applicants, she enthusiastically talks about her family–her husband of 20 years, Jack, and their four children, ages 4, 9, 13 and 15—hoping they will feel comfortable broaching the topic.

“Multi-tasking is a definite strength many women bring to the table,” said Ross, assistant professor of surgery and director of surgical endoscopy at University of South Florida (USF) Health and director of surgical endoscopy at Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, Fla.

Even though more than 50 percent of medical students are now women, only 6 percent consider careers in surgery. Even fewer pursue surgical residencies, opting instead for specialties like pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, dermatology or internal medicine. Barriers cited as deterrents to entering surgery include lack of role models, perceptions about an “old boy’s club” culture and sexual discrimination, and a work environment unfriendly to family life.

Wanting to improve the odds for attracting more women to surgery, Ross launched the USF Women in Surgery initiative last fall. In February, USF and Tampa General Hospital sponsored a national symposium that attracted some 200 current and future female surgeons to discuss the issues and challenges confronting women as they seek to advance in a changing, but still male-dominated field and to share successes and advice for breaking the glass ceiling in surgery.

Highly accomplished vascular surgeonJulie Freischlag, MD, the William Steward Halsted professor and chair of surgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, was the keynote speaker.

“I was married to an oncologist, who thought it would be too time-consuming for me to do surgery … and sticking with that decision would be the way to make our marriage work,” recalled Freischlag. “My husband and I talked to a social worker about it, and she told me, ‘you’re going to be a surgeon and it’s his problem,’ so I ended up getting divorced to go further to make it happen. It was sad not to have the support I needed from, of all people, another doctor.”

Freischlag is now an award-winning surgeon-in-chief at Hopkins with seven years tenure, one of only three women chairs of academic surgery programs in the country, and one of six ever. She remarried, and has a son, Taylor, 14, and two stepsons, ages 29 and 30.

“I learned to be resilient and persistent,” she said. “You have to really want (to be a surgeon), and have a passion for it. You have to get yourself in the mindset that it doesn’t make a difference what anyone says or does. You must rise above adversity and keep moving forward.”

Even though the environment is improving—depending on the subspecialty, 30 to 50 percent of applicants to surgical residency programs are now female—the perception of the OR as macho-dominated persists.

“We (leaders in surgery and academic medicine) need to push back against the attitude that surgeons are the jocks–the NASCAR drivers and football players–of the hospital, and women don’t belong in such a rough-and-tumble sport,” said Freischlag, who advocates proactively recruiting and retaining women surgeons by being receptive to their desire for more flexible work schedules to accommodate family needs and providing opportunities for them to lead and enrich their careers.

It’s not only a good thing to do, she said, it’s crucial to prevent an eventual shortage of surgeons as demand for the specialty grows, adding that “if residencies only accept men, there won’t be enough doctors to become surgeons for the next generation of patients.”

Women in Surgery Conference

On May 17-18, Covidien will sponsor the Women in Surgery Conference at the University of Maryland. Led by Patricia L. Turner, MD, an assistant professor of surgery, program director of the general surgery residency program, and medical director of the surgical acute care unit at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, Md., the program will take place at Sheraton Columbia Town Center Hotel in Columbia, Md. Covidien, a leading global healthcare products company, launched a comprehensive platform in 2008 to champion current and future female surgeons in all stages of their careers. For more information on the May event, visit www.laparoscopictraining.com.

Ross encourages women to network and seek out mentors to help guide them through the tough years of surgical training, pointing out that men can be effective mentors for women, particularly “men with daughters.” Ross found her mentor in Alexander Rosemurgy, MD, professor of surgery and medicine at USF Health and surgical director of the Digestive Disorders Center at Tampa General. The two are now partners in a practice that focuses on minimally-invasive surgeries of the upper GI tract and disorders of the liver, pancreas and gallbladder.

Increasing the percentage of women in the OR will take continued recruitment efforts and encouragement—and showing them a path to follow, said Freischlag, noting that women represent one-third of residents and faculty in her department. This year, of six surgical interns, three are women.

“When one-third of the audience is female, the landscape begins to change,” she explained. “That percentage is high enough for women to express themselves comfortably. As we continue recruiting women, and showing them the path, and as women see more female leaders and senior surgeons, the number will continue to rise.”

Women Making Strides in Pursuit of Surgery

Women in Surgery Conference