Women in Surgery

The Association of Women Surgeons
This is a wonderful organization for women interested in a surgical career! The Association was founded in 1981 and is an organization whose mission is "to inspire, encourage, and enable women surgeons to realize their professional and personal goals." Student memberships are available. Please visit the above website for more information.

Especially recommended is the Association's 110-page manual "The Pocket Mentor." The publication is available free of charge and may be viewed on their website. Although the manual is geared towards residents, there is plenty of pertinent information for medical students. Chapters include: Surgical Politics, Gender Issues, Taking Care of Yourself and Directing Your Future.

Table 1. Number of Women Surgeons in Each Specialty Specialty # of Women # in Specialty % of Women Urology 295 10,168 2.9% Orthopedic Surgery  791 23,178 3.4% Thoracic Surgery 20 443 4.5% Neurological Surgery 225 4964 4.5% Colon-Rectal 66 1049 6.3% Otolaryngology 769 9,255 8.3% Plastic Surgery 546 6,095 9.0% General Surgery 3,833 40,448 9.5% Ophthalmology 2,476 18,035 13.7% OBGYN 12,885 39,512 32.6% Total 21,906 153,147 14.3%

Numbers obtained from AMA Physician Characteristics and Distribution in the US, 2000 Edition