Covidien Launches New Initiative To Champion Female Surgeons

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 15 Oct 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Covidien (NYSE: COV, BSX: COV), a leading global provider of healthcare products, today launched an industry-leading Women in Surgery initiative at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) meeting in San Francisco. The Covidien Women in Surgery program will champion and support current and future female surgeons at all stages of their careers to help address the growing need for surgeons in the United States.

At the current rate of medical school admissions, the U.S. will experience a shortage of approximately 100,000 surgeons by 2020. Even as patient demand for female surgeons rises, the percentage of women surgeons remains disproportionately low at 13%, despite women representing nearly half of all medical school applicants.

"Our country's health care system will face a serious surgeon shortage if we do not act to fill the pipeline of surgeons by supporting young women who are interested in choosing surgery as their profession," said Barbara Bass, MD, Charter-Advisory Council member. "There's a clear need for an environment that encourages women to become surgeons, supports them as they develop and, in the long-term, lays the foundation for a new generation of women surgeons in America."

"This is an urgent challenge, and Covidien is rising to meet it," said Jo Buyske, MD, Charter-Advisory Council Member. "The Women in Surgery initiative is an innovative approach that has been greeted with great enthusiasm by many women in surgery," she added.

Peter Valenti, U.S. General Manager, Surgical Devices, Covidien, said that the company's initiative was a response to the evolving nature of patients' health care needs. "Female surgeons play a vital role in meeting the needs of an American population that is aging and that is more aware of the treatments and technologies available to them," Valenti said. "Our goal is to champion female surgeons at all points of their career training and development, and build a supportive community that will help them succeed."

Elements of the Covidien Women in Surgery program announced today include:

Publication of a special Covidien-sponsored General Surgery News Report, which highlights contemporary issues and emerging trends facing medical students and female surgeons and the challenges women face in their pursuit of a surgical career.

Remarks by Christina Frangou, author of Critical Mass: With the Stakes High, Women May Assume Crucial Role in Surgery's Future, who will speak about her research today at the ACS meeting.

A partnership between Covidien and the Association of Women Surgeons to conduct a study of female surgeons across the U.S., providing a platform for them to comment on industry trends and the impact of changing demographics on the health care system and to identify the needs of women who are either practicing surgeons or considering becoming surgeons.

Formation of the Covidien Women in Surgery Advisory Council, which includes female surgeons representing a cross section of U.S. locations and surgical specialties. Members of the Council (see below) will advise Covidien on ways to help women achieve their full potential in the operating room, as well as in their local communities.

Covidien Women in Surgery Career Development Conferences, which will be held in Houston, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and Philadelphia during 2009. The conferences will build on previous Women in Surgery events at Duke University Medical Center and the University of Washington in Seattle, where 100 female surgeons participated in sessions such as Navigating Your Career Choice and How to Balance Work/Life/Family.

"We are delighted to partner with Covidien on a number of key initiatives that will create greater awareness of the need for women surgeons and of the ways in which we can work together to support career growth and development," said Katie Swartz, Executive Director, Association of Women Surgeons.

The Women in Surgery program invites interested female surgeons, or prospective surgeons, to contact Covidien at womeninsurgery@covidien.com.

NOTES

The special report, Critical Mass: With the Stakes High, Women May Assume Crucial Role in Surgery's Future, will be available at the company's exhibit booth (#1329) or at the General Surgery News booth (#1038) at the annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) in San Francisco, California, which begins today.

Covidien Women in Surgery Advisory Council members include:

Barbara Bass, MD
Chair of Surgery
The Methodist Hospital
Houston, Texas

Shanda Blackman, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
The Methodist Hospital
Houston, Texas

Jo Buyske, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery
American Board of Surgery
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Myriam Curet, MD
Professor of Surgery
Director, Minimally Invasive Surgery
Stanford Hospitals and Clinics
Stanford, California

Cristina Ferrone, MD
Division of General Surgery
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts

Karen Horvath, MD
Associate Professor
Department of Surgery
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington

Nathalie Johnson, MD
Clinical Professor of Surgery
Oregon Health Sciences University
Portland, Oregon

Rosemary Kozar, MD, PhD
James H. "Red" Duke, Jr. Professor of Surgery
Department of Surgery
The University of Texas Medical School
Houston, Texas

Heidi Nelson, MD
Professor of Surgery
Department of Colon and Rectal Surgery
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota

Aurora Pryor, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Duke University School of Medicine
Durham, North Carolina

Carla Pugh, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Associate Director, Center for Advanced Surgical Education
Feinberg School of Medicine
Northwestern University
Chicago, Illinois

Margo Shoup, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery
Division of Surgical Oncology
Loyola University Health Systems
Maywood, Illinois

Patricia Turner, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland

ABOUT COVIDIEN

Covidien is a leading global healthcare products company that creates innovative medical solutions for better patient outcomes and delivers value through clinical leadership and excellence. Covidien manufactures, distributes and services a diverse range of industry-leading product lines in four segments: Medical Devices, Imaging Solutions, Pharmaceutical Products and Medical Supplies. With 2007 revenue of nearly $9 billion, Covidien has more than 42,000 employees worldwide in 57 countries, and its products are sold in over 130 countries. Please visit http://www.covidien.com to learn more about our business.

Source:
Bruce Farmer
Covidien

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