The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) and Gore have announced an initiative that recognises the contributions of female vascular surgeons and aims to advance the number of women entering the profession.
Currently women account for only 7% of board certified vascular surgeons, yet cardiovascular disease remains USA’s number one killer among women. In a video released on 23 May, as part of the initiative, Eva Rzucidlo, chair of the SVS Women’s Leadership Committee and Vascular Surgeon, Dartmouth/Hitchcock Medical Center, discusses the need for more female vascular surgeons with the rising number of women diagnosed with vascular-related diseases. “The reason why we want to have more women be vascular surgeons is because women want to be treated by women and women need to be aware of vascular disease. It is very clear that within studies women are underrepresented and undertreated; with more women in the field of vascular surgery we can increase the awareness of this deadly disease.”
“Improving the health of women treated for vascular disease will come with greater representation of women in vascular surgery,” said Rzucidlo. “In order to increase our numbers we look to women leaders and pioneers in our community to address the challenges we face and promote the great opportunities before us in the road ahead. The 2012 Vascular Annual Meeting will spotlight outstanding women in our industry and provide insight to the future.”
The Vascular Annual Meeting (Washington, USA, 7–9 June 2012) will showcase women, as three female vascular surgeons will be awarded the SVS Women’s Leadership Training Grant, supported by Gore. On Saturday, 9 June , from 6:30–8:00 am, a special Women’s Leadership Roundtable will feature female leaders in a roundtable discussion of issues critical to women’s leadership. The roundtable will include past winners of the training grant, Terri Kelly, president and CEO of Gore Dorothy Abel, FDA, Center for Devices and Radiological Health.
“We need great talent from all sources in order to advance technology and improve education in the treatment of vascular disease. Gore is proud to join the Society for Vascular Surgery in honoring outstanding female surgeons and increasing the percentage of women in the profession,” said Kelly. “We are committed to improving the lives of patients and feel women play a critical role in supporting these efforts.”
