WiSC Subcommittees

The work of the Women in Surgery Committee is conducted through the following subcommittees.

The primary goal of the subcommittee is to coordinate the nomination of “worthy women” for leadership positions with ACS and for ACS awards, including awards sponsored by the Association of Women Surgeons and other appropriate surgical organizations, and manage the Dr. Mary Edwards Walker Award nomination process. Nominations are sought by the committee for the following ACS leadership positions and awards.

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker Award

The award is named in honor of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker and is presented annually at the Clinical Congress in recognition of an individual's significant contributions to the advancement of women in the field of surgery. Dr. Walker volunteered to serve with the Union Army at the outbreak of the American Civil War and was the first female surgeon ever employed by the United States Army. Dr. Walker is the only woman to have ever received the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest United States Armed Forces decoration for bravery. Through Dr. Walker's example of perseverance, excellence and pioneering behavior, she paved the way for woman surgeons of today.

ACS Leadership Positions

Officers and Board of Regents Members

• 2020–2023 Regent—A.J. Copeland, MD, FACS
• 2020–2021 President-Elect—Julie Freischlag, MD, FACS, FRCSEEd(Hon), DFSVS
• 2020–2021 2nd Vice President-Elect—Lisa Newman, MD, MPH, FACS, FASCO
• 2018–2021 Regent—Lena Napolitano, MD, FACS
• 2017–2018 President—Barbara Bass, MD, FACS
• 2015–2016 1st Vice President—Hilary Sanfey, MB BCh, FACS
• 2015–2016 2nd Vice President—Mary C. McCarthy, MD, FACS

ACS Awards

• Jacobson Promising Investigator Award
• Jacobson Innovation Award
• Sheen Award—On the frontier of medical science, currently involved in teaching and research, cannot be semi or fully retired
  • 2017 Recipient: Melina R. Kibbe, MD, FACS, FAHA
• Lifetime Achievement Award—Honoring extraordinary contributions and continuous and prolonged service to the ACS spanning several decades
• Honorary Fellowship—Possess an international reputation in surgery or medicine, and has rendered distinguished humanitarian services especially in the field of medicine or surgery
  • 2019 Recipient: Yoko Kato, MD, PhD, FACS, Japan
  • 2017 Recipient: Clare Marx, MD, FACS, United Kingdom
  • 2016 Recipient: Sachiyo Suita, MD, FACS, Japan
• Surgical Volunteerism and Humanitarian Awards
  • 2018 recipient: Barbara Barlow, MD, FACS
  • 2017 Recipient: Sherry Wren, MD, FACS
  • 2016 Recipient: Rebekah Naylor, MD, FACS
• Distinguished Service Award
  • 2020 Recipient: Hilary Sanfey, MCh, MHPE, FRCSI, FRCS(ad eundem), FACS, FRCSEd(ad hominem)

Association of Women Surgeons Awards

• Olga Jonasson Distinguished Member Award
• Nina Starr Braunwald Award

Manage the annual Mentorship Program.

• Review and revise the Mentorship Program Toolkit and applications
• Review mentor and mentee applications and facilitate matches
• Develop and conduct orientation programs for mentees and mentors and host a luncheon program at Clinical Congress
• Check-in and share resources on a quarterly basis
• Evaluate program's efficacy at the end of the cycle and survey participants (October to October)

Identify and submit proposals for presentation—including Courses, Panel Sessions, Meet the Expert Sessions, and Town Hall Sessions—at the annual Clinical Congress.

• Generate topics and select moderators and presenters
• Submit initial session descriptions to be vetted by the College's Program Planning Committee
• Prepare and submit initial session descriptions to be vetted by the ACS Program Committee
• Assist session moderators with program development
• Work with the entire membership, in particular the Chair, Vice Chair, and senior WiSC members, to generate ideas for possible speakers for the annual Olga Jonasson Lectureship

Provides resources for international women in surgery.

• Empower women in surgery internationally to assume leadership roles in their home societies and in local chapters of ACS
• Increase ACS membership of international women in surgery
• Increase exposure of international women surgeons to mentors and role models through sponsored travel of ACS leaders to international locations
• Promote and support applications for ACS scholarship by international women surgeons
• Provide resources—such as this presentation—for use by ACS leaders and US women surgeons traveling abroad to present to groups of women surgeons about the work of the committee

Supports the ACS in its efforts to address intimate partner violence and develop resources that focus on addressing aspects of empowerment including how to address incidents of discrimination, harassment, bullying, and other negative encounters and forms of aggression.

Harassment, Bullying, and Discrimination Tool Kit

Continually evaluate the committee's composition to ensure broad representation, and to continuously evaluate and update the mission and goals to support the recruitment and retention of women surgeons in the ACS.

• Manage nomination and selection process for new committee members
• Maintain spreadsheet of subcommittee responsibilities
• Set policy and procedure for service on the committee (i.e., attendance, participation)
• Oversee subcommittee activities and assistance with organizational tasks
• Evaluate the ongoing need for existing subcommittees and the need for new subcommittees
• Generate discussion/new ideas for new directions for the committee (i.e., Leadership Course)

Web Presence

• Compose text, image, and video content relevant to the WISC committee, its mission, its members, potential new members, and the broader membership of the ACS
• Maintain and update content on a quarterly basis
• Leverage the WiSC website to highlight WiSC-sponsored events at the Clinical Congress

Community for Women in Surgery

The purpose of the ACS Communities is to enhance the communication among Fellows of the College. The editors for the ACS Community for Women in Surgery have a responsibility to:

• Stimulate traffic and generate ideas
• Monitor the postings to the website
• Post events as requested
• Monitor for important topics or issues of importance to the ACS and bring those topics forward
• Post on behalf of the ACS WISC as requested

Participate in the ACS Women in Surgery Community.