WASHINGTON — Jo Buyske, MD, FACS, a general surgeon who helped reshape surgical training and worked to make surgical careers more sustainable, is the 2026 recipient of the Dr. Mary Edwards Walker Inspiring Women in Surgery Award. The award, presented annually at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress, recognizes an individual’s contributions to the advancement of women in the field of surgery.
The award will be presented to Dr. Buyske at Convocation during the ACS Clinical Congress 2026 in Washington, D.C., September 26-29, where thousands of surgeons convene each year to advance surgical quality, patient safety, and access to care.
Transforming Surgical Training
Throughout her career, Dr. Buyske’s work has helped reshape surgical training nationwide and expand opportunities for women in the field.
Since 2017, she has served as executive director and CEO of the American Board of Surgery (ABS), becoming the first woman to hold the CEO role at ABS. She also served as the first woman president of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons.
Under her leadership, the ABS modernized board certification requirements to keep pace with clinical advances and better meet practicing surgeons’ needs.
To help strengthen the surgical workforce, Dr. Buyske helped devise family-friendly policies, create pathways back to clinical practice for surgeons who had stepped away, and foster a cultural shift around workplace standards. For Dr. Buyske, this was about serving all surgeons, not just women.
“It was about trying to be fair, do the right thing, and be practical,” she said.
A Commitment to Global Surgery
Dr. Buyske received her medical degree from Columbia University in New York and completed a general surgery residency and research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. After starting her career at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts, she eventually became chief of surgery and director of minimally invasive surgery at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and associate professor of clinical surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, both in Philadelphia.
As a medical intern, she earned a spot on a Médecins du Monde and Médecins Sans Frontières mission to Mozambique, then in the late stages of a lengthy civil war. Shocked by the country’s profound needs, she felt a strong commitment to help.
Using a directory of volunteerism opportunities maintained by the ACS Health Outreach Program for Equity in Global Surgery (ACS H.O.P.E.®; then known as Operation Giving Back), she contacted three organizations. She collaborated with each but made her strongest connection to Partners In Health, a nonprofit working in Haiti.
She initially served as a respite surgeon in Port-au-Prince, providing coverage for local surgeons. She later spent five years helping secure accreditation for Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais, Haiti’s main teaching hospital, and creating a system to train surgeons, nurse anesthetists, obstetrician-gynecologists, and emergency physicians.
Lasting Legacy in Surgical Leadership
Dr. Buyske is a member of the board and past director of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-International and a director of the American Board of Medical Specialties. She also is an adjunct professor of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, where her practice has included minimally invasive general and gastrointestinal surgery and acute care surgery.
She plans to retire from the ABS and all other roles in the surgical profession in 2027.
“Surgery is an incredible career,” she said. “The core of it is caring for people and helping them through some of the most difficult times of their life. It’s such a gift to have the tools and the opportunity to be that person.”
About the Inspiring Women in Surgery Award
The Inspiring Women in Surgery Award is presented annually at the ACS Clinical Congress in recognition of an individual’s contributions to the advancement of women in the field of surgery. The award honors the fortitude and accomplishments of Mary Edwards Walker, MD (1832–1919). Dr. Walker volunteered as a surgeon during the Civil War, becoming the first female surgeon to receive a commission with the U.S. Army. As a result of her service, she became the only female recipient of the Medal of Honor.
