On February 14 - 16, 2020, Dr. Sharona Ross, an advanced minimally invasive and robotic Foregut and HPB surgeon from AdventHealth Tampa , hosted the 11th annual International Women in Surgery Career Symposium at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater Beach. This annual symposium was attended by over 300 undergraduate and medical students, residents, fellows and attending surgeons from three different continents and over 30 states. This symposium, which began over a decade ago in response to the low number of female medical students entering a career in Surgery, has touched over 5 million young women and provided them with the tools, knowledge and support to pursue their dreams of becoming a surgeon.
Women make up over 50 percent of the entering medical school students, but the percentage of female surgical residents is quite lower. Currently, women make up less than a quarter of surgical residents within the United States. With the advancements in surgical technology and innovation, women surgeons are and will continue to be an integral part of this surgical landscape.
Through this symposium, women surgical leaders from around the world have helped millions of young women to understand how to successfully achieve their professional dream of becoming a surgeon. This symposium provides these young women with strong role models in order to help them navigate, network and nurture their pathways in order to achieve both professional and personal satisfaction and balance.
In the last two years, the Women in Surgery Career Symposium, with the help of our industry partners, has included local high school STEM students into the symposium. These young female STEM students from the surrounding counties participate in a competition on robotic and laparoscopic surgical simulation.
Dr. Sharona Ross remembers her journey, and her desire at a young age to become a surgeon. She wants these young women at all stages of their journey to have the right mentors to guide them and show them that they can pursue their dreams and “have it all.”
AdventHealth Tampa is proud to partner with Dr. Sharona Ross on this symposium.
