AWVS Annual Business Meeting - Las Vegas - October 17, 2019

Association of Women Veterinary Surgeons October 17th 2019 1st Annual Business Meeting, Las Vegas

Thank you Dr. Ann Johnson !! 

First donation to the AWVS



Sponsor of the Wine and Cheese tonight



Hopefully one of our first lecturers next year on advice and experiences

Welcome 

Agenda 

History of the group



Mission statement



Bylaws



Executive committee



Other committee roles



Plans for next year



Short term goals



Long term goals

History 

Founded (unofficially) in 2015



Began with 4 members:





Dr. Lynetta Freeman



Dr. MaryAnn Radlinsky



Dr. Boel Fransson

Concerns we had: 

Networking/collaboration for women surgeons (research)



Mentorship for women in private and academic environments



Leadership training



Research on gender bias and strategies to adjust behaviors

History 

Modeled after the AWS (Association of Women Surgeons)



Casual meetings for the past 3 years at ACVS



Discussions ranged from: 

Salary discrepancies



Difficulty with tenure mentorship



Work/life balance



Residency



Filed for 5013c status in 2017



2018 Logo designed and website url secured



2019 1st year to be recognized by ACVS

Mission Statement ď ľ

The mission of the Association of Women Veterinary Surgeons is to inspire veterinarians, encourage collaboration between surgeons and veterinarians in other fields and to enable women veterinary surgeons to realize their professional and personal goals

Female surgical trainees continue to experience gender bias. A culture of sexism leads to physical and social adaptations to fit into the role of surgeon. Participants expressed significant effort to sustain this level of adaptation, leading to fatigue and creation of resilience mechanisms.

Pediatrics. 2019 Sep 23. pii: e20192149. doi: 10.1542/peds.2019-2149.

Women in Pediatrics: Progress, Barriers, and Opportunities for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

Spector ND, Asante PA, Marcelin JR, Poorman JA, Larson AR, Salles A, Oxentenko AS, Silver JK 

Abstract



Gender bias and discrimination have profound and far-reaching effects on the health care workforce, delivery of patient care, and advancement of science and are antithetical to the principles of professionalism.



In the quest for gender equity, medicine, with its abundance of highly educated and qualified women, should be leading the way.



The sheer number of women who comprise the majority of pediatricians in the United States suggests this specialty has a unique opportunity to stand out as progressively equitable.



The fair treatment of women pediatricians will require enhanced and simultaneous commitment from leaders in 4 key gatekeeper groups: academic medical centers, hospitals, health care organizations, and practices; medical societies; journals; and funding agencies.



Next steps include the enforcement of a climate of transparency and accountability, with leaders prioritizing and financially supporting workforce gender equity. This scientific and data-driven approach will accelerate progress and help pave a pathway to better health care and science.

Am J Surg. 2019 Sep 9. pii: S0002-9610(19)30598-7. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2019.09.004.

[Epub ahead of print] Representation of women in speaking roles at surgical conferences.

Gerull KM, Wahba BM, Goldin LM, McAllister J, Wright A, Cochran A Salles A



Abstract



BACKGROUND:



There are a number of factors that may hinder women's surgical careers. Here, we focus on one possible factor: the representation of women at surgical conferences.



METHODS:



Using a purposive sample of 16 national surgical societies, we assessed the proportion of women speakers at each society's annual meeting in plenary speaker and session speaker (panelist and moderator) roles in 2011 and 2016.



RESULTS:



Overall, 23.8% (28,591/120,351) of all society members were women. Of the 129 plenary speakers, 19.4% (n = 25) were women. Twelve conferences (42.9%) had zero women as plenary speakers. Of the 5,161 session speakers, 1,120 (21.7%) were women. Three-hundred fifty-three (39.5%) of the 893 panels included only male speakers. The proportion of women on conference organizing committees was positively correlated with having women session speakers (r = 0.71, p=<0.001) CONCLUSIONS:

There is underrepresentation of women as conference speakers, particularly in plenary roles. There was wide variability in the representation of women across conferences.

ACVS Speakers 

308 speakers



145 women speakers (47%)



Seminar Chairs







Total= 42



Women= 15 (35%)

Laboratory Chairs 

Total= 11



Women= 2 (18%)

3 women as Assistant Directors of the Continuing Education Committee!

By Laws 

Article I: Name and Location



Article II: Mission Statement



Article III: Membership





Regular: Regular membership is open to veterinarians holding an DVM or equivalent degree who are board-certified in surgery or who have completed residency training. Regular members may vote and may hold office.



Resident: Resident membership is open to surgical trainees. Trainees may vote but may not hold a position on the AWVS Board

Article IV: Meetings of Members and Voting 

Section 1: Annual Meeting: The annual meeting of AWVS shall be held in concordance with the American College of Veterinary Surgeons Symposium. The time and location of the annual meeting will be determined by the AWVS Board.

By Laws 

Article V: Executive Committee 

Section1: Composition: President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, past Presidents.



Article VI: Duties of Officers



Article VII: AWVS Board





Section 1: Authority and Responsibility:



Section 2: Composition: The AWVS Board consists of any chairs of the committees and members of the Executive Committee.

Article VIII: Committees 

Section 1: Committees: The President, with the approval of the Board, shall establish and appoint committees, or task forces as are necessary and which are not in conflict with other provisions of these bylaws. The duties and procedures of such committees shall be prescribed by the Board. Chairs of Committees sit as voting members of the AWVS Board

Executive Committee 

President: 



Secretary 



Currently= Nicole Buote, DVM, DACVS-SA

Currently= Nathan Peterson, DVM, DACVECC

Treasurer 

Currently= Robert Buote



Currently -$650.00

New Committees 

Research



Lecture series



Mentorship





Students



Residents



DACVS

Website/Social Media

ACVS Symposium 2020 

Washington D.C.



Lecture series 

What as a group do we want to hear about?



What would we like to speak about?



Business Meeting



Topic Presentation 

Keynote lecture from a Veterinarian or Human Clinician

Short-term Goals 

Increase membership



Set up mentoring program



Create specific gender-related research goals and start collecting data



Create a community on-line with helpful guides/resources for members



Increase women’s participation in ACVS committees

Long-term Goals 

Grants



Lecture stream at ACVS



Planning our own Conference (every 2-3 years)



Encouraging supporting other specialties to form groups

Next Steps 

Call for volunteers will go out for Executive and Committee Chairs 

Please nominate yourself!!!



Committee members will be assembled



Work begins on AWVS Meeting 2020



Website improvement



List-serve engagement

Contacts 



List serve created and will go live after this meeting! 

Invited to the list-serve by emailing info@awvs.org



Previous emails will be added



If you are a facebook member but haven’t emailed me in the past please be sure to contact us.

Facebook page (Association of Women Veterinary Surgeons)

Website www.awvs.org

Gender Bias video ď ľ

Thank you Dr. Laurie Goodrich

Thank you!! 

Teresa Perrell



Ann Loew



My family



Members

Come to ACVS 2020 for the 2nd Annual AWVS meeting!!!