Featured Speakers

Did you know that if a female surgeon has a patient death, that referrals to all women in the group can decreased by over 50%? Did you know that top universities turn out black and Hispanic computer science and computer engineering graduates at twice the rate that leading technology companies hire them, casting doubt on the “pipeline” being the issue? Dr. Gilda Barabino, a national leader in the efforts to engage engineers in the development of solutions to health disparities, will open the session with data that speaks to the disparity around us in science and healthcare and ways to move forward.

Drs. Yolonda Colson and Lars Svensson, AATS President and President-Elect, will moderate a subsequent discussion with Gilda Barabino and Judy Woodruff, an award-winning journalist and former major network news anchor, comparing and contrasting the challenges in journalism, STEMM, education and cardiothoracic surgery that make effective sustainable change difficult to achieve.

The panel aims to identify unappreciated obstacles in recruitment & retention, finances, culture, and safety, that undermine the success of programmatic initiatives to increase diversity, thereby challenging our efforts to attract and support excellent surgical partners & trainees. Whether a department chair, division chief, or fellow cardiothoracic surgeon, each of us has a vital stake in the success of all of us. By including a broad range of experiences and perspectives in this conversation it is hoped that valuable insights and practical strategies may be identified that will improve not only the health and wellbeing of our surgeons, staff and patients but also the cultural and financial health of our surgical practices.