Surgeon-educator Barbara J. Pettitt, MD, MHPE, FACS, will receive the Dr. Mary Edwards Walker Inspiring Women in Surgery Award during Convocation tonight.
“I was so honored,” said Dr. Pettitt, a professor of surgery and director of medical student education in the Department of Surgery at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, about the news she had won the award.
Dr. Pettitt is known for her excellence as a surgical educator. A pediatric surgeon, she has combined clinical care with surgical education while also contributing to research on surgical pedagogy. A long-standing part of the Emory University Department of Surgery, she has served both as a chief of pediatric surgery and in multiple roles as a surgical educator. At present, she is associate director of surgery clerkship and sub-internship for fourth-year medical students in the Emory University Department of Surgery. She also directs the surgery electives program for fourth-year medical students, visiting student programs, and additional educational offerings.
Asked about her career, “I just touch people one at a time,” Dr. Pettitt said, adding that her underlying interest was in seeing novices succeed in mastering core surgical skills. She also delights in helping students secure internships and residencies that best fit their ambitions.
As a result of her tireless dedication to education, Dr. Pettitt’s career has been both heavily awarded by multiple organizations and the impetus for a new award bearing her name. In addition to receiving the Philip J. Wolfson Outstanding Teacher Award from the Association for Surgical Education and multiple teaching awards from the Emory University School of Medicine, Dr. Pettitt was honored when the Emory Department of Surgery named the Barbara J. Pettitt Medical Student Teaching Award after her. This award was created in 2020 to celebrate the surgical resident voted best medical student teacher.
She also is a longtime member of multiple organizations focused on women in surgery, including serving for 7 years as the chair of the Women in Surgery Committee of the ACS. She has also been the recipient of the Olga Jonasson Distinguished Member Award from the Association of Women Surgeons.
The Inspiring Women in Surgery Award is presented annually at 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, the first female surgeon to serve in the US Army and the only female recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
In addition to receiving the Inspiring Women in Surgery award at Convocation on October 19, Dr. Pettitt will co-moderate “Distinguishing Medical Students in a Pass-Fail World,” on October 20, 2024, from 2:30 to 4:00 pm.
