The UAB Department of Surgery Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee is committed to creating a diverse community powered by individuals and perspectives to allow us to address healthcare inequalities and improve patient care.
We are a proud institutional sponsor of the following organizations promoting DEI initiatives that are now showcased on our website homepage:
• Association of Out Surgeons and Allies (AOSA)
• Association of Women Surgeons (AWS)
• Latino Surgical Society (LSS)
• The Society of Asian Academic Surgeons (SAAS)
• The Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS)
Association of Out Surgeons and Allies
The Association of Out Surgeons and Allies (AOSA) is an organization of LGBTQ+ Surgeons and allies, which promotes acceptance, inclusion and equity in the surgical specialties to further learner engagement, support individual clinicians and researchers, and build a community.
Founded in 1981, the Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) is a not-for-profit educational and professional organization with a mission to inspire, support and empower women surgeons to actualize their career goals and personal goals.
The AWS is dedicated to addressing the issues affecting surgeons today, working to build individual futures in surgery, improving the lives of practicing surgeons and preparing future surgical leaders.
The Latino Surgical Society (LSS) was established in 2017 as an organization to nurture and support the advancement of Latinx surgeons in the US. They aim to motivate, mentor and encourage those who are underrepresented in medicine, medical students and residents who wish to pursue surgical careers.
The Society of Asian Academic Surgeons
The Society of Asian Academic Surgeons (SAAS) was founded after the 6th Annual Academic Surgical Congress, where Dr. Don Nakayama presented an eye-opening talk on the lack of Asians in the leadership of American academic surgery. His talk was later published in the Annals of Surgery.
Later that October, during the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress in Washington, D.C., nine Asian academic surgeons met to discuss the implications of Dr. Nakayama’s talk. This group of surgeons would go on to become founding members of SAAS.
SAAS aims to focus on the personal and professional development of Asian academic surgeons based on the belief that the best way to increase Asian representation in the leadership of academic surgery is to prepare future generations to succeed.
The Society of Black Academic Surgeons
The Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS) was founded in 1989 after a historic meeting in New Orleans, LA in October of 1987. The meeting was called to address the role of Black surgeons in academic surgery, but it was clear that not many were involved. Drs. Arthur Fleming, Claude Organ, Onye Akwari, Eddie Hoover, and Steve Aichele of Davis and Geck were present at the meeting.
They identified that there was no organized network of Black academic surgeons and few young surgeons in pursuit of careers in academia other than Meharry or Howard. Thus, SBAS was born in 1989, with Dr. Arthur Fleming as the organization's first president.
SBAS’s mission is to improve health, advance science, and foster careers of Black people and other underrepresented minority surgeons. They work towards increasing the number of Black and underrepresented minority faculty in academic surgery, cultivating the development of surgical scientists, promoting members to leadership positions in American and global surgery, and eliminating health disparities.
UAB Department of Surgery Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI)
Check out our Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) page for more information on our commitment to diversity and department goals.