The meeting was attended by members of MISO community, representatives of NGOs and business, Embassy representatives, as well as academics.

The Women in Surgery Foundation is an organization aimed at inspiring development and providing comprehensive support for female doctors, nurses and midwives working in surgical specialties.

The Foundation's activities are intended to mobilize women to engage in the process of changes in the  Polish medicine. To this end, programs are being implemented that will give women a chance for an equal start and development in surgical specialties, help them acquire useful skills, and provide them with support and care – substantive,  legal and psychological.

Although the Foundation has been in operation for less than a year, several large, interesting projects have already been launched. The leading initiatives include, among others, the Knowledge Cooperative, which responds to the huge training requirements of women working in surgical specialties and provides a venue to ask questions in a friendly and secure atmosphere, and the ranking application APPROVED, dedicated to all healthcare professionals. - Medics in our country are speaking out more and more often and louder about their working conditions. We want to make it possible for them to speak up in their own cause. We have prepared a tool to help them decide consciously about their next workplace - the surgeon said.

The participants, both male and female, got particularly interested in the project We Count! Nearly 500 women spoke about their workplace, family situation and  challenges they faced on a daily basis. That is the first such a survey in Poland. We look forward to the report that is expected to be released soon!

 
Speaking about the Foundation’s goals, mission and activities President Małgorzata Nowosad stressed that the problems of the Polish surgery could not be reduced solely to the issue of insufficient salaries. One of the main challenges that required immediate action and systemic solutions was a huge generation gap in this surgical specialty. Currently, an average age of surgeons in Poland is 60, and 25% of the surgeons are beyond retirement age, meaning they can leave at any time. - Given the above figures, we can state that the main problem of surgery is the shortage of surgeons - Małgorzata Nowosad commented.

The didactic process enabling a female surgeon to be fully independent is very long - it requires  several years of work in the profession. Also, young people want to start a family. In most situations, the responsibility for caring for a child falls mainly to a woman who is not offered enough opportunities to work professionally during that time. Nurseries and kindergartens at medical facilities would certainly be a great support for female healthcare workers.

- We are committed to ensuring that surgery in Poland is run by well-coordinated and motivated teams, and that the work of all members of each team is equally appreciated and respected - the President of the Women in Surgery Foundation concluded.