Our Congratulations to Dr. Robin Petroze for receiving the 2012 Surgical Volunteerism Award at the recent American College of Surgeons meeting in Chicago.

At the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress last week, five ACS members were named recipients of the 2012 Surgical Humanitarian and Volunteerism Award of the College and Pfizer in recognition for their selfless efforts as volunteer surgeons who provide care to medically underserved patients, domestically and abroad. UVA general surgery resident Robin T. Petroze, MD, received the Surgical Volunteerism Award for outreach during surgical residency training.

The Surgical Volunteerism Awards were presented in conjunction with the award program's sponsor, Pfizer, Inc, during the American College of Surgeons Board of Governors dinner, which is one of the highlights of the College's 2012 Annual Clinical Congress. The volunteerism award is given "in recognition of those surgeons and surgical residents committed to giving something of themselves back to society by making significant contributions to surgical care through organized volunteer activities." The surgical humanitarian and volunteerism awardees are determined by the ACS Governors Committee on Socioeconomic Issues, and the awards are administered through the ACS Operation Giving Back program.

Dr. Petroze received the Surgical Volunteerism Award for outreach during surgical residency training for her collaboration with the medical leadership in Rwanda to improve the quality and availability of surgical care. In 2010, Dr. Petroze was awarded a Fogarty International Clinical Research Fellowship to study the burden of surgical disease in Rwanda, which included conducting a nationwide hospital survey to define surgical capacity; developing and implementing a trauma registry at two university teaching hospitals; and conducting a nationwide study to determine surgical needs at the community level. She fostered communication and collaboration among local and international surgical partners in Rwanda by helping to organize the inaugural Strengthening Rwanda Surgery meeting in 2011. She also was a volunteer instructor for a 2011 Advanced Trauma Life Support® course that certified every surgeon in Rwanda and was later invited to help the Ministry of Health develop a national injury care and prevention plan. Additionally, Dr. Petroze has been instrumental in developing an educational exchange between UVA and the surgical training program at the National University of Rwanda.  She is currently obtaining a Masters in Public Health degree here at UVA while doing her third year of dedicated research time.