Barbara L. Bass, MD, RESD ’86, vice president for health affairs (VPHA), dean of the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), and chief executive officer of The GW Medical Faculty Associates (GW MFA), is a widely respected leader in academic medicine, a surgeon, and a published author known for her pioneering innovation in academic surgery. At GW, Dr. Bass leads the academic, clinical, and research missions and provides strategic direction on all aspects of GW’s medical enterprise, including the university’s relationships with the GW MFA and the GW Hospital. As CEO of the GW MFA, Dr. Bass oversees operations management and provides an effective and efficient administrative structure that supports the clinical enterprise and creates a culture of excellence in both internal and external customer service. Dr. Bass is a GW residency alumna, completing her residency in general surgery at GW in 1986. She completed a research fellowship at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research while serving as a captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. After graduating, she began her career on the GW faculty as a general surgeon and surgeon-scientist at the Washington DC VA Affairs Medical Center. Most recently, Dr. Bass served as chair of the Department of Surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital and built the department from the ground up. She recruited internationally acclaimed faculty; established high-quality clinical, residency and fellowship programs; and created robust interdisciplinary research teams in the basic sciences, translational, and clinical research domains. She also developed a highly rated clinical rotation for medical students and led the creation of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited training programs in general surgery and numerous other surgical fellowship programs.
Selected publications from PubMed
The American College of Surgeons as an advocate for global surgery awareness.
Bell N, Tefera G, Melone M, Bass B
Surgeon. 2022 Feb;20(1):61-65 doi: 10.1016/j.surge.2021.12.001.
Template for a program tailored ACS/APDS phase 1 curriculum: From needs assessment to implementation.
Purnell SM, Bass BL, Benavides B, Martinez S, McNeil SG, Dickinson KJ
Am J Surg. 2022 Feb;223(2):257-265 doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2021.03.034.
Independent Operating by General Surgery Residents: An ACS-NSQIP Analysis.
Dickinson KJ, Bass BL, Graviss EA, Nguyen DT, Pei KY
J Surg Educ. 2021 Nov-Dec;78(6):2001-2010 doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2021.03.016.
Public Perceptions of General Surgery Residency Training.
Dickinson KJ, Bass BL, Pei KY
J Surg Educ. 2021 May-Jun;78(3):717-727 doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2020.09.026.
Public perceptions of general surgery resident training and assessment.
Dickinson KJ, Bass BL, Graviss EA, Nguyen DT, Pei KY
Surgery. 2021 Apr;169(4):830-836 doi: 10.1016/j.surg.2020.10.021.
One of the best ways to ensure sustainable success in DEI initiatives is to address these essential issues prior to and during medical school. The premedical pipeline must encourage a diverse group of medical school applicants to seek positions in medical schools where they know that they will be mentored by engaged faculty committed to DEI. Proof of this commitment is the fact that the DEI initiatives should not be independent curricular offerings but rather embedded in every aspect of the entire curriculum. In addition to faculty mentors, alumni and activated allies should be a valuable resource. These topics will be addressed by internationally renowned medical school deans, each of whom will offer examples of how to succeed and share immediately implementable toolkits and pathways to achieve these important goals.
With Johnson & Johnson MedTech
Published
Jun 2022
DEI mentorships from students to senior surgeons – Dr. Barbara Bass (USA) Creating advocacy to optimize career advancement– Dr. Mary Hawn (USA) Addressing Implicit Bias in Residency/Fellowship Programs: Strategies for Success – Dr. Erica Taylor (USA) Contribution of younger surgeons to DE&I – Dr. Raphael Sun (USA) Recognizing DE&I in the Royal Colleges – Dr. Neil Mortensen (UK) Achieving diversity in product development – Mr. Ahmet Tezel (USA) Discussion – All faculty moderated by Dr. Steven Wexner (USA) and Dr. Patricia Turner (USA) FACULTY Dr. Barbara Bass (USA) – Dean, George Washington University College of Medicine; Past President of the American College of Surgeons Dr. Mary Hawn (USA) – Stanford Medicine Professor of Surgery and Chair of the Department of Surgery at Stanford University; Director for the American Board of Surgery; Editorial Board of Annals of Surgery, Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery and the American Journal of Surgery Dr. Neil Mortensen (UK) – President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England; Former Chair of the British Journal of Surgery; Editor in Chief of Colorectal Disease Dr. Raphael Sun (USA) – Chair of the Executive Committee of the Resident and Associate Society of the American College of Surgeon (RAS-ACS) Dr. Erica Taylor (USA) – Founder & CEO of the Orthopaedic Diversity Leadership Consortium; Assistant Professor and Vice Chair of Diversity, Duke University Department of Orthopaedic Surgery; Duke Health Private Diagnostic Clinic Associate Chief Medical Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Mr. Ahmet Tezel (USA) - PhD, Worldwide Vice President Research and Development, Johnson & Johnson Institute, Bridgewater, New Jersey Dr. Patricia Turner (USA) – Director, Division of Membership Services, American College of Surgeons past Chair, AMA Council on Medical Education; past Chair, Surgical Section, National Medical Association; past President, Society of Black Academic Surgeons; and Member, Board of Directors, Council on Medical Specialty Societies Dr. Steven Wexner (USA) – Director, Digestive Disease Institute, Chair, Department of Colorectal Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Past President American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, Past President American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Past President Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, Editor-in-Chief Surgery, Vice-Chair, Board of Regents, American College of Surgeons
Published
Jul 2021
The second part of the "Leadership During COVID-19" event presented Wael K. Barsoum, Barbara Bass, Aneel Bhangu, Neil Floch, Susan Galandiuk, David B. Hoyt, Tracy Hull.
With Johnson & Johnson MedTech
Published
Apr 2020
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