Welcome back to The Intentional Surgeon, the podcast where we dive into the people, institutions, and ideas that are changing the culture of surgery. In this episode, Dr. Sharon L. Stein is joined by the incredible Dr. Sherry M. Wren, a highly respected surgeon with a career dedicated to international medicine, humanitarian surgery, and global surgery.

Key Discussion Points:

• Dr. Wren’s introduction to international medicine, beginning in 2005, and how her experiences shaped her career.
• Her impactful work in conflict zones like Southern Sudan, Haiti, and Chad with organizations like Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
• The importance of competency-based training in low-resource settings and how training local staff like nurses in C-sections can have profound impacts on global healthcare.
• Dr. Wren’s insights into surgical capacity building and her experience working with the College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa (COSECSA) to improve surgical education across Africa.
• The concept of task-sharing and how non-surgeons can safely perform minor surgeries, challenging traditional practices and opening new avenues for healthcare delivery.
• Her work with Zimbabwe’s low-resource laparoscopy courses and efforts to create sustainable surgical education models that extend beyond the capital cities.

About Dr. Sherry M. Wren: Dr. Sherry M. Wren is a board-certified general surgeon who specializes in complex HPV diseases and GI cancers. She is deeply involved in global surgery, serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the World Journal of Surgery. Dr. Wren has earned numerous awards, including the She for She award from Women in Surgery Africa. She has dedicated much of her career to translating U.S. medicine abroad, particularly in underserved and conflict-affected regions.