USA Health resident receives scholarship to attend national surgery meeting

Fourth-year surgery resident Dr. Ashley Williams, left, and a member of the Project Inspire mentorship program prepare to go into surgery. Project Inspire is a three-week, hospital-based injury-prevention program that uses exposure and mentorship to inspire participant to become the best version of themselves. 

Ashley Williams, M.D., chief resident of surgery at USA Health, was recently awarded an American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) Research and Education Foundation Scholarship to attend the 78th Annual Meeting of AAST and Clinical Congress of Acute Care Surgery. The meeting will be held from Sept. 18-21 in Dallas.

This year, Williams received one of the 19 scholarships awarded to medical students, residents and in-training fellows across the country to attend the annual meeting. Awardees are selected by a committee of well-respected trauma surgeons from within the AAST.

“The AAST Resident Scholarship is a very prestigious scholarship,” Williams said. “It is an honor and a privilege to be amongst the current leaders and innovators in the field of acute care surgery. This is a place to learn and network.”

She said that she is looking forward to the learning experiences from the meeting. Her interests include injury prevention and reduction in recidivism and experts with these same interests will be presenting at the meeting.

Jon Simmons, M.D., trauma medical director and chief of trauma and acute care surgery at USA Health, wrote the letter of recommendation for Williams’ scholarship application.

“The AAST is the premier trauma organization and having Dr. Williams receive this scholarship speaks to the quality of our trauma center and the outstanding surgical residency program at USA Health,” he said. “I have no doubt that Dr. Williams will be a future leader in our field by giving a voice to those without access to healthcare and by reducing trauma recidivism via programs like Project Inspire.”