Program Coordinator

Department: General Surgery

When Evan Ward came to VCU, her talents were quickly recognized. She was promoted to Residency Coordinator for General Surgery in November 2018 after serving as General Surgery Educational Programs Coordinator since May 2018, and before that, as  Administrative Assistant for the General Surgery Residency since August 2017. In her current role, she provides coordinative, administrative, logistical, and caring interpersonal  support for 46 surgical trainees, including monitoring accreditation status, scheduling, resident evaluations, and interview and orientation processes. As a testament to her impact, when Rahul J. Anand, M.D., Professor of Surgery and General Surgery Residency Program Director, asked colleagues for comments on Ms. Ward to support this nomination, he received comments from nearly 30 faculty, administrators, and trainees, enthusiastically describing knowledge base, teamwork, mentoring ability, and caring, constant support for surgery residents.

“Her door is always open, and she has an amazing grasp on the needs of the residency program as well as of the individual resident needs. As a member of our clinical competency committee, I work closely with Evan to review resident evaluations and I always marvel at how organized and thorough she is and how well she understands the residency standards,” attests Patty Lange, M.D., Associate Program Director, General Surgery Residency, Pediatric Surgery, CHoR, VCU. Ms. Ward’s impact begins right away. “The phenomenal job Evan did during my interview season still stands out to me. Evan gave an enthusiastic and informative overview of Richmond, its neighborhoods, VCU Health and our program. With her charismatic and engaging personality, I can't imagine a better face to welcome recruits to the program,” recalls Matt Wishnoff, M.D., Surgery PGY3 Resident. “She knows our families by name. She is tuned into our home lives. She  even sometimes helps residents find faith in themselves. For one resident, Evan took it on herself to elicit additional evaluations from attendings over a period of several months to boost their confidence,” recalls Haoxuan A. Xu, PGY4, General Surgery. Many residents describe experiences where Ms. Ward made a difference by skillfully guiding them to needed support that allowed them to continue training.

“During my time as administrative chief resident she worked very closely with me and was quick to lend a helping hand . . . always open to hearing my concerns and helping trouble-shoot solutions,” explains Lindsey Ferro, M.D., VCU Surgery Class of 2020. “She helped guide me through maternity leave during residency, which is a hefty feat for anyone, with a ton of hoops to jump through and multiple governing bodies to manage. Even now, as a fellow, it is not uncommon for me to call Evan when I have a question.”

William Benjamin Rothstein, M.D., VCU Surgery Class of 2022, states "Since Evan took over as our program coordinator, we have been blessed with the most responsive, organized, and genuinely caring figure a residency could possibly ask for. She makes the occasionally daunting admin tasks of residency manageable, and she does it with endless patience and kindness. Even after I graduated, she has been invaluable in helping me complete necessary paperwork for my next position. She goes over and above for us every day." Ms. Ward provides valuable service and insight to key VCUHS committees that work to improve training programs and assess trainee competency attainment, including the Program Coordinator Advisory Committee, Surgical Education and Oversight, Program Evaluation, and Clinical Competency committees. “Evan has been an incredible asset to our residency program. With her help, she has allowed us to dedicate our focus to our surgical training…She has improved our residency in too many ways to count," summarizes Lucas Keller-Biehl, M.D., VCU Surgery PGY3 Resident.

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