Paula A. Ferrada, MD
Paula A. Ferrada, MD
Specialty
Years of Experience
24
Gender
Female
Paula A. Ferrada, MD
Paula A. Ferrada, MD
Surgical Critical Care,
Surgery
Locations
Inova Fairfax Hospital
Inova Acute Care Surgery - Loudoun
About Paula A. Ferrada, MD
Paula Ferrada, MD, FACS, FCCM, MAMSE, is a board-certified surgeon, mentor, and educator with more than a decade of experience. She joined Inova in 2021 and currently serves as the Division and System Chief of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.
In addition to her leadership roles, Dr. Ferrada served as the Program Director for the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at Inova Fairfax Hospital. She has enhanced the educational curriculum, restructured several rotations, and expanded faculty development opportunities.
Prior to joining Inova, Dr. Ferrada was a Professor of Surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), where she served as the Program Director for the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship and the Medical Director of the Surgical and Trauma Intensive Care Unit at VCU Health Systems. She was also an elected board member of the Medical College of Virginia Physicians.
Dr. Ferrada completed her medical education in Colombia, her native country, before relocating to the United States to pursue further training. After a year of research at the University of Miami, she joined Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, one of Harvard’s major teaching hospitals, for her surgical residency. She was the first Colombian woman to graduate from a surgical subspecialty at Harvard. Dr. Ferrada then continued her training in trauma and critical care at the University of Pittsburgh before joining the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center as their first acute care surgery fellow.
Dr. Ferrada’s passion for educating and mentoring young surgeons began during her residency when she became an ultrasound instructor with the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Since then, she has received multiple teaching awards from various institutions and has held leadership roles within the ACS, the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the Virginia chapter of the Association for Women Surgeons, and the Pan-American Trauma Society.
An internationally recognized advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion, Dr. Ferrada is also an esteemed researcher. She serves on the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed journals, including Surgery, Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, and Journal of the American College of Surgeons, and she is an associate editor for the American Journal of Surgery.
Awards/Associations
- Dr. Olga Jonasson Distinguished Member Award, Association of Women Surgeons - 2022
- Alumni of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM®) Program - 2020-2021
- Member of the Academy of Master Surgical Educators MAMSE - 2021
- EMS Advisory Board Virginia - appointed by the Governor of Virginia - 2021-present
- American Surgical Association
- Panamerican Trauma Society
- American Association for the Surgery of Trauma
- Association of Women Surgeons, Virginia Chapter
- American College of Surgeons
- Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma
Research and Publications
View list of publications from Dr. Ferrada's research
Blog Posts and Interviews
- Paula Ferrada: Leading with Excellence and Compassion in the Realm of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
- Building Better Trauma Systems To Save Lives with Paula Ferrada of Inova Healthcare
- Paula Ferrada, MD, FACS Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
In the News
- The Importance of Being a Champion in Surgery | ACS
- Circulation First for Rapidly Bleeding Trauma Patients: Time to Change the Paradigm?
- Paula Ferrada column: The middle of a pandemic is no time to reduce the quality of care
- Point-of-Care Ultrasound: A Vital Tool in the Emergency Department
- A woman from Cali leads the surgery department of one of the best hospitals in the U.S. - Forbes Colombia
- Pioneering Surgeon Transforms Patient Survival Rates Through Innovation • Forbes Georgia
- 11 successful women of Latino origin in the U.S. | Al Día News
- Breaking barriers: the surgeon from Cali who made history at Harvard
- A woman from Cali broke the barriers of migration and today she is among the elite of medicine in the U.S. | RCN News
- La médica caleña que llegó a ser la presidenta de cirugía de un hospital en Estados Unidos. “Quiero abrir puertas” - Semana
- Colombian woman leads innovation in surgery from a hospital in the United States | Growth | Economy | Portfolio
Podcasts
- Pan American Trauma Society on the NAEMT Radio Podcast
- VHHA's Patients Come First podcast
- BehindTheKnife podcast: Circulation-First Approach to Trauma Resuscitation
- CIO Today podcast
- Boss MD podcast, Ep 113: Leading with authenticity, determination, and optimism with Dr. Paula Ferrara
- The Intentional Surgeon podcast: Walking Towards Change with Dr. Paula Ferrara
- Disruptive Innovators: Building Better Trauma Systems To Save Lives with Paula Ferrada of Inova Healthcare (Spotify link)
- Breaking the Scalpel Ceiling: Dr. Paula Ferrada’s Trailblazing Journey in Trauma Surgery | Ep. 189 Founder's Story (Spotify link)
- Paula Ferrada: Pioneering leadership in surgery and breaking barriers. Innovations Saves Lives
Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma:
- ABC vs CAB and what is xABC?: Hemorrhagic Shock - ED vs OR Intubation? - #167 Traumacast
- Surgical Management of Clostridium Difficile Colitis - Podcast #38 Traumacast
- Careercast: Practical Points for Advancing Your Professional Career
Lectures
2024
- Multiple (Divide) and Conquer: Harnessing Leadership to Enhance Patient Care in Surgery
- Breaking Barriers in Surgery: Achieving Inclusive Patient Care
2023
- AIS Awards
- The Impact in Low and Medium Income Environments of Prioritizing Circulation Patients with Exsanguinating Bleeding
- Second Victim Syndrome: A Resident’s Hidden Struggle
- Navigating the challenges of surgical residency (Podcast with Dr. Cabrera)
2022
Medical School
Universidad del Valle
Internships
Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami
Training Specialty: General Surgery
6/1/2002 - 6/30/2004
Training Specialty: General Surgery
6/1/2002 - 6/30/2004
Residencies
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Training Specialty: General Surgery
6/01/2004 - 6/30/2008
Training Specialty: General Surgery
6/01/2004 - 6/30/2008
Fellowships
University of Miami Health System
Training Specialty: Research Fellow
11/1/2001 - 6/30/2002
Training Specialty: Research Fellow
11/1/2001 - 6/30/2002
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)
Training Specialty: Surgical Critical Care
7/01/2008 - 6/30/2009
Training Specialty: Surgical Critical Care
7/01/2008 - 6/30/2009
R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center
Training Specialty: Acute Care Surgery
7/1/2009 - 6/30/2010
Training Specialty: Acute Care Surgery
7/1/2009 - 6/30/2010
Hospital Affiliations
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