Paula Ferrada, MD, FACS, FCCM, MAMSE, is Chair of the Department of Surgery at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus and Division and System Chief of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery for Inova. She also serves as Medical Director of Perioperative Services. She is a Professor of Medical Education at the University of Virginia.
A long-practicing trauma surgeon, Dr. Ferrada leads at the intersection of clinical care and health system operations. Her perioperative work has focused on aligning scheduling policies with how surgeons actually work, using predictive analytics to make existing capacity more visible and accessible.
Her research has contributed to evolving trauma resuscitation practices, including work on prioritizing circulation in patients with exsanguinating hemorrhage. She has authored more than 145 peer-reviewed articles with more than 7,000 citations, led multicenter trials, and contributed to national practice guidelines. She serves on the editorial boards of Surgery, the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, and the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, and is an Associate Editor of the American Journal of Surgery.
Dr. Ferrada is a Governor of the American College of Surgeons, representing Virginia, and a past President of the Panamerican Trauma Society. She has held leadership roles within the American College of Surgeons, the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, and the Association of Women Surgeons. She was also appointed by the Governor of Virginia to the state EMS Advisory Board. Dr. Ferrada is a Member of the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators and a graduate of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine program. In 2025, she completed The Executive Program at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.
Prior to joining Inova, Dr. Ferrada was a Professor of Surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she directed the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship, served as Medical Director of the Surgical and Trauma Intensive Care Units, and was elected by her peers to the board of Medical College of Virginia Physicians.
Dr. Ferrada completed medical school in her native Colombia before training in the United States. Following a research year at the University of Miami, she completed her surgical residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, becoming the first Colombian woman to graduate from a Harvard-affiliated surgical training program. She completed surgical critical care training at the University of Pittsburgh and was the first Acute Care Surgery Fellow at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland.
She has established and funded scholarships supporting international exchange opportunities for young surgeons and has mentored women into surgical leadership roles worldwide. This work was recognized by the Association of Women Surgeons with the Olga Jonasson Distinguished Member Award.
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
In the News
Podcasts
Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma:
Lectures
2024
2023
2022
Fellowships
University of Miami Health System
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
R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center
Training Specialty: Acute Care Surgery
7/1/2009 - 6/30/2010
Patient Reviews
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