Goals of the Committee on Continuous Professional Development:

• To comprehensively address the educational needs of practicing surgeons in both academic and community-based settings and across the surgical disciplines
• To support educational efforts to facilitate the transition from residency or fellowship training into practice
• To play a pivotal role in designing and implementing new and innovative educational programs to address the general competencies at the different stages of the careers of surgeons, from the junior to the senior levels
• To support the efforts of surgeons to fulfill requirements for the maintenance of certification
• To pursue innovative educational methods and make available to surgeons a spectrum of continuing education opportunities close to their practice locations, through the implementation of a comprehensive distance education and e-learning program and regionalization of experiential programs.
• To offer mentoring and preceptoring opportunities for surgeons in both academic and community-based settings
• To support programs and courses in surgical education and to offer fellowships in surgical education
• To support activities that address faculty development and advancement for surgeons
• To monitor the outcomes of specific educational programs

The committee is engaged in a number of activities:

• The Longitudinal Study of Surgical Residents, an analysis of residency positions in each surgical specialty and position trends, the annual number of graduates of each specialty, and an analysis of resident surgeon characteristics. This study is published regularly, and the results are used in workforce planning and resource allocation.
• Surgeons as Educators, an annual week-long workshop for surgical faculty in undergraduate and graduate surgical education.
• Surgical Education: Principles and Practices: a one day postgraduate course for surgical educators on the basic principles of surgical education.

  Committee on Continuous Professional Development roster

Staff:

Ajit K. Sachdeva, MD, FACS, FRCSC
Patrice Gabler Blair, MPH
Cherylnn Sherman

The Committee on Continuous Professional Development welcomes your comments. Please write to the Committee's staff liaison, Cherylnn Sherman, at csherman@facs.org.

Committees and Task Forces

Division of Education

Committees of the American College of Surgeons