Local Chapters—Tips on Establishing Young Surgeons Committees

Rhonda Peebles, Staff Liaison, Committee on Young Surgeons
ACS Division of Member Services

Overview: There's no established "recipe" for involving young surgeons in Chapter activities, but some excellent "how to" information is presented here. Whether appointing two or three young surgeons to the governing council, establishing a committee for young surgeons, or conducting grand rounds for young surgeons and residents, the importance of young surgeons' participation in Chapter activities is evident. All Chapters—regardless of size—should seek out ways to get young surgeons involved in developing their leadership skills, planning and arranging educational and social programs, and participating in policy-making processes.

Establishing A Young Surgeons Committee within Your Chapter
By Sara Case, MD, FACS, and Charles Littlejohn, MD, FACS, Connecticut Chapter

Forming a Young Surgeons Committee (YSC) at the Chapter level begins with finding young surgeons who are interested in the mission and goals of the proposed committee. The Chapter council can help identify surgeons who may be interested in serving and should make the final selection of YSC members. A YSC should have good specialty representation, and the members should be involved in a variety of practice settings, such as academic, community, military, and so on. Importantly, the young surgeons who are asked to participate should be hard working and eager to take on new committee assignments.

Once a group is identified, it should meet to formulate the initial goals of the YSC, which should then be reviewed and approved by the Chapter council. A dinner meeting is an inexpensive and fairly efficient way to conduct these initial gatherings. The Connecticut Chapter's newly formed YSC five initial goals included:

1. To ensure young surgeon representation in Chapter activities and committees.
2. To encourage new membership within the Chapter and to retain existing members.
3. To encourage the exchange of information among the younger membership.
4. To encourage an esprit de corps among the younger members.
5. To serve as a resource for residents and students who seek a career in surgery.

Appointing one or more young surgeons to serve on the Chapter council will encourage communication between younger and senior members of the College. In addition, these appointments will help younger surgeons develop leadership skills. Information exchange is important to both younger and senior surgeons. Conferences and special sessions at Chapter meetings that are developed by the YSC can help stimulate information exchange. Topics of broad appeal should be chosen for the meeting or special session. The meeting also should allow active discussion by the participants. Open-microphone formats or small discussion groups are popular; participants should be allowed to ask questions and give their perspective.

The YSC should be actively involved in recruiting new Chapter members of all surgical specialties. The Connecticut Chapter has surveyed its members in an effort to address the needs of all its members. Knowledge obtained from surveys can be used to enhance current programs and to develop new activities that will be attractive to potential members.

The Connecticut Chapter's YSC serves as a resource for surgical residents. One goal is to have a resident spend a day with a young surgeon. This way, the resident can see how surgeons interact in the hospital, the office, and the community. Also, we hope this "preceptor program" will help residents select a practice. For example, a resident who is training in an urban setting may wish to spend a day with a surgeon in a rural setting.

A YSC needs the support and advice of senior surgeons, and the YSC activities do not need to be exclusive. By establishing themselves and working within the existing Chapter organization, today's young Fellows, Associate Fellows, and Residents will have an effective organization to rely on for their future needs.

Metropolitan Washington (DC) Chapter Engages Young Surgeons
By Shawana C. Willey, MD, FACS, Metropolitan Washington (DC) Chapter

The Young Surgeons Committee (YSC) of the Metropolitan Washington Chapter (MWC) was formed in 1992. Kurt Newman, MD, FACS, served as the first chair and was responsible for selecting its first members. Dr. Newman, who worked with many residents who rotated through Children's National Medical Center, brought together a small group of surgeons to serve as the initial members of the YSC. The goals of the YSC were to:

• improve the degree of involvement by Resident Members, Associate Fellows, and young Fellows
• increase the number of Resident Members
• improve participation of surgeons from all specialties
• disseminate information to surgical residents concerning the requirements for Resident membership
• decrease institutional and geographic barriers that foster isolation

Because the District of Columbia has a large, diverse surgical community—six training programs exist in the area—we made an effort to diversify our committee with regard to professional activities, hospital affiliation, and geographic location. We emphasized getting representatives from each of the training programs, military programs, and major suburban areas. The initial YSC had 13 members; nine general surgeons, and the rest other specialty surgeons. Two of the YSC members were affiliated with the U.S. National Institutes of Health. In addition, we selected members who were enthusiastic and committed to the goals of the YSC.

Launching a brand new committee seemed a big undertaking for a handful of people. Because Washington is a "city of social events," we felt that perhaps the best way to make our presence known was to throw a party. At our first black-tie event at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, we were honored to have the College's then-President, Alexander J. Walt, MD, FACS, attend. This event was very successful and it has been held annually since. These black-tie affairs have been attended by 200 to 250 surgeons, spouses, and guests.

Because we realized that there would be some concerns about the credibility of a committee based solely on social events, we expanded our activities to include educational endeavors. The YSC's first All-City Grand Rounds was held at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Our All-City Grand Rounds features a case presented by a resident, and Col. David Jaques, MD, FACS, lead us through the workup. There are often lively and heated discussions among the residents, attendings, and department chairs. The residency program directors have given All-City Grand Rounds a priority in residents' schedules, and any regularly scheduled sessions are canceled. Now, All-City Grand Rounds are scheduled Saturday mornings twice each year.

The YSC's newest educational endeavor is a surgical basic science review course for residents for the In-Training Surgical Basic Science Examination. Preparing this review course was an awesome task! The review course covered areas frequently not stressed in the typical residency curriculum. Also, the YSC made an effort to select our best educators for the faculty. The course was free to all Resident Members in the College. Our recently completed course was attended by 70 percent of the residents in the DC metropolitan area and received excellent reviews from the attendees. Best of all, 100 new Resident Members joined the College.

The Metropolitan Washington Chapter has strongly supported the activities of the YSC. Financially, the YSC attempts to be self-sustaining to cover expenses of our social and educational events. While we charge admission for our dinners, we also have accepted contributions from surgery departments, hospitals, and commercial companies. Fundraising has been successful, and the YSC has had sponsors for breakfasts at grand rounds, as well as lunches for the surgical residents at the review course. When our receipts have fallen short of our expenses, the Chapter council has generously given us an allocation from its budget.

Our Chapter has been very pleased with the vitality of the new YSC. Re-creating our success, however, would not be guaranteed by following the same strategy. Because each geographic location has its own unique characteristics, an assessment of each Chapter's goals and resources is imperative.

The strength of any organization is dictated by its leadership. Target a strong, dynamic leader to chair your YSC and keep the momentum going by giving the YSC positive reinforcement. The Metropolitan Washington Chapter supported us by giving us recognition at Chapter functions, arranging for publicity in newsletters, and appointing a YSC representative to attend council meetings. To gain credibility and to publicize our activities, the YSC enlisted the support of program directors and residency coordinators. Some area hospitals and surgery departments have made financial contributions to our events.

Finally, at the national level, the College has supported our activities by sending a representative to our functions. Having an officer of the College or a senior executive staff member attend a local function sends a powerful message to young surgeons and imparts a sense of worth and importance. These messages are heard at the local level and are the types of actions that make the young surgeons realize the vitality of the College and the value of being an active member.

A Senior Surgeon's Perspective
By Kirby I. Bland, MD, FACS, Alabama Chapter
Editor's Note: Dr. Bland served as Chair of the College's Committee on Young Surgeons from 1985-87.

The College's most valuable asset is the intellect, resourcefulness, collective abilities, and leadership of the younger surgeons. The College's leadership values the views of younger colleagues and strives to review and solve problems that are specific to young Fellows, Associate Fellows, and Resident Members.

Involvement by young Fellows in Chapter functions is the mechanism for growth of the College and is essential to sustain its integrity, discipline, and mission. To become involved with and to provide support to senior leaders on the issues that are relevant to all surgeons, young surgeons should:

• Attend and actively participate in Chapter functions
• Openly convey ideas, views, and concerns to Chapters and the College
• Encourage dialogue with senior leadership at Chapter and national levels
• Be proactive and follow up your commitments to the Chapter's leadership
• Volunteer your services to Chapters, when appropriate
• Educate yourself, Chapter members, and constituents regarding common socioeconomic and legislative policies affecting surgical practice
• Strive to provide prudent solutions to concerns of the Chapter and the College
• Encourage eligible surgeons to affiliate with the College

Perhaps now, more than at any point in the history American surgery, younger Fellows should take a more active and prominent role in the decision-making process. The open dialogue initiated by younger Fellows with Fellows in Chapter meetings will encourage both to more proactive and more participatory and will provide forum for resolving problems and issues common to each. Clearly, by consensus building and with the sharing mutual problems, solutions will be imminently forthcoming. As a senior surgeon who shares these views almost with residents and younger Fellows of the College whom I practice, I see this process evolving parallel the legislative and socioeconomic issues of American medicine, public needs, and the health care marketplace. It is my sincere hope that the integration of both senior and younger surgeons' viewpoints will help the College achieve its overall mission and purpose of delivering high-quality Surgical care in this evolving marketplace.

As a senior surgeon, my perspective on these important issues has not changed since serving on the College's Committee on Young Surgeons. While the Purpose Statement of the CYS has been modified over the past decades, the College remains committed to addressing needs of young surgeons. The CYS continues to extol virtues of young surgeons' involvement in Chapter activities to enhance their knowledge of issues that involve clinical, legislative, and practice perspectives. Participation by Fellows and Resident Members in Chapter activities is necessary despite differences in clinical specialty, practice setting, and geographic location. The cohesiveness that can be by all surgeons at the Chapter level will serve as a tribute to the College.

10 steps for successful Young Surgeons Committees

• Select assertive, highly motivated young surgeons to serve on the YSC
• Attain diversity among the YSC membership in terms of specialty, practice setting, geographic location, and gender
• Establish goals and objectives for the YSC
• Develop and implement educational and social programs and activities that will help the YSC meets its goals and objectives
• Evaluate the success of YSC programs and activities and make changes, if necessary
• Seek to involve residency program directors and residents in YSC and Chapter activities
• Support the YSC in Chapter newsletters, at meetings, and in the budget
• Appoint YSC members to Chapter council and standing Chapter committees
• Assist young surgeons in affiliating with the College
• Make membership in the Chapter meaningful to young surgeons

Revised and posted online September 2005.

Editor's Note: This report is based on information contained in the Spring 1996 Chapter Update.

Revised November 23, 2005

 Committee on Young Surgeons