Highlights of the ACSPA Board of Directors and the ACS Board of Regents Meetings
October 6,7, and 11, 2007
American College of Surgeons Professional Association (ACSPA)
One current Governor and three former Governors were reappointed to a second term on the ACSPA-SurgeonsPAC Board. Sara L. Hartsaw, MD, FACS, of Gillette, WY, was reappointed to a second and final term on the ACSPA-SurgeonsPAC Board of Directors. Dr. Hartsaw is also currently serving a second term on the College’s Board of Governors. The three former Governors who were reappointed are Charles W. Logan, MD, FACS, Little Rock, AR; C. Alden Sweatman, MD, FACS, Columbia, SC; and Steven D. Wexner, Weston, FL.
American College of Surgeons (ACS)
Strategic planning consumed the bulk of the Board of Regents meetings content during the 93rd annual Clinical Congress in New Orleans, LA. Strategic planning is an ongoing process that will continue during the February 2008 meeting of the Board.
Advocacy
The analysis of the 2007 Board of Governors survey was considered part of the strategic planning. The College’s actions as a result of the Board of Governors surveys were also reviewed and discussed.
It is the responsibility of each Governor to communicate to the College’s leadership the concerns of the Fellows they represent regarding major issues related to the profession of surgery. Communication of concerns is accomplished through the annual Board of Governors survey. The results of these annual surveys are used by the College’s leadership to determine the future direction and programs of the College.
Education
The Board of Regents approved a business plan for transferring the administration of the Advanced Trauma Operative Management (ATOM) Course to the College. The hands-on surgical skills course, developed by Lenworth M. Jacobs Jr., MD, FACS, has been well received and is now at the point of needing a national sponsor. The need for the course has been studied and it was determined that the course would fill a gap in surgical skills education in the United States.
The Board of Regents approved the request to combine the data in the ACS Case Log System with the data from the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) outcomes database. The combining of data will be done in order to create a single and larger dataset.
Online December 3, 2007