Education

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Division of Education has embarked on a major effort to address education and training needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following steps have been taken:

1. A Special Committee of the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators has been appointed to identify challenges and propose innovative solutions in surgery residency training and medical student education. The work of this committee is aimed at ensuring optimal outcomes across all surgical specialties.
2. A resource document is being developed to list and briefly describe the innovative E-learning Programs of the Division of Education to address specific needs in surgery residency training and medical student education.
3. Changes in the requirements for relicensure and CME Credits to support this process from various licensing authorities across the country are being compiled and will be made available and kept updated to support surgeons in practice.
4. Specific patient education resources have been developed to support the work of practicing surgeons and surgical teams.

We look forward to your comments and suggestions and wish you the very best of health during this pandemic.

Ajit K. Sachdeva, MD, FACS, FRCSC, FSACME
Director, Division of Education

The American Board of Surgery (ABS) announced that it has modified training requirements in light of COVID-19. Specific information on global recommendations and changes across specialties can be accessed here. Every effort should be made to meet them, to the extent possible. The ABS notes that these modifications are hardship modifications, and are not a permanent change going forward.