Current Challenges and Opportunities in Surgery Residency Training: Perspectives of Residency Program Directors and Surgery Residents

The ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators Grand Rounds Series is pleased to present this virtual panel discussion with Dr. Audra Clark, Dr. Subhasis Misra, Dr. Maya Hunt, Dr. Nadj Pierre, and Dr. Sophia Williams-Perez, moderated by Dr. Mohsen Shabahang, with welcoming remarks by Dr. Ajit K. Sachdeva. During this session, you will hear from program directors and surgery residents as they share their perspectives on the current challenges and opportunities in surgery residency training.

Audra Clark, MD, FACS

Dr. Audra Clark is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She specializes in acute and reconstructive burn care, critical care, and acute kidney injury in critical care. Dr. Clark completed all of her medical training at UT Southwestern, including medical school, her residency in general surgery, a research fellowship in burn surgery, and a clinical fellowship in burn surgery and surgical critical care. She serves as the Program Director for the General Surgery Residency. 

Subhasis Misra, MD, MS, FACS, MAMSE

Dr. Subhasis Misra is a board-certified surgeon specializing in surgical oncology and serves the Tampa, Florida area as part of BayCare Medical Group, where he sees patients age 18 and older. He brings significant expertise in providing comprehensive cancer care. Dr. Misra performs the full breadth of cancer surgery, including advanced surgery for breast cancer together with oncoplastic reconstruction and nipple-sparing mastectomies, melanoma and other skin cancers, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal tumors, sarcomas, cancers of the liver, pancreas, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon and rectum, lymph node surgeries, and port placements. 

Dr. Misra earned his medical degree in India and did his general surgery internship at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois and a general surgery residency at Fairview Hospital Cleveland Clinic Health System in Cleveland, Ohio where he served as the Chief Resident. He then completed a surgical oncology fellowship at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, FL. Given his interest in leadership and administration, Dr. Misra also earned a Master’s degree in Health Systems Management from Rush University in Chicago. 

At BayCare, Dr. Misra is the founding Program Director for the General Surgery Residency and leads the training of future surgeons.  Prior to this he was an Associate Professor, Division of Surgical Oncology at TTUHSC Amarillo and El Paso. He also founded a new General Surgery Residency program at Brandon, FL. He has tremendous passion for education and research resulting in multiple faculty awards including the teacher of the year on many occasions and was the Principal Investigator for the $1.45 Million Colorectal Cancer screening grant from CPRIT while a faculty at TTUHSC Amarillo.  

He is a recognized expert in the field of medical education, having worked with medical students, residents, fellows, physician assistant and nursing students over the years. This resulted in him getting inducted into the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators. Subsequently he received the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to India where he is a visiting Professor at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh campus. His project and focus there were “Changing Medical Education by Implementing Novel Educational Administration and Pedagogical Approach.” The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. 

Dr. Misra’s clinical, educational, and research interests are in cancer surgery, health policy and advocacy for cancer care in the community, population health, and the full spectrum of medical education.  

Maya L. Hunt, MD

Dr. Maya Hunt is a general surgery resident at Indiana University. She has completed two clinical years and is currently in her professional development time as a Surgical Education Research Fellow under Dr. Dimitrios Stefanidis and Dr. E. Matthew Ritter, and the Surgical Education National Trials fellow working on SECOND and THIRD Trial under Dr. Karl Bilimoria and Dr. Yue-Yung Hu. She is also working to complete her Master's in Health Professions Education at the University of Illinois Chicago, with her thesis exploring unionization among general surgery residents. She plans to pursue an endocrine surgery fellowship after residency and with a career emphasis on teaching and mentoring medical students and residents. Her research interests include surgical education, surgical culture within the learning environment, leadership and power dynamics, communication, and mentorship.

Nadj L. Pierre, MD

Dr. Nadj Pierre is a PGY-5 General Surgery Resident and the current Administrative Chief at WellSpan York Hospital. She leads with intention, as Wellness Director, Resident Research Liaison, and Wellbeing Champion for the entire health system. Dr Pierre was the first to coordinate a resident-led health fair that reached hospital-wide staff, building something by residents, for residents, and beyond, and creating a model rooted in peer-driven wellness and sustainability.

She is the founder of the Doctors of Color Consortium (D.O.C.C.), a theory-driven, multi-tiered mentorship initiative designed to support minorities in medicine through structured, community-anchored relationships. Her work bridges clinical excellence with advocacy, mentorship, and institutional change—advancing a future in which wellness and equity is embedded in the culture of healthcare.

Sophia Williams-Perez, MD, MEd

Dr. Sophia Williams-Perez is a PGY3 in general surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She completed her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. She then achieved her medical degree from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City, Iowa in 2017 while serving in the United States Naval Reserves via the Health Professions Scholarship Program. During her time at Baylor, she recently completed a two-year NIH-funded T32 research fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center where she studied medullary thyroid cancer, patient education materials, and underrepresentation in cancer research. Her research and clinical interests include surgical oncology, health disparities, and surgical education. 

The session will be moderated by Mohsen Shabahang, MD, PhD, FACS, MAMSE, Chair of the Subcommittee on Novel Teaching and Assessment Methods and Educational Resources for the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators. Dr. Shabahang is the VP/CMO of the Wellspan Surgery Service Line, York, PA. Dr. Shabahang joined Wellspan in summer 2021.

Ajit K. Sachdeva, MD, FACS, FRCSC, FSACME, MAMSE, will deliver opening remarks. Dr. Sachdeva is the founding director of the division of education at the American College of Surgeons. He established this new division, which is responsible for the development and implementation of innovative educational programs for surgeons, surgery residents, medical students and members of surgical teams. Under Dr. Sachdeva’s leadership, several major education and training initiatives have been launched. These include programs to promote expertise and excellence in surgery; cutting-edge simulation-based programs; Program for Accreditation of Education Institutes (simulation centers); ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators; a range of continuous professional development programs; and an innovative Patient Education Program. Dr. Sachdeva also serves as adjunct professor of surgery at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.

Dr. Sachdeva was awarded the Distinguished Educator Award (a lifetime achievement award) by the Association for Surgical Education, and the Award for Outstanding Contributions to Healthcare Simulation from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare. He has also received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, the Blockley-Osler Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching, the Board of Trustees’ Award for Teaching Excellence, and Golden Apple Awards for teaching excellence. Dr. Sachdeva has served on the boards of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and Accreditation Council for Graduation Medical Education (ACGME). Dr. Sachdeva has served as president of the Association for Surgical Education, president of the American Association for Cancer Education, president of the Alliance for Clinical Education, president of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, and president of the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education.