ACS Surgeons as Educators

Course Description

This six-day intensive course, offered by the ACS Division of Education, is designed to provide surgeons with the knowledge and skills to enhance their abilities as teachers and administrators of surgical education programs.

The course emphasizes the needs of adult learners and the techniques necessary to develop an effective learning environment for medical students, surgical residents, and colleagues. The class size is limited, and participants are carefully selected to foster highly interactive sessions.

Course Setting

The course will be held at the Emory Conference Center Hotel, 1615 Clifton Rd., Atlanta, GA, 15 miles from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

This premier hotel and conference center is set on the campus of Emory University and is surrounded by 26 acres of forest preserve. Hotel amenities include a fitness center, complimentary wireless high-speed Internet access and parking, an indoor swimming pool, and hiking and biking trails. For additional information, please contact the conference center by phone at 800-933-6679 or visit their website.

Intended Participants

The course is intended for full-time faculty members who are interested in acquiring or honing skills in curriculum development, teaching, performance and program evaluation, and program administration as well as faculty who have direct teaching responsibilities for medical students or residents.

Participants are expected to free themselves from all work obligations during the course. The intensive nature of the program requires that evenings be kept free for preparation and other course activities; full participation by all attendees throughout the program is expected.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to:

• Select optimal teaching methods and technologies and enhance the application of these methods to maximize learning.
• Plan and document an instructional unit (for example, a clerkship or residency rotation) using an organized instructional design framework.
• Apply leadership and management skills in the administration of educational programs, including motivating faculty, implementing change, managing conflict, and guiding career development.
• Develop a sound system for assessing the performance of learners and teachers and the efficacy of curricula at the undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education levels.