ACS Surgeons as Leaders

Today’s medical environment—both in the academic and private practice worlds—is challenging, complex, and unpredictable.

The need for leadership has never been greater, and the demands on leaders are ever escalating. The purpose of this course is to provide surgeons with an understanding of leadership at all levels of an organization and to provide them with the skills that are essential for effective leadership. Difficult leadership issues, such as navigating the operational and human aspects of change, cultivating commitment to a shared vision and goals, building teams, and developing strategies for leading up, down, and across the institutional environment, will be addressed.

In addition to introducing new leadership skills, the course faculty will assist participants in recognizing and developing the attributes of leadership they already possess. The three-day course will include lectures, interactive forums with senior surgical leaders and panel discussions, as well as role-playing and case-based instructional strategies. Leadership skills, as differentiated from management skills, will be the focus of the course.

Leadership

Whether in the operating room or in the boardroom, surgeons in academic medical centers as well as community hospitals must be able to:

Exhibit the attributes of a leader to effectively resolve leadership challenges
Use consensus development and vision to set, align, and achieve goals
Build and maintain effective teams
Change culture, resolve conflict, and balance demands within the larger environment
Lead oneself with insight regarding personal perspectives that impact effectiveness
Utilize innovative approaches to address evolving concerns during organizational change
Translate the principles of leadership into action

Join senior surgical leaders in a dynamic 3-day course for surgeons who aspire to meet the challenges of exemplary leadership across all settings.

Intended Participants

The course is designed for surgeons who currently serve in leadership positions, or aspire to such positions, and who seek to enhance their leadership skills across a wide variety of settings, from operating room to boardroom. Surgeons in community practice and academic practice who want to advance their skills in leading people, groups, and organizations will find the course beneficial. The emphasis will be on leadership; management of such entities and the skills generally associated with management will not be addressed in the course.

The course is limited to 64 participants. ACS Members will receive priority consideration. All participants are expected to attend the entire course and remain until the conclusion of the course.

Course Content

Leadership Challenges

Effective surgical leadership today requires different competencies than in the past. A focus will be placed on attributes that are important to effective leadership and that will assist the participants in identifying and enhancing the leadership skills they already possess.

Leadership challenges may be effectively resolved by:

Using different leadership styles in different settings
Applying concepts of emotional intelligence
Confronting disruptive behavior and microaggressions
Recruiting, mentoring, and delegating
Recognizing and avoiding burnout

Leading and Sustaining Change

Leaders must be skilled in effecting and sustaining change in individuals and organizations.

Change may be effectively supported by:

Providing a vision and rationale
Understanding adaptive leadership challenges
Motivating and stimulating ongoing change
Sustaining change through others
Developing a quality and safety program

Building and Maintaining Team Effectiveness
Theoretical and practical steps of team development will be explored, including those used in assembling teams, charging teams, and supporting team function within health care organizations.

Team effectiveness can be enhanced by:

Using disparate personalities and ideas to develop solutions
Generating enthusiasm and positive interpersonal behaviors
Evaluating performance and making personnel changes
Aligning disparate team members

Leading Oneself
Current courses on leadership are largely theoretical and provide limited access to being a leader, much as a surgical atlas does not fully impart what is required to be a surgeon.

A focus on leadership as it is lived and experienced may assist both established and aspiring leaders in:

Thinking and acting strategically
Leading oneself and other surgeons
Leading beyond surgery
Leading during a crisis

Art and Principles of Leadership
Leaders must be able to address various leadership situations and translate the principles of leadership into action. This course will use case-based scenarios to launch discussions that demonstrate the importance of flexibility and adaptability for effective leadership.

Course participants will benefit from the shared insights and experiences among attendees as they are:

Evaluating leadership opportunities
Succeeding in new leadership positions
Leading in a community setting
Developing collaborative academic medical center and community relationships
Leading in the redesign of health care
Recognizing and addressing leadership derailers
Leading up to the next level

Course Fee

ACS Members: $5,250
Nonmembers: $5,925

Course participants must submit full payment upon notification of acceptance in order to reserve their seat in the course. Additional details will be enclosed with the notification letters. Full payment of the course fee will be due upon acceptance into the course. Personal or Institutional credit cards will be accepted. Please do not include payment information when submitting the application.

Contact

If you have questions about this course, please send an email to SurgeonsAsLeaders@facs.org.

ACS Course Staff:

Natalie Loper, Administrator
Daniel Cox, Administrator
Michelle McNeilly, Senior Manager

Application

The application period is now open for the 2024 ACS Surgeons as Leaders Course.

Apply Here

The application will be available until Friday, December 15, 2023. Please note, this course has limited seating for a maximum of 64 participants. All applications will be reviewed and applicants will be notified of a decision in January, 2024. If you have any questions or concerns about the application, please email SurgeonsAsLeaders@facs.org.

Continuing Medical Education Credit Information

Accreditation
The American College of Surgeons is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
The American College of Surgeons designates this live activity for a maximum of 25.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Course Location & Accommodations

The 2024 Surgeons as Leaders Course will be held at the Washington Duke Inn (WDI) in Durham, North Carolina. There will be an ACS hotel block reserved closer to the date for accepted attendees.

Faculty

Fabrizio Michelassi, MD, FACS, ESA(Hon.), SIC(Hon.), SACPNE(Hon.)

Dr. Michelassi is the Lewis Atterbury Stimson Professor of Surgery and Chairman of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine and Surgeon-in-Chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Julie A. Freischlag, MD, FACS, FRCSEd(Hon), DFSVS

Dr. Freischlag is chief executive officer of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, chief academic officer of Advocate Health and executive vice president for health affairs of Wake Forest University.

Andrea A. Hayes Dixon, MD, FACS, FAAP

Dr. Dixon became the first black woman Dean of Howard Universty’s College of Medicine in 2022. With the distinction of becoming dean, Dr. Hayes Dixon adds to an already extensive list of groundbreaking accomplishments.

Matthew M. Hutter, MD, MBA, MPH, FACS

Dr. Hutter is a general and gastrointestinal surgeon at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where his clinical work focuses on advanced laparoscopic, foregut and bariatric surgery.

Larry R. Kaiser, MD, FACS

Dr. Kaiser is a managing director with Alvarez & Marsal’s Healthcare Industry Group Health Systems practice. He is a cardiothoracic surgeon by training and specializes in working with healthcare systems, primarily in restructuring, process improvement and strategy.

Melina R. Kibbe, MD, FACS

Dr. Kibbe has been the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Medicine’s dean and chief health affairs officer since 2021. She is also James Carroll Flippin Professor of Medical Science, professor of surgery, and professor of biomedical engineering at UVA.

Carlos A. Pellegrini, MD, FACS, FRCSI(Hon), FRCS(Hon), FRSCEd(Hon), FWACS(Hon)

Dr. Pellegrini is a surgeon with expertise in surgical education, simulation, professionalism, and leadership. He is a pioneer in the development of technological surgical advancements and a world leader in minimally invasive gastrointestinal surgery.

Ajit K. Sachdeva, MD, FACS, FRCSC, FSACME, MAMSE

Dr. Sachdeva is the Founding Director of the Division of Education of the American College of Surgeons, which is responsible for developing and implementing innovative education and training programs for surgeons, surgery residents, medical students, and surgical teams.

Nathaniel J. Soper, MD, FACS

Dr. Soper is a trailblazer in the field of minimally invasive surgery, foregut surgery and surgical education. He was one of the first academic surgeons performing laparoscopic surgery, which has defined his subsequent career.

Beth H. Sutton, MD, FACS

Dr. Sutton serves as a general surgeon in private practice in Wichita Falls, TX. She participates in the call schedule for the Level II trauma center and acute care surgery service at United Regional Health Care System, where her practice is located.

Gary L. Timmerman, MD, FACS, MAMSE

Dr. Timmerman serves as professor and chair of the surgery department at the University of South Dakota Sanford Medical school.

Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS

Dr. Turner is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the American College of Surgeons and a clinical professor at the University of Chicago Medicine.

Staff Consultants

Ajit K. Sachdeva, MD, FACS, FRCSC, FSACME, MAMSE
Director, ACS Division of Education
Patrice Gabler Blair, DrPH, MPH
Associate Director, ACS Division of Education

ACS Surgeons as Leaders: From Operating Room to Boardroom