The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is pleased to announce that the 5th Annual Advocacy and Health Policy Abstract Competition for surgical trainees will be held at the 2027 Leadership & Advocacy Summit, which will take place from April 10–13, 2027. The goal of this competition is to encourage trainees to become involved in advocacy and health policy efforts early in their careers.
The national competition is open to medical students, residents, and surgical trainees. However, priority will be given to authors nominated by ACS chapters.
Abstract Competition Details
The 2027 Leadership & Advocacy Summit will take place at the Westin Washington, DC Downtown Hotel. All abstracts chosen will be presented live on stage during the Leadership Summit on Sunday, April 11. There will be no physical poster presentations/displays; this will be a live, podium poster presentation with slides in a quick shot format. Abstract Competition participants are expected to attend both the Leadership Summit (April 11) and the Advocacy Summit (April 12–13) and will automatically receive one of the $500 travel scholarships to defray costs of attending the meeting.
Submitted abstracts should follow the specifications outlined below. Please note that only one abstract per individual can be submitted.
Authors of accepted papers must be an ACS medical student or resident member to participate in the competition.
- Abstracts must clearly focus on a specific advocacy activity, intervention, or policy engagement at the state or federal level. Submissions must describe the advocacy context, demonstrate the role or engagement of surgeons, and clearly articulate the actual or anticipated impact on surgical patients, surgical practice, or health policy.
- Indicate if your research is completed research or research in progress.
- A 500-maximum word abstract (not including title or author) that presents a concise summary of an advocacy or health policy topic at the state or national level.
- Abstracts may cover any aspect of surgical advocacy and health policy, broadly conceived, but must represent original activities that resulted in or inform an advocacy or health policy outcome.
- In cases of multiple authors, only one author will have the opportunity to present at the Summit and only one automatic travel award will be granted
- Abstracts should include the following:
- Abstract title
- Author name
- Background - A short outline of the advocacy or health policy issue
- Synopsis – A brief narrative describing the activity and critical elements of the advocacy or health policy issue
- Significance – Explain how the chosen issue impacted or may impact surgeons or surgical patients. Provide policy recommendations.
- The research included in the abstract should not be previously published.
- The competition is open to medical students and all surgical trainee members of the ACS. Priority will be given to authors nominated by ACS chapters. See below for how chapters can be involved.
Chapter Involvement
ACS chapters in the United States are strongly encouraged to establish an advocacy and health policy abstract competition for surgical trainees. These competitions can be held at an annual meeting, an advocacy day, or virtually.
While guidelines for chapter competitions may vary from chapter to chapter, the research must broadly focus on advocacy and health policy issues at the state or national level.
Abstracts submitted through a chapter competition will have priority.
Financial Contribution
Authors chosen for the Abstract Competition are guaranteed to receive one of the $500 Resident Travel Awards for the Leadership & Advocacy Summit to help defray the costs of traveling to Washington, DC.
Awards
Awards for the top three abstracts will be announced before the Hill Visits on Tuesday morning, April 13. The three winners will receive the following:
- First place: $1,000
- Second place: $500
- Third place: $250
Key Dates
- November 23, 2026– Deadline for abstract submissions to be sent to Ashley Claire at aclaire@facs.org
- Early December 2026 – No more than 10 abstracts will be selected for the competition. Chosen authors will be notified and required to apply for a Leadership & Advocacy Summit Resident Travel Award.
- March 29, 2027 – Due date for Slides and PDF of the abstract to be sent to Ashley Claire at aclaire@facs.org
- April 10–13, 2027 – Leadership and Advocacy Summit
- April 11 – Abstract presentations take place live and on stage
- April 13 – Three winning abstracts are announced before the Hill Visits on Tuesday morning at breakfast.
