Committee on Global Engagement Updates

Advocacy Subcommittee

In early April, Committee on Global Engagement Advocacy Subcommittee Chair Ray R. Price, MD, FACS, and Vice Chair Rondi M. Kauffmann, MD, MPH, FACS, attended the ACS Leadership & Advocacy Summit in Washington, DC. The summit brought together surgeons from across the US to collaborate on critical issues shaping the future of surgical care. Attendees also met with congressional leaders and their staff on Capitol Hill to advocate for issues important to surgeons and their patients, including improving cancer care and access to services, funding for critical trauma programs, and improving timely access to healthcare for older adults.

A particularly impactful highlight during Hill Day for the Advocacy Subcommittee was the growing focus on neglected surgical conditions—a topic gaining long overdue attention within health policy circles. Members of US Senators’ and Representatives’ offices offered bipartisan support for $10 million to expand surgical capacity in underserved global regions. This support will provide care for conditions such as cleft lip and palate, club foot, cataracts, hernias, fistulas, and untreated traumatic injuries—many of which go untreated due to lack of resources. The initiative also prioritizes training local surgical teams and assisting ministries of health in implementing national surgical, obstetric, trauma, and anesthesia plans.

Domestic Subcommittee

Members of the Domestic Subcommittee, including Theresa L. Chin, MD, MPH, FACS, Donald D. Chang, MD, PhD, Sandra Freiwald, MD, FACS, Jodie Roure, JD, PhD, and Girma Tefera, MD, FACS, contributed to a feature article written for the June issue of the ACS Bulletin, “Volunteers Are Needed to Fill Gaps in US Surgical Care.”

The American dream promises opportunity for all, yet far too many in the US face insurmountable barriers to basic surgical care. Uninsured and underinsured patients often depend on emergency departments for urgent procedures—leaving many nonemergent conditions untreated until they become life-threatening. While surgeons may be willing to volunteer their time—facility costs, credentialing, and insurance limitations continue to be systemic-based challenges.

Despite these limitations, success stories offer hope and best practices for providing care in resource-limited areas. Programs like Surgery on Sunday, free clinics in California and Utah, and student-run initiatives demonstrate what’s possible when communities come together. Street medicine teams and primary care clinics also play a vital role in identifying surgical needs.

Domestic surgical volunteerism not only improves community health and reduces the need for costly emergency care—it also alleviates physician burnout and strengthens ties to local communities. Compared to international volunteer missions, domestic efforts are often more accessible and sustainable for busy surgeons.

Read the full article.

If you know of additional clinics offering free or discounted surgical services, register them so we can add them to our website.

If you are interested in partnering with us or have any questions, email acshope@facs.org.

Education Subcommittee

Education Subcommittee Chair Tamara Worlton, MD, FACS, subcommittee Vice Chair Chris Dodgion, MD, MSPH, MBA, FACS, Past-Chair Adnan Alseidi, MD, EdM, FACS, and several additional volunteers have been working diligently since last fall to develop a yearlong educational course in global surgery.

The course—which will serve as an introduction to global surgery for health professionals at all career levels—will expand on the 1-day Clinical Congress Didactic Course, “Global Health Competencies for Surgeons,” chaired by Jennifer Rickard, MD, MPH, FACS, and Edgar Rodas, MD, FACS. The course will include both independent asynchronous coursework and regular Zoom discussion sessions throughout the year. Participants who complete the course will receive a certificate from the ACS.

ACS H.O.P.E. volunteers have been working with ACS staff in the Division of Education to develop a certificate global health course with nine interactive modules. This course will provide a comprehensive overview of global health in surgery. Module titles include:

1. Global Burden of Surgical Disease
2. Health and Health Systems
3. Social and Environmental Determinants of Health
4. Strengthening Surgical System Capacity
5. Characteristics of Effective Collaborations and Partnerships
6. Ethics and Professionalism
7. Health Equity, Social Justice, and the Right to Essential Care
8. Research
9. Implementing the Course

In anticipation of launching the course in January 2026, we are gathering interest for our first cohort of learners. If you are interested in taking this course or learning more, sign up to receive more information.

International Subcommittee

One of the primary goals for the International Subcommittee initiated during the 2023 ACS H.O.P.E. Strategic Retreat was to create educational programming accessible to partners across all international locations. The “Global Surgery Expert Lecture Series” was launched in December 2024 to achieve that goal.

Since the series was launched, the International Subcommittee Inter-Hub Education Workgroup, led by committee member Melany C. Hughes, MD, MPH, FACS, has conducted seven webinars. The topics were gathered from international partners and streamlined through a Delphi scoring process.

• Oncology Management: Colon Cancer–Nader Hanna, MD, FACS
• Principles of Burn Management–Raphael Lee, MD, ScD, PhD, FACS
• Trauma Surgery as a Specialty–Marcela Ramirez, MD, FACS
• Surgical Principles of Acute Burn Trauma Management–Raphael Lee, MD, ScD, PhD, FACS
• The Art and Science of Wound Care–Angela Gibson, MD, PhD, FACS
• Surgical Nutrition: A Modern Approach to Optimize Surgical Patient Outcomes—Rifat Latifi, MD, FACS, FICS
• Palliative Care for the Surgeon–Anteneh Habte, MD

On average, the webinars draw 160 registrants, 52 attendees, and engage participants from 12 different countries. During the past 7 months, participants from 34 different countries have viewed the webinars.

Participants on average are attendings/consultants (43%), fellows (9%), residents/registrars (37%), and others, including retired surgeons, medical students, and other health professionals (8%). Special thanks to committee members Wen-Yu “Vicky” Haines, MD, FACS, Melany C. Hughes, MD, MPH, FACS, and Robert Walker, MD, FACS, for helping moderate the lectures.

These webinars are open to the public, and you can register for access. Recordings of the previous lectures are available on the ACS H.O.P.E. website. Our next lecture, "The Breath of Life: Principles and Practice of Ventilatory Support in Critical Care" will be presented by Laura T. Withers, MD, FACS, on Thursday, August 21, at 8:00 am CT/3:00 pm Central Africa Time/4:00 pm East Africa Time.