The American College of Surgeons (ACS) will host the eighth annual Leadership and Advocacy Summit, March 30–April 2 at the Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel. The Summit is a dual meeting offering comprehensive and specialized sessions that provides ACS members, leaders and advocates with topics focused on effective surgeon leadership, as well as interactive advocacy training with coordinated visits to congressional offices.
Value of the Summit
Adam Miles Berenson
Texas A&M College of Medicine
MD Candidate, Class of 2019
In May 2018, I had the opportunity to attend the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Leadership Summit in Washington, DC. Throughout the conference, I met and interacted with surgeons from all over the country. These included numerous residents, as well as practicing physicians from both academic and private settings. As a third-year medical student preparing to apply for general surgery residency programs, I felt a strong sense of motivation being surrounded by others who have already been successful on this path.
The lectures and activities scheduled for the Summit emphasized topics that will not only guide me as I complete medical school, but also as I prepare for the rest of my career. We heard from influential figures throughout the field of surgery regarding ethics, leadership, critical decision making, and strategic thinking. In addition, I attended a state-based breakout session that provided meaningful insight into the goals and objectives for my local Texas ACS chapters. These discussions will have a lasting influence as I pursue this profession and I gained much more from the conference than I could have expected.
Through my participation at the ACS Leadership Summit, I have become more knowledgeable about the various ways that surgeons across the country are serving as leaders and making a significant impact within the medical community. Unfortunately, I was unable to also attend the Advocacy Summit that accompanies this event. The Advocacy Summit provides the unique chance to discuss health care-related public policy and meet with members of Congress. I certainly plan to return for both the Leadership and Advocacy Summit in the coming years.
A Medical Student's Guide to Advocacy
The voices of medical students (future physicians) in the public forum are important, especially as they relate to patient health and physician wellbeing. To that end, there are many routes available for students to become active in health advocacy.
Access the Medical Students Guide to Advocacy to learn more about getting involved!
RAS-ACS Medical Student Hangout—Save the Date!
Choosing a Specialty: Pediatric Surgery
Monday, March 11, 8:00 pm (CST)
Are you interested in pediatric surgery? RAS-ACS invites all ACS members to an hour-long phone hangout to discuss:
- Why I chose a career in pediatric surgery with Cynthia D. Downard, MD, MMSc, FACS, FAAP
- Future directions in pediatric surgery careers: More subspecialists or more generalists? with Paul D. Danielson, MD, FACS, FAAP
- Careers in fetal surgery with Diana L. Farmer, MD, FACS, FRCS
- Applying into pediatric surgery with Robert Russell, MD, MPH, FACS, FAAP
Cynthia D. Downard, MD, MMSc, FACS, FAAP
Division of pediatric surgery, associate professor of surgery, Hiram C. Polk, Jr., MD, Department of Surgery
Program director, Pediatric Surgery Fellowship, University of Louisville
Paul D. Danielson, MD, FACS, FAAP
Interim chair, department of surgery, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Baltimore, MD
Diana L. Farmer, MD, FACS, FRCS
Chair, ACS Board of Governors
Chair, department of surgery, UC Davis School of Medicine, Davis, CA
Robert Russell, MD, MPH, FACS, FAAP
Assistant professor of pediatric surgery, Children's of Alabama, Birmingham
Join Us!
No need to preregister, just phone in!
Call: 1-888-585-9008
Room: 549-242-585#
ACS Intimate Partner Violence Initiatives
The ACS Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Task Force, formed earlier this year under the leadership of Drs. Barbara Bass and Patricia Turner, has released a host of new resources to support surgeons, residents, and medical students who may be the victim of, or have a family member, friend, colleague, or patient experiencing Intimate Partner Violence. These resources include a series of articles that appeared in the October issue of the ACS Bulletin, a new ACS Statement on Intimate Partner Violence, a Tool Kit on how to identify and respond to Intimate Partner Violence, and a host of other useful resources on this topic. The Task Force continues to meet to develop new materials that will benefit the surgical profession’s understanding and response to this issue. New resources will be added to the IPV section on an ongoing basis. For questions or suggestions on the efforts of the task force, contact Patricia Turner, MD, FACS, Director of the ACS Division of Member Services at pturner@facs.org.
What Medical Students Need to Know about Training for a Career in Rural Surgery
Matthew B. Rossi, MD, FACS
Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons
I love being a rural surgeon. My critical access hospital is in Hopedale, IL, a town of 850 people. I was born in the hospital where I practice. I could look out my office window in between cases and see my kids playing during recess. Everybody knows everybody, and frequently, the patients are relatives of the emergency medical services volunteers, nurses, ancillary staff, and physicians. I love the broad scope of my practice, from primary care to vascular surgery. I endure no traffic lights or road rage when I commute to satellite offices, but I remain vigilant to avoid hitting deer, raccoons, and opossums.
