The meeting, attended by 95 fellows and surgical trainees, was held at the Regency Marriott in Omaha, Nebraska. The drive from the Omaha airport to the venue was impressive, passing by Creighton University and Medical Center, Boys Town Medical Research Facility, the University of Nebraska Medical Center and University of Nebraska Omaha campus, and Children’s Nebraska. Omaha itself is a beautiful city, full of welcoming Midwesterners.
The surgical trainees were the focus of the meeting and enthusiastically supported by the faculty in attendance. Eleven abstract presentations were followed by 19 poster presentations, accompanied by snacks and beverages. Three high-energy resident teams participated in surgical jeopardy, with the winning team from Creighton receiving a travel grant to attend the 2024 ACS Clinical Congress in San Francisco. Throughout the competition there was a spirited discussion of jeopardy rules and correctness of answers by the audience.
During the Chapter business meeting, attendees were updated about state advocacy efforts regarding helmet requirements and pre-authorization rules. Quan P. Ly, MD, FACS, Commission on Cancer (CoC) State Chair, reviewed the requirement for synoptic reporting of operative procedures to comply with CoC standards and encouraged resident paper contribution to the national CoC competition. Charity H. Evans, MD, FACS, Committee on Trauma State Chair, reported that the Nebraska legislature had increased the state license plate tax to provide increased state trauma system funding; however, the overall Nebraska system is still underfunded and a prime opportunity for advocacy.
Chapter President Aru Panwar, MBBS, FACS, presented the ACS Nebraska Chapter Distinguished Service Award to the iconic Robert J. Fitzgibbons Jr., MD, FACS, who has been a fixture in surgery in the Midwest his entire career. Dr. Fitzgibbons, from the Creighton University School of Medicine, was instrumental in bringing laparoscopic surgery to Omaha and is a world leader in minimally invasive surgery. He has trained countless medical students, surgical residents, and faculty and remains an educational role model.
Dr. Panwar then presented Presidential Citations to Nebraska Chapter members who have been instrumental in reinvigorating the chapter and supporting Nebraska surgical trainees. Recognized surgeons were Thomas J. White, MD, FACS, Sean J. Langenfeld, MD, FACS, Abbey Fingeret, MD, FACS, Viren Punja, MBBS, FACS, Kalyana C. Nandipati, MBBS, FACS, Devi Mukkai Krishnamurty, MBBS, FACS, and Juan A. Santamaria, MD, FACS. Dr. Fingeret is the incoming Chapter President and Rudy P. Lackner, MD, FACS, is the incoming at-large ACS Governor representing the Nebraska Chapter.
Dinner was accompanied by an inspiring presentation, titled “Gratitude,” by Charles J. Filipi, MD, FACS, Creighton faculty member, founder of the Creighton Global Surgery Fellowship, and recipient of the 2023 ACS Surgical Humanitarianism Award. Doctor Filipi humbly described his humanitarian journey, starting with a hospice in Walla Walla, Washington, hernia repair for the underserved, Chronic Care International, and a food program supporting street children in Haiti. He credited his family, who were in attendance, for their joint success, stressing their guiding organizational principle, “If it is an act of love, the money will come.” Dr. Filipi’s presentation was captivating to all, but especially to the rapt surgical trainees.
I was invited to give a 2024 ACS update and emphasized the wide-ranging professional and educational support available from the College for surgical residents and new residency graduates.
The Nebraska Chapter meeting was extremely successful, bringing together like-minded supportive surgical faculty and trainees in a convivial setting. The overall focus of Nebraska surgeons on excellence in surgical education, mentorship and role modeling was evident.
Nancy L. Gantt, MD, FACS
ACS First Vice-President-Elect
