ACS Commits to Improving Surgeon Well-Being through Research, Advocacy, and Resources

One of the College’s defining purposes is to improve surgeon well-being and promote mental health and access to supportive services. The ACS Surgeon Well-Being Program seeks to foster well-being, resilience, and work-life integration for surgeons at every career stage. Through education, resources, tools, and advocacy, the ACS fosters and encourages surgeons’ health and well-being to ensure the physical and mental strength necessary to support their professional pursuits and provide optimal patient care.

The ACS is committed to supporting policies and evidence-based interventions that are designed to develop approaches and best practices that improve surgeon well-being, manifest by ACS leadership in the completed FIRST Trial and the ongoing SECOND Trial.

The FIRST Trial tested whether surgical-patient outcomes under flexible, less-restrictive duty-hour policies, which are designed to improve resident work-life balance, would be no worse than outcomes under standard Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education policies. Findings showed that patients experienced no increase in adverse health outcomes, while residents found their well-being improved with flexible duty hours.

The SECOND Trial builds on the FIRST Trial findings and is providing residency programs with well-being data on their residents and providing resources to help them build well-being interventions, with the goal of discerning effective wellness programs and implementation guidance.

The ACS also partners with the medical community to support legislation that improves and supports surgeons’ mental health and access to care, including the recently passed landmark physician wellness legislation, the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act. The ACS supported the legislation since its formative stages and continues to monitor its implementation

View other ACS surgeon well-being actions and resources: