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Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.
Become a member and receive career-enhancing benefits
Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.
In this podcast series, the hosts speak with recently published Journal of the American College of Surgeons authors about the motivation behind their latest research and the clinical implications it has for the practicing surgeon. Spread the word on social media by using the hashtag #JACSOperativeWord.
Episode 43: Development, Validation, and Comparison of Machine Learning Models for Predicting Pediatric Surgical Site Infection Using the NSQIP-P Database
In this episode, Thomas K Varghese, Jr, MD, FACS, is joined by Carrie Chan, MSN, MPH, from the University of California, San Francisco, and Karthik Balakrishnan, MD, FACS, from Stanford Medicine Children’s Health. They discuss their recent article, “Development, Validation, and Comparison of Machine Learning Models for Predicting Pediatric Surgical Site Infections Using the NSQIP-P Database,” which represents the largest study to date on predicting pediatric surgical site infection. The authors developed machine-learning models and ultimately recommend a regularized logistic regression model for clinical integration, balancing performance and feasibility for implementation. Findings support using routine preoperative data for personalized infection prevention and preoperative planning.
Disclosure Information: Ms Chan and Drs Varghese and Balakrishnan have nothing to disclose.
Chan, Carrie T MSN, MPH; Pletcher, Mark J MD, MPH; Balakrishnan, Karthik MD, MPH, FACS; Hswen, Yulin ScD, MPH; Scheffler, Aaron PhD, MS. Development, Validation, and Comparison of Machine Learning Models for Predicting Pediatric Surgical Site Infections Using the NSQIP-P Database. Journal of the American College of Surgeons 242(3):p 712-722, March 2026. | DOI: 10.1097/XCS.0000000000001683
#JACSOperativeWord
Episode 42: Results of an American College of Surgeons Prospective National Quality Improvement Collaborative to Successfully Overcome Barriers to Cancer Care Across the US
In this episode, Thomas K Varghese, Jr, MD, FACS, is joined by Laurie J Kirstein, MD, FACS, from Memorial Sloan Kettering. They discuss Dr. Kirstein’s recent article, “Results of an American College of Surgeons Prospective National Quality Improvement Collaborative to Successfully Overcome Barriers to Cancer Care Across the US,” in which 194 ACS-accredited cancer programs caring for 99,057 patients participated in a National Quality Improvement Collaborative led by the ACS, “Breaking Barriers,” which reduced radiotherapy non-adherence by over 30% at the patient and hospital levels across multiple program types, census regions, and disease sites.
Disclosure Information: Drs Varghese and Kirstein have nothing to disclose.
Chan, Kelley MD, MS; Reilly, Eileen MSW; Janczewski, Lauren M MD, MS; Gentry, Sharon MSN, RN; Biggins, Camille MHA; Haffty, Bruce MD; Shelton, Charles MD; Yang, Anthony D MD, MS, FACS; Weigel, Ronald J MD, PhD, MBA, FACS; Kirstein, Laurie J MD, FACS. Results of an American College of Surgeons Prospective National Quality Improvement Collaborative to Successfully Overcome Barriers to Cancer Care Across the US. Journal of the American College of Surgeons 242(1):p 247-256, January 2026. | DOI: 10.1097/XCS.0000000000001637
Episode 41: Identifying Diagnostic Gaps and Mitigation Strategies for Older Adult Emergency General Surgery Patients: A Scoping Review
In this episode, Lillian Erdahl, MD, FACS, is joined by Jessica Liu, MD, MS, MPH, from the Department of Surgery, Harbor UCLA Medical Center. They discuss Dr Liu’s recent article, “Identifying Diagnostic Gaps and Mitigation Strategies for Older Adult Emergency General Surgery Patients: A Scoping Review,” in which the authors identified the current diagnostic issues, clinical tools, and clinician feedback strategies in the older adult emergency general surgery (EGS) setting. While challenges unique to older adults exist, variability in the use of tools to improve identification of older adult conditions in EGS and gaps in feedback to improve diagnosis remain.
Disclosure Information: Drs Erdahl and Liu have nothing to disclose.
Episode 40: From Surgeon Well-Being to Artificial Intelligence - 2025 Highlights
In this episode, JACS Editor-in-Chief Tom Varghese, MD, FACS, and Digital Media Editor Lillian Erdahl, MD, FACS, review six impactful articles from the past year, highlighting key themes shaping modern surgical practice. Dr. Erdahl focuses on the surgeon as a subject, discussing research on moral distress, second-victim syndrome, health policy challenges, and peer surgical coaching. Dr. Varghese then explores advances in surgical science, including pragmatic applications of artificial intelligence for risk prediction and operative documentation, as well as comparative evidence on robotic, laparoscopic, and open operation. Together, they emphasize clinically relevant research, thoughtful innovation, and ongoing critical inquiry to support surgeons and improve patient care.
Disclosure Information: Drs Varghese and Erdahl have nothing to disclose.
Episode 39: Postoperative Pain Management in the US vs Low- and Middle-Income Countries by US Surgeons
In this episode, Tom Varghese, MD, FACS, is joined by Ziad Sifri, MD, FACS, from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and Matthew Linz, MD, from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. They discuss Drs Sifri and Linz’s recent article, “Postoperative Pain Management in the US vs Low- and Middle-Income Countries by US Surgeons,” in which they find that surgeons from the US prescribe significantly more opioids after inguinal hernia repair compared with when they operate on short-term surgical trips to low-and-middle-income countries, despite continued efforts to reduce opioid overprescription in the US.
Disclosure Information: Drs Varghese, Linz, and Sifri have nothing to disclose.
Episode 38: What About the Coach? Mixed-Methods Study Assessing the Experience of Coaches in a Peer Surgical Coaching Program
In this episode, Lillian Erdahl, MD, FACS, is joined by Eilidh Gunn, MBChB MRCSEd, from the Surgical Sabermetrics Laboratory at the University of Edinburgh. They discuss Dr. Gunn’s recent article, “What About the Coach? Mixed-Methods Study Assessing the Experience of Coaches in a Peer Surgical Coaching Program.” As peer-led surgical coaching becomes an increasingly popular professional development activity, this study explores the impact of participation on surgeons acting as coaches. Using a concurrent, mixed-methods design, results demonstrate that coaches found participation worthwhile and that it affected their own clinical practice.
Disclosure Information: Drs Gunn and Erdahl have nothing to disclose.
About the Hosts
Lillian Erdahl, MD, FACS is a Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery and practices breast surgical oncology at the University of Iowa and the Iowa City VA Medical Center. She serves as Associate Program Director in for the Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship. Her research interests include breast cancer prevention, faculty development, and simulation in teaching clinical examination.
She completed her General Surgery residency at Penn State University including a 2-year research fellowship in surgical education. After residency, she also completed a 1-year fellowship in breast surgical oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Biology at Iowa State University along with a minor in Spanish.
Outside of the hospital, she enjoys yoga, running, cross-country skiing, cooking, and gardening. Her 2 children help her to find joy in each moment of the day.
Disclosure Information: Dr. Erdahl has nothing to disclose.
Dr Thomas Varghese, Jr is a cardiothoracic surgeon at the University of Utah (U of U) in Salt Lake City. He is chief of the Section of General Thoracic Surgery at U of U, chief value officer and associate chief medical quality officer at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, and a professor in the Department of Surgery at the U of U School of Medicine. He is a nationally funded researcher and author and holds prominent leadership positions in several surgical organizations. He spends his free time with his family, as well as actively engaging on social media (X: @tomvarghesejr LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tomvarghesejr)
Disclosure Information: Dr. Varghese has nothing to disclose.
The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the participants and not necessarily that of the ACS.
About JACS
The Journal of the American College of Surgeons is a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery. These contributions include original scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations with clear clinical relevance, and a surgeon-at-work section.
