About the Future Trauma Leaders Program

The Future Trauma Leaders (FTL) program is a unique way for the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS COT) to offer an in-depth training and mentoring opportunity to early career trauma and acute care surgeons (not more than five years out from fellowship completion). A competitive application process (advertised in fall to the COT and American Association for the Surgery of Trauma/Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma/Western Trauma Association members) will be used to solicit candidates to participate in an exciting two-year program. In return, the COT will benefit from the work product delivered out of surgical assignments and committee participation from the participant.

Applications open June 1, 2023. 

The call for applications is open annually until July 29, for terms starting in March of the following year.

Participants  will have the opportunity to engage with COT committees within their areas of interest and are encouraged to become actively involved in projects. Future Trauma Leaders participate in the new members welcome reception and Mentoring Day; these activities provide the opportunity to meet with leaders in the different program areas and to learn about the different projects underway. Participants will then apply to join Work Groups through the Participation Opportunity Board. There are also numerous informal opportunities to connect with Work Group and Program area leaders during the Spring and Fall COT meetings

Participants are encouraged to become engaged in their State and Regional Committees and develop an understanding of the practice and advocacy issues facing their regional trauma system.

Participants will be supported by the COT and are expected to travel to the COT meetings (March/October), Mentoring Day (June), the annual TQIP meeting,  and the ACS Leadership and Advocacy Summit in Washington, DC. Travel to any other COT educational courses would be the obligation of the participants’ facility.

PLEASE NOTE: To be eligible for the program, participants must commit to attending all events during their appointment term.

The number of candidates accepted each year will be contingent on funding.  

Candidate Selection

The selection of candidates will be conducted by the Membership Committee in conjunction with the COT Chair and Vice Chair, with approval by the Executive Committee and ACS Board of Regents.

Applications will be accepted by the Membership Committee and candidates will provide one email to jhickman@facs.org with the following information included:

• Two letters of recommendation (from your Division Chief and one other). Please note: The Division Chief letter must state support for the time commitment for the candidate to attend all required meetings.
• Your current curriculum vitae
• An essay on why you would like to participate in this program and what you hope to gain from participation
• Completed application form
• Professional headshot

Applicants will be reviewed against the published goals of the FTL program. Applications will be distributed to the Membership Committee for review and scoring and a conference call will be held to select the top member candidates. These names will then be forwarded to the Executive Committee and ACS Board of Regents for approval.

If selected, the suitable candidates will be requested to commit to:

• Attend the Annual March and October COT meetings
• Attend Mentoring Day in June in Chicago, IL
• Attend the TQIP Annual meeting
• Attend the Leadership and Advocacy Summit in Washington, DC.
• Attend at least 75% of the committee or work group meetings that they have been assigned.
• Completion of special project assignments.
• Regular touch points with their mentor

For additional information about the Future Trauma Leaders (FTL) Program, or to submit your full application, please contact Jené Hickman at jhickman@facs.org. The deadline for submissions is July 29, 2023.