In June of this year, the ESS formally partnered with the Surgical Council on Resident Education (SCORE). SCORE was formed in 2004 as a not-for-profit organization through a collaboration between principal organizations involved in surgical education in the US. In 2019, SCORE merged with the American Board of Surgery.
SCORE's mission is “to improve the education of trainees in general surgery and related specialties through the development and maintenance of a national curriculum,” which is maintained on the SCORE portal. This online portal provides surgical trainees around the country with access to high-quality educational content.
SCORE Editor-in-Chief Amit R. T. Joshi, MD, FACS, noted that this is an “exciting time” for SCORE to partner with the ESS, particularly due to the efforts of Colonel Shaun Brown, DO, FACS, an active-duty US Army surgeon, ESS member, and new SCORE editorial board member. Colonel Brown has been leading the development of a military-specific curriculum designed for surgical trainees in military residency programs and those entering active duty upon completion of their training. Currently, 35 military modules are planned with “Military Damage Control Surgery” as the first completed module. According to Dr. Joshi, SCORE is particularly pleased to partner with the ESS to produce content that will help surgical colleagues in the uniformed services provide high-quality care both domestically and abroad.
The Defense Health Agency has recently partnered with six civilian general surgery residency programs that reserve a single training position for military applicants spread across the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Applicants apply for these spots through the Joint Graduate Medical Education Selection Board.
Given this recent expansion of military-civilian partnerships to increase the number of general surgery residency opportunities available to military applicants, the SCORE military curriculum will provide operationally relevant education that might be missing in civilian programs, thereby better preparing graduates for deployment. The military surgical curriculum within SCORE will be an invaluable resource for military surgeons in training and has the opportunity to enhance both military and civilian resident education.
The SCORE military curriculum will be based on deployed Army, Navy, and Air Force surgeon experience, the Joint Trauma System Clinical Practice Guidelines and the American College of Surgeons Military Clinical Readiness Curriculum (mCurriculum). The mCurriculum is designed for far forward general surgeons deployed to austere locations who must be capable of providing initial trauma resuscitation and life- and limb-saving surgical procedures for those injured in combat.
To learn more about SCORE, its founding, and partner organizations visit the SCORE website.
