The Board of Directors of the American College of Surgeons Professional Association (ACSPA) and the ACS Board of Regents (BoR) met June 14-15 in Chicago, Illinois.
The following is a summary of key activities discussed and was current as of the date of the meeting.
ACSPA
The ACSPA, a 501(c)(6), allows for a broader range of activities and services that benefit surgeons and patients, including expanded legislative advocacy and political programming, such as the ACSPA-Political Action Committee (SurgeonsPAC).
ACS
The BoR accepted resignations from 11 Fellows and changed the status from Active or Senior to Retired for 72 Fellows.
The Regents also approved the Statement on Trauma Activation Fees. This statement will be available later this year; additional details will be shared via the weekly ACS Brief email.
Education
A strategic analysis of the Division of Education conducted at the June 2022 BoR meeting reviewed programs and products, identified internal and external challenges, defined future vision, and established priorities for moving forward. A status update of the recommendations presented during the most recent meeting included:
- Impact on volunteer committees
- Ongoing financial assessments
- Program and staff changes
- Regental Education Advisory Committee activities
Additional analyses and discussion concentrated on:
- Adoption of new technologies in surgical education
- Future opportunities in surgical education
- Inclusion of preceptoring, proctoring, mentoring, and coaching in surgical education
The Division of Education also reported on the following key activities.
Academy of Master Surgeon Educators®
The Academy of Master Surgeon Educators was launched in 2017 to recognize and assemble a cadre of renowned master surgeon educators to work closely with the ACS Division of Education and advance the science and practice of avant-garde surgical education and training. The 2024 Symposium will be held September 27 to address “Mentorship and Coaching of Mid-Career Surgeon Educators.” The Academy will host several sessions during Clinical Congress 2024, including “Value of the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators Across the Surgical Specialties” and “Recent Advances in Surgical Education.”
ACS Cognitive Simulations: Cases Essential to Surgical Practice
This e-learning product uses cognitive simulation to teach postgraduate year-3+ surgical residents how to approach complex decision-making and management of surgical problems—from preoperative assessment to perioperative care and management, including complications. The program currently includes 55 cases with more scheduled to be released in fall 2024.
ACS Fundamentals of Surgery Curriculum® (FSC)
Launched in 2005, the FSC is a highly interactive, case-based, online curriculum that addresses the essential content areas surgical residents need to master in the early years of training. It includes 108 interactive case simulations in 14 domains. In 2023, 1,139 residents from 179 residency programs participated in the curriculum.
ACS Surgeons as Educators Course
Designed to provide surgeons with the knowledge and skills to enhance their abilities as teachers and administrators of surgical education programs, this 6-day intensive course includes sessions that incorporate a comprehensive review of surgical education principles and practice, and use a variety of contemporary educational frameworks and effective education strategies to achieve the best outcomes. The course—now offered twice a year—was held in March 2024, with future courses planned for September 2024 and March 2025.
ACS Surgeons as Leaders: From Operating Room to Boardroom Course
The 2024 course, held March 24–27 in Durham, North Carolina, was redesigned to increase individualized learning and interaction with the faculty. A record 235 applications were received for 64 seats. The 2025 course will be held March 23–26 in Durham, North Carolina, to address today’s evolving challenges in healthcare from a leadership perspective.
Clinical Congress 2024
To facilitate increased participation by practicing surgeons, the footprint of Clinical Congress 2024 in San Francisco, California, has been moved into the weekend, starting on Saturday, October 19, and ending Tuesday, October 22. Thematic sessions on cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery, neurological surgery, education, quality, and artificial intelligence will occur October 20. Additional multidisciplinary sessions will be held October 20–21. A record 2,413 abstracts and 354 video submissions were received this year for the Scientific Forum and Video-Based Education sessions, respectively.
A didactic “Inclusive Excellence: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Certificate Course” will be offered at Clinical Congress 2024, with a longitudinal portion that will extend throughout the academic year. Three pathways for learners will be offered, and it is expected that 75 participants will receive a certificate in June 2025.
Fellowship in Surgical Ethics
Offered for the first time in 2015, the Fellowship in Surgical Ethics is sponsored by the ACS Division of Education and The MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at The University of Chicago. The program is intended to prepare surgeons for careers that combine clinical surgery with scholarly studies in surgical ethics and to provide the specialized knowledge, skills, and training to develop leaders in the field of surgical ethics. Recipients selected for 2024–2025 include Melanie L. Fritz, MD, of Madison, Wisconsin, and Joy Obayemi, MD, of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Surgical Education and Self-Assessment Program (SESAP®)
SESAP continues to establish new benchmarks in self-assessment of cognitive skills and guided learning to achieve expertise in surgery. New SESAP features support personalized education such as building customized assessments to reinforce learning, receiving weekly or bi-weekly links to questions via “SESAP Small Bites,” creating flashcards, and comparing scores and performance with peers enrolled in the program. SESAP Advanced focuses on complex and controversial content. SESAP 19 is expected to be released in October 2025.
Research and Optimal Patient Care
The Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care (DROPC) encompasses the areas of continuous quality improvement, including ACS research and accreditation programs.
Trauma Programs
The 2024 Committee on Trauma Annual Meeting, held March 6–8 in Chicago, featured Spotlight Discussion sessions to provide members an opportunity to lead discussions on a topic of interest to elicit feedback for potential use in program areas and workgroups. The most popular topics included:
- Back to the Future: TeleTrauma Is Here to Stay, So How Do We Actually Get It Done?
- Creating the Future: Defining Pathways for Sustainable Funding of Our Trauma Centers
- Energizing States for Regional Medical Operations Coordinating Center Development
The 2024 ATLS Global Symposium, held March 8–9 in Chicago, was attended by 300 individuals from more than 45 countries. The program included abstracts, updates, feedback to enhance ATLS, networking opportunities, and a presentation of the Country Anniversary Awards. A workgroup has been established to conduct a needs assessment and develop a strategic plan for future symposiums.
The MyATLS App, an innovative educational product enhancing the ATLS program, is expected to launch in 2024. The initial version will contain ATLS 10 content. Gaming options will be included to reinforce educational objectives. A variable pricing model will be implemented based on educational components, hardships, and varying learners. The app will be available globally and will use an equity model with free content for those that live in low- and middle-income countries. ATLS 11 content is scheduled to be available in 2025.
The 2024 TQIP Annual Conference, “Enhancing Quality through Communications,” will be held November 12-14 in Denver. The keynote speaker is Jeff Evans, who helped his blind adventure partner climb Mount Everest. A general session and breakout sessions will delve into how to use improvisation to foster better communication within the trauma team. An Executive Engagement session, “Effective Communications with Hospital Leadership,” will be offered along with sessions on trauma survivorship, registry, data quality, and using data to improve patient outcomes.
The STOP THE BLEED® (STB) program continues to focus on empowering, educating, and informing individuals in bleeding control techniques with virtual, in-person, and interactive training. Through April 30, the STB program had 3,878,062 overall participants from 164 countries and 158,319 global instructors. The interactive course has been viewed more than 357,000 times.
ACS Foundation
The mission of the ACS Foundation is to secure financial support for the College’s charitable,
educational, and patient-focused initiatives. The ACS Foundation Greatest Needs Fund supports program activities that are not directly aided by public or grant funding and do not produce revenue. As of May 3, the Greatest Needs Fund received $281,935 for fiscal year 2024.
Also, as of May 3, Foundation staff and Board members raised $2,927,629 in donations and grants. Gifts from individuals totaled $2,478,989, including leadership gifts of $1,000,000 from the Carlino Family and $750,000 from Pon Satitpunwaycha, MD, FACS. The average individual gift was $1,488. Corporate support reached $448,640 and primarily focused on surgical education programs at Clinical Congress and patient education initiatives. The average gift received from corporate donors was $5,982.
