The 2018 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) will take place October 21−25 in Boston, MA. The ACS is looking forward to presenting its annual clinical and scientific meeting in Boston for the first time in more than 65 years.
The Clinical Congress will kick off Sunday, October 21, with the Convocation, during which we welcome the College’s 2018 Initiates, induct 12 Honorary Fellows, and present awards to several outstanding Fellows. In addition, the 2018−2019 President, Ronald V. Maier, MD, FACS, FRCS(Hon), will deliver his address.
Educational programming
The Clinical Congress is the premier annual professional education and training meeting for surgeons worldwide, offering an array of outstanding learning opportunities firmly rooted in leading-edge science, state-of-the-art surgical practices, and contemporary principles of surgical education and lifelong professional development. Each year, the Clinical Congress Program Committee, chaired by Henri R. Ford, MD, MHA, FACS, FAAP, FRCSEng(Hon), and the ACS Division of Education, Ajit K. Sachdeva, MD, FACS, FRCSC, Director, add innovations to the program to meet the ever-changing needs of practicing surgeons, surgery residents, medical students, and members of the surgical patient care team.
This year’s program covers a range of critical topics across the breadth of surgery and includes 11 Named Lectures, 120 Panel Sessions, 15 Didactic/Experiential Courses, 13 Surgical Skills Courses, 31 Video-Based Education Sessions, 43 Meet-the-Expert Sessions, and 14 Town Hall Meetings. The Clinical Congress program should help surgical patient care professionals meet their specific needs and interests.
Named Lecture highlights this year include the following:
- The Martin Memorial Lecture will be presented by Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD. Dr. Collins’s lecture, titled NIH: The National Institutes of Hope, will take place immediately following the Opening Ceremony, which commences at 8:00 am Monday, October 22.
- The Charles G. Drake History of Surgery Lecture will be delivered by Atul A. Gawande, MD, MPH, FACS, a renowned surgeon, writer, and researcher who practices general and endocrine surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA. The title of Dr. Gawande’s lecture is Slow Ideas: Scaling Surgery and will take place 2:30−3:30 pm Monday, October 22.
- The John J. Conley Ethics and Philosophy Lecture will be presented by economist Michael E. Porter, PhD, the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor, and director, Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School, Cambridge, MA. His lecture, Value-Based Health Care Delivery: The Strategic Agenda, will take place 9:45−10:45 am Wednesday, October 24.
In addition, this year’s program will include Special Sessions, which will provide an in-depth look at timely and important topics. The Monday session, cosponsored by the ACS Health Policy and Advocacy Group, will center on the government’s impact on the practice of surgery and your bottom line. ACS Regent Gary L. Timmerman, MD, FACS, a general surgeon from Sioux Falls, SD, will moderate, and Brian J. Gavitt, MD, MPH, FACS, assistant professor of surgery, University of Cincinnati, OH, will co-moderate.
Several sessions are aimed at attendees’ special interests, including programming for medical students, residents, and young Fellows. This year’s conference also includes Stop the Bleed® training, an open forum for rural surgeons, a symposium on palliative care, a surgical history poster presentation, and much more. Without question, Clinical Congress 2018 will offer educational opportunities that will appeal to surgeons and allied health care professionals at every stage of their career.
Certificates for achieving specific levels of verification through participation in Postgraduate Didactic and Skills Courses will be awarded based on the Division of Education’s five-level Verification Program. Additionally, Clinical Congress participants will be able to claim Continuing Medical Education (CME) Credits using the Clinical Congress App as well as at on-site booths and kiosks. Attendees can claim a maximum of 47.5* AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Self-Assessment Credit also will be available for surgeons seeking to fulfill the mandates for American Board of Surgery Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Part 2. Furthermore, some state licensing boards or health agencies have established specific content requirements for CME Credit. To help health care professionals meet these requirements, the Clinical Congress will feature sessions that include this content.
ACS Central
Make the most of your Clinical Congress experience by visiting ACS Central. ACS Central will be open 9:00 am−4:30 pm Monday through Wednesday, providing opportunities to meet with staff, learn about the latest ACS products and programs, and purchase ACS-branded items, publications, and educational products. ACS Central also can serve as a gathering space during the meeting to engage with friends and colleagues, charge your devices, hear about new programs, meet and talk with College leaders in the ACS Theatre, or to take some time to simply relax. While you are there you also will have the opportunity to update your member profile and receive a flash drive with your professional photo.
Informational posters will be located throughout ACS Central outlining the ACS Theatre schedule for the day, and alerts will be sent via the Clinical Congress App and posted on social media. The following program areas will be located in ACS Central:
- ACS Foundation
- Member Services
- Public Profile
- Publications
- Education Programs
- Quality Programs
- Advocacy and Health Policy
- ACS Surgeon Specific Registry
- MyCME
- ACS Central Shop
The following ACS Programs exhibiting outside of ACS Central will be open the same hours as registration:
- Become a Member Booth
- ACSPA-SurgeonsPAC (American College of Surgeons Professional Association Political Action Committee)
- Webcast Sales
- Wi-Fi and Clinical Congress App Support
Bring the family
Wellness activities will be offered to all attendees and registered guests, including yoga and 5K running tours of Boston Monday through Wednesday mornings. In addition, the Guest Program offers many opportunities to learn about Boston’s prominent role in our nation’s rich history. You and your family will have opportunities to explore Revolutionary War battlegrounds, Cambridge, Salem and Marblehead, Fenway, the Rose Kennedy Greenway, the John F. Kennedy Library and Edward M. Kennedy Institute, and many other sights and attractions Sunday through Wednesday.
End your Clinical Congress 2018 experience Wednesday evening with ACS Taste of the City. Bring your appetite, and plan to enjoy live music, activities, and camaraderie with ACS leaders, staff, friends, colleagues, and family members. The ACS Taste of the City is complimentary to all Clinical Congress attendees and their family members, and extended Shuttle Bus service will be provided.
This year’s Clinical Congress promises to offer educational, networking, and social opportunities for everyone. I extend my many thanks to the Program Committee, the Advisory Councils, the ACS committees, and the staff for developing an outstanding program this year. I look forward to seeing you in Boston.
If you have comments or suggestions about this or other issues, please send them to Dr. Hoyt at lookingforward@facs.org.
