Alaska Chapter hosts its first lobby day
Members of the Alaska Chapter of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) convened January 27 in Juneau for their first lobby day. Frank D. Sacco, MD, FACS; Thomas J. Knolmayer, MD, FACS; and Danny R. Robinette, MD, FACS, participated—along with Mark Johnson, Past-Director of Alaska’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and longtime trauma advocate—in a busy day of meetings at the capital.
Previous Alaska Chapter advocacy efforts were successful in increasing the number of certified trauma centers in the state from five to 16 (of 24) hospitals. That program will likely be defunded, however, due to the state’s projected budget deficit of $4 billion. Hence, the lobby day participants focused their meetings largely on funding for trauma and trauma team activations in the face of a budget crisis. More specifically, the surgeons sought state approval for Medicaid to pay for trauma team activations as well as regulatory guidelines requiring commercial insurers to do so as well. The visits were well-received, and future plans include meeting with DHHS to explore these possibilities.
Nevada Chapter: Attendees at the chapter meeting included (from left) Camille Spenner, Chapter Director; and Drs. Kuhls, Barber, and Baynosa
Nevada Chapter elects new officers
The ACS Nevada Chapter announced its newly elected officers at a meeting on March 30 in Las Vegas. Outgoing Chapter President Annabel Barber, MD, FACS, led the meeting and announced the roster of new chapter officers: Deborah A. Kuhls, MD, FACS, President; James Dylan Curry, MD, FACS, Vice-President; and Jennifer L. Baynosa, MD, FACS, Secretary/Treasurer. Michael D. Alvarado, MD, FACS, delivered the keynote address on Preoperative Multidisciplinary Considerations for HER2+ Breast Cancer. Approximately 30 chapter members, including residents, attended the meeting.
North Texas Chapter Annual Meeting focuses on surgeon engagement
The North Texas Chapter of the ACS met February 19−20 at the Cityplace Conference Center in Dallas. The theme of this year’s meeting was Engaging the Practicing Surgeon. The chapter increased efforts to make the meeting more interactive. Highlights included the following:
North Texas Chapter: Attendees at the chapter meeting included (from left): Rosa E. Cuenca, MD, FACS, Program Committee Co-Chair; Subhasis Misra, MD, MB, BS, FACS, Program Chair; D. Rohan Jeyarajah, MD, FACS, President; Sharmila D. Dissanaike, MD, FACS, President-Elect; and Carrie Steffen, Chapter Administrator
- The Harry M. Spence Memorial Lecture: A History of the American Board of Surgery: Vignettes from the Certifying Exam, presented by J. Patrick Walker, MD, FACS
- American College of Surgeons Update, presented by Patricia L. Turner, MD, FACS, Director, ACS Division of Member Services
- Ethics Lecture, by Susan Hawk, Dallas District Attorney
- Tumor board meeting
- Town Hall Meeting with the Texas ACS Governors
- Robert S. Sparkman Memorial Lecture: Politics and the Surgeon: 2015, given by Stuart Spitzer, MD, Texas state representative
- The chapter meeting included a Resident Paper Competition. Award winners were as follows:
- Best Overall Paper: Bridging Disparities in Colorectal Cancer Screening in the Indigent Population, presented by Katherine Dowd, BS, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Amarillo
- Best Trauma Paper: Creation of a Decision Aid for Goal-Setting after Geriatric Burns: A Study from the Prognostic Assessment of Life and Limitations after Trauma in the Elderly [Palliate] Consortium, presented by Erica Hodgman, MD, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas
- Best Oncology Paper: Does the Robot Make a Difference? Oncologic Resection in Laparosopic versus Robot-Assisted Transhiatal Esophagectomy, presented by Jeffrey Watkins, MD, Methodist Dallas Medical Center
- Best Poster: Prospective Evaluation of [Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder] and Depression in Orthopaedic Injury Patients with and without Concomitant Traumatic Brain Injury, presented by Jaicus Solis, MD, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas
For its next annual meeting, the North Texas Chapter will join the South Texas Chapter and host the Texas ACS Meeting February 23−25, 2017, in Austin.
Florida Chapter hosts annual meeting in Tampa
The Florida Chapter of the ACS held its Annual Meeting May 6−7 at the University of South Florida’s Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS), Tampa. Practicing surgeons, researchers, residents and fellows, and students representing all subspecialties were in attendance. The latest developments and current trends in open, minimally invasive, and robotic surgery were discussed and on display for interactive assessment by the attendees. Featured topics included the incorporation of robotics into thoracic surgery, recognition and remediation of deficiencies in operative performance, and prevention of medical errors. Several attendees then participated in the annual Surgical Residents Jeopardy. Attendees took full advantage of the advanced training facilities at CAMLS by participating in a surgical workshop featuring six hands-on skills stations. Meeting attendees also had the opportunity to attend the keynote lecture on Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) presented by Stanley J. Dudrick, MD, FACS, who is often called the father of TPN.
In addition, the Florida Chapter was proud to sponsor the attendance of three surgical residents from the state at the ACS Leadership & Advocacy Summit, April 9−12, in Washington, DC. The three residents in attendance were Jun Tashiro, MD, MPH, Jackson Memorial Hospital Surgical Training Program; Wei Wei Zhang, MD, University of South Florida (USF), Tampa; and Francesca Maria Dimou, MD, USF. They were joined by a large chapter delegation, which included more than 25 members. Summit attendees met with their legislators to discuss a range of issues that affect surgical care.
Portugal Chapter: Dr. da Costa
Portugal Chapter offers special session at Sociedade Portuguesa de Cirurgia XXXVI
The Portugal Chapter of the ACS hosted a special session at the Sociedade Portuguesa de Cirurgia XXXVI, which took place March 3−6 in Figueira da Foz. The society’s Nacional Congresso is the organization’s premier event, attended by most surgeons in Portugal. This year, approximately 550 surgeons and residents attended the Congresso, with nearly 200 participating in the two-hour panel session hosted by the Portugal Chapter. At present, most hospitals in Portugal do not have dedicated trauma or emergency care surgeons. During the special session, the “old” and “new” standards for the nation’s emergency departments were revisited. The panelists also discussed how to address the fact that many surgeons in the country are near the end of their careers and that too few surgeons are being trained to replace them.
Portugal Chapter: Dr. Ferreira
Presenters at the Portugal Chapter session at the Nacional Congresso included ACS Governor Paulo da Costa, MD, PhD, FACS, who spoke on the shifts in the emergency department (ED) model; Pedro Moniz Pereira, MD, FACS, who talked about training the next generation of surgeons; and José Guilherme Tralhão, MD, PhD, FACS, who addressed changing surgical paradigms. The session also included a discussion about the role of the general surgeon in the ED. Júlio Fortunato Leite, MD, PhD, FACS, provided the surgeon’s perspective; Jose Manuel Maia da Costa, MD, FACS, described the Guidelines of the Colégio da Especialidade; and Margarida Ferreira, MD, MSc, a third-year general surgery resident at Hospital Garcia de Orta, Lisbon, spoke on The Vision of Residents.
Portugal Chapter: Leaders of the Portugal Chapter session at the Sociedade Portuguesa de Cirurgia (from left): João Araújo Teixeira, MD, PhD, FACS, professor of surgery, Universidade do Porto; Luís Graça, MD, FACS, senior attending at University Hospital S. João, Porto; Castro e Sousa, MD, PhD, FACS, professor of surgery at Universidade de Coimbra; Pedro Coito, MD, FACS, Colégio de Cirurgia Nacional, Caldas da Rainha; and Dr. da Costa
Four new international communities introduced in February
Four new online ACS Communities with an international focus launched in February. The communities include members from Latin America and the Caribbean (Region 14), Europe (Region 15), Asia and Australia/New Zealand (Region 16), and the Middle East (Region 17). ACS Members who reside in a country within a particular region are welcome to join or create new conversations within that community. Topics of discussion in these communities have run the spectrum from questions about specialty surgery to notices for international regional meetings.
The ACS Communities keep members connected year-round via computer, tablet, or smartphone. For more information on the ACS International Communities for Regions 14−17, contact Connie Bura, Associate Director, Division of Member Services, at cbura@facs.org.
Governors host Speed Networking Session at Clinical Congress
The ACS Board of Governors Chapter Activities Domestic and International Workgroups will host a fast-paced Speed Networking Session at Clinical Congress 2016. This educational and social event will take place 3:00−5:00 pm, Tuesday, October 18 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC.
Join chapter officers, executive staff, and ACS Governors for this unique opportunity to accelerate your learning experience through concise roundtable talks on a spectrum of topics of importance to domestic and international chapters. Bring plenty of business cards and begin to build lasting connections with chapter leaders from around the world.
For more information, contact Jennifer Connelly, CAE, Manager, Domestic Chapter Services, at jconnelly@facs.org or 312-202-5737.
