Archive for July, 2020

Looking Forward – July 2020
Dr. Hoyt’s Looking forward column—which serves as the cover story this month—outlines leadership strategies for meeting the challenges of two public health crises of our time: the COVID-19 pandemic and racism.

The role of the site reviewer: Ensuring patient-centered standards for optimal patient outcomes
Describes the qualities of effective site reviewers, provides examples of process improvements developed by reviewer feedback, and summarizes the College’s initiative to align ACS Quality Programs.

The Surgical Metrics Project: What was achieved, and where is it headed?
Describes the purposes and participants’ reaction to The Surgical Metrics Project at Clinical Congress 2019, which used wearable technology to measure surgical decision making and technique.

Surgeons appointed by Spanish royalty contributed to development of oldest U.S. city: St. Augustine, FL
Figure 1. Juan Ponce de León, Florida conquistador and first documented surgical patient for an operation to remove a lodged arrow from his groin (public domain image)

2019 ACS Governors Survey: Surgeons wanted: Workforce challenges in health care
Editor’s note: The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Board of Governors (B/G) conducts an annual survey of its domestic and international members. The purpose of the survey is to provide a means of communicating the concerns of the Governors to the College leadership. The 2019 ACS Governors Survey, conducted in July 2019 by the B/G […]

2019 ACS Governors Survey: ACS Governors: Bidirectional communication ambassadors
*A higher score is preferable.

2019 ACS-COSECSA Women Scholars describe how they and their patients benefit from the scholarships: Part I
The first six of the 12 COSECSA Women Scholars from 2019 are profiled.

A call into the distance: How quality review can change a rural cancer patient’s outcome
A case history featuring a nonsurgical department quality review and its effect on a rural surgical patient is outlined, as are rural cancer care challenges with regard to providing timely diagnosis and treatment.

Surprise billing, trauma, and cancer top state legislative agendas in 2020
Nagel Photography/Shutterstock.com

Filling the gap: Using 3-D printing to overcome critical equipment shortages during the COVID-19 crisis
HIGHLIGHTS Describes 3-D printing products, including ventilator parts, respirator masks, face shields, and nasopharyngeal swabs, that can close the gaps in equipment shortages Identifies early adopters of this technology Summarizes areas for further investigation, including the evaluation of the safety and efficacy of these solutions The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis has uncovered numerous […]

Letters to the Editor
The following comments were received regarding the need for enhanced gender equity in surgical training and practice.

Community hospital’s losing battle with COVID-19: A surgery resident’s account
HIGHLIGHTS Describes the experiences of a chief surgical resident treating COVID-19 patients Summarizes the trend of COVID-19 leading to AKI Outlines one community hospital’s investigation of increased pneumothorax rates and COVID-19 Starting this past winter, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has swept across the world, with the U.S. reporting the highest number of cases […]

Virtual acute care for older patients reduces hospital length of stay
A quality improvement initiative implemented by the University of Alabama at Birmingham improved patient mobility and decreased hospital length of stay for an older surgical patient population.

Ga-68 imaging changes clinical management of GI and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors
Ga-68 positron emission tomography has improved the clinical management of gastrointestinal and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, and multiple studies are ongoing to define its optimal role in clinical practice.

Neoadjuvant and perioperative chemotherapy for localized pancreatic cancer: Leveraging small and large databases in the absence of Level 1 evidence
In the rapidly evolving clinical paradigms for localized pancreatic cancer, a combination of Level 1 data and large and small database studies can inform disease management.

Recommendations pour in as surgeons navigate COVID-19 pandemic
Suggestions for implementing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 recommendations for patients and visitors as well as health care personnel are the focus of this month’s column.

ACS offers opportunities for increased specialty resident participation in the College
Professional enrichment opportunities provided by the RAS-ACS are described as is an effort to enhance OB-GYN resident involvement in the College in Pennsylvania and across the U.S.

German influences on U.S. surgery and the founding of the ACS
Describes how German surgeons influenced the founding of the College and how the German education model helped shape U.S. residency education.

Letter from the Editor
This year has been one of unprecedented change in most of our lifetimes as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the outcry against systemic racism. The monthly Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) went on pause for three months so we could devote resources to publishing Bulletin: ACS COVID-19 […]

Announcing the new Cancer Surgery Standards Program
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Cancer Programs is proud to announce the launch of the Cancer Surgery Standards Program (CSSP). Led by Chair Matthew H.G. Katz, MD, FACS, and Vice-Chair Kelly K. Hunt, MD, FACS, the CSSP seeks to improve the quality of surgical care provided to persons with cancer through the development of […]