The American College of Surgeons is dedicated to improving the care of the surgical patient and to safeguarding standards of care in an optimal and ethical practice environment.

Oct. 13, 2009
Oct. 14, 2009
Oct. 15, 2009

Contents:
• LaMar S. McGinnis, Jr., to be installed as 90th ACS President at Sunday Convocation
• F. Dean Griffen, MD, FACS, to receive 2009 Distinguished Service
• Honorary Fellowship to be awarded to five prominent surgeons
• Dr. and Mrs. Reiling to receive Distinguished Philanthropist Award at FLS luncheon
• Martin Memorial Lecture to showcase re-engineering success
• Inaugural meeting of the Young Fellows Association to convene Monday
• Panel discussion, new curriculum examine surgical palliative care
• SESAP: An excellent tool for Maintenance of Certification
• National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers celebrates first year

Inaugural meeting of the Young Fellows Association to convene Monday

All Initiates and young Fellows (ages 45 and under) are invited to attend and encouraged to participate in the Young Fellows Association (YFA) inaugural meeting from 4:00 to 5:45 pm, Monday in McCormick Place Convention Center West, Room W176ABC.

The meeting will immediately follow the Initiates Program, which will take place in the same room from 2:30 to 4:00 pm. The program is titled Your Practice: Coping with the Stress of Unexpected and Adverse Outcomes, and will be presented by Ira Kodner, MD, FACS. Dr. Kodner directs the Center for the Study of Human Values and Ethics at Washington University, St. Louis, MO, which supports the study, research, and teaching of ethics in areas ranging from medicine to business or architecture.

In June 2009 the ACS Board of Regents approved the formation of the Young Fellows Association requested by the 15-member Committee on Young Surgeons (CYS). In 1969, CYS was established as an ad hoc committee that was then formalized in 1973. The initial mission of the CYS was to foster improved relationships between the College and young surgeons by promoting active participation in the College at both the national and state/local chapter level. The CYS has annually presented an education program for Initiates at Clinical Congress and has represented the College on visits to Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, during the annual Leadership Conference. In addition the 15-member board serves as liaisons and the voice of the young surgeon to the Board of Regents, standing committees of the Board of Governors, standing College committees—including the Resident and Associate Society—and specialty advisory boards, as well as the Young Physicians Section of the American Medical Association.

The CYS recognized in 2007 that there was not a formal process for active participation of young Fellows outside of CYS. There were many young Fellows, several who had been actively involved in RAS, who wanted to continue to volunteer their services, voice their opinions, and either increase or maintain their involvement within the College. The CYS then developed the organizational structure that will consist of a national and international network of Fellows of the College age 45 and younger. It will be overseen by a 15-member Governing Council (the current CYS committee) and a five-member Executive Committee. The YFA vision is to promote the interests and support the needs of young Fellows in the College in all aspects of their professional endeavors. The YFA will seek active feedback and participation from young Fellows throughout the College to better understand their global and specialty specific needs and concerns. In addition, the YFA will promote collaboration and cooperation with related organizations both within and outside of the College.

Based on feedback by young Fellow representatives at the annual networking luncheons during the Leadership Conference the YFA will consist of four work groups to represent the voice of the young Fellow. All Initiates and young Fellows are invited to actively participate in one or more of the work groups; details will be discussed at the meeting.

The current Chair of the YFA is Perry Shen, MD, FACS, and the four work groups and their Chairs are: Advocacy, Sanjay Parikh, MD, FACS; Communications, Laurel Soot, MD, FACS; Education, Wayne Frederick, MD, FACS; and Member Services, Mark Savarise, MD, FACS. The new YFA Governing Council hopes that the 2009 Initiates and young Fellows will take this opportunity to have their voice heard within the College and attend the inaugural meeting of the Young Fellows Association. For more details regarding YFA and how to make your voice heard, please visit www.facs.org/memberservices/yfa/. Specific questions may be sent to the following e-mail: youngfellows@facs.org.