Fascinating Facts from the College: Roots and Evolution of the Leadership & Advocacy Summit

The Leadership & Advocacy Summit is entering its eighth year in the current format, offering surgeons of all levels an opportunity to attend specialized sessions that present members, leaders, and advocates with topics focused on effective surgeon leadership, as well as interactive advocacy training. What eventually became the joint summit evolved from several other leadership meetings held by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) beginning in 1971, encouraging young surgeons and chapter officers to develop their leadership skills, connect with ACS leaders, and advocate for improved surgical care for their patients.

Leadership

Leadership and members of the College have long considered educating and fostering young surgeons to be an important priority, and in November 1971 the College held its first meeting of Young Surgeon Representatives in New Orleans, LA. The meeting included talks by ACS leaders, a panel on avenues for participation in College activities, and workshops. The meeting was sponsored by the College’s Committee to Study Relationships with Young Surgeons, which was charged by the Board of Regents to learn how the College could become more effective in helping young surgeons in their total professional careers, and to improve communication between young surgeons and the leadership of the College.

Six years after the inaugural young surgeons meeting, the College held its first meeting of chapter officers. Seventy-two officers representing 49 chapters attended the Chapter Officers’ Orientation Seminar in June 1977 at the ACS headquarters in Chicago. The seminar included several formal presentations and question-and-answer sessions about the organization of the College; relationships between Governors, chapters, and advisory committees; participation of young surgeons in chapter programs; and continuing surgical education. College leadership attended, and it was a largely successful event. The Orientation Seminar became the Chapter Officers Seminar, and eventually the Chapter Leadership Conference.

In 2002, the young surgeons and chapter meetings were held concurrently in Chicago, and it was decided that the mutual goal of promoting leadership would be better served by a joint meeting. As a result, in 2003 the first Leadership Conference for Chapter Officers and Young Surgeons was held in Washington, DC. In 2005, the meeting expanded even further to include other College members in leadership positions, including the Board of Governors, Committee on Trauma, and Advisory Council members. It was renamed the Leadership Conference.

Advocacy

The College’s official advocacy efforts began in 1974 with the Department of Surgical Practice, primarily to concentrate on regulatory matters affecting surgery. This department, now the Division of Advocacy and Health Policy, hosted its first advocacy conference, the Joint Surgical Advocacy Conference, in March 2008, following the Leadership Conference. Co-sponsored by several surgical specialty societies, the event featured presentations on congressional policies and procedures, advocacy skills, and upcoming elections. Six members of Congress spoke on relevant topics, and attendees were able to meet with legislators and their health policy advisors on Capitol Hill. More than 330 surgeons attended, and this widespread surgeon participation helped to increase the influence of surgery and surgeons in government policy.

Joining Forces

After many years of successful leadership meetings and the increasing popularity of the advocacy conference, it became apparent that both efforts had mutual interests. In 2010, the Leadership Conference and Joint Surgical Advocacy Conference were intentionally held during the same weekend—the Advocacy meeting immediately followed the Leadership Conference. This format continues today, and the two meetings officially joined forces and rebranded in 2014 as the Leadership & Advocacy Summit. The two initiatives remain distinct to enable the membership to fully immerse themselves in both leadership and advocacy activities separately, but the overlap between the two provides just as many benefits. Hosting one dual meeting allows leaders to foster their leadership skills directly in issues of advocacy, and the Summit has continued to be an encouraging and effective way for the College to engage its membership and shape the future.