ACS Inclusive Excellence Resource and Implementation Toolkit

Introduction

By Susan Pories, MD, FACS, and Valentine Nfonsam, MD, FACS

The ACS has been at the forefront of confronting racism and striving for diversity, equity, and inclusion, not only within its leadership and ranks, but also for our patients and society as a whole.

ACS Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The ACS upholds the highest standards of leadership in our profession with its strong commitment to multiculturalism and equitable opportunity. Read More.

Regental Task Force

In November 2020, the ACS Regental Task Force on Racial Issues produced a comprehensive report and recommendations. Read More.

ACS Office of Inclusive Excellence

In August 2021, an Office of Inclusive Excellence with a full-time Director as well as a Medical Director, was launched. Read More.

The ACS Inclusive Excellence Resource and Implementation Toolkit

The Toolkit—available in the ACS Learning Management System (LMS)—serves as a collection of authoritative and adaptable resources for surgeons to learn about diversity, equity, and inclusion; identify practical approaches for maximizing the benefits of diversity, equity, and inclusion; and address issues that may arise locally, regionally, and nationally. Read More.

How to Access

The ACS Inclusive Excellence Resource and Implementation Toolkit is available on the ACS LMS.

If you have an ACS Member ID or an existing ACS LMS account

Select “Login” and then enter your Username and Password.

If you have forgotten your Username or Password, select “Forgot password” in the lower-left corner of the sign-in dialog box, and use your email address to reset your password.

You will then be asked to complete the course registration process. Once you have completed registration, an email will be sent to you with the confirmation and course login information.

Access the ACS Inclusive Excellence Resource and Implementation Toolkit

If you do not have an ACS Member ID or existing ACS LMS account

Select “Register” and then select “New User?” at the bottom of the dialog box. This will take you to a registration form where you can create a new account.
After you hit “Save User,” you will be returned to the sign-in dialog box. Enter the username and password you just created.

You will then be asked to complete the course registration process. Once you have completed registration, an email will be sent to you with the confirmation and course login information.

Access the ACS Inclusive Excellence Resource and Implementation Toolkit

Resource Library

The Resource Library on Inclusive Excellence is an efficient and organized approach to providing information and evidence relative to diversity, equity, and inclusion in healthcare and surgical contexts.

Lexicon

The Lexicon on Inclusive Excellence offers a common language and understanding of how ACS defines key terms that are most relevant to DEI topics in the surgical sphere.

The ACS Inclusive Excellence Resource and Implementation Toolkit

The Toolkit serves as a collection of authoritative and adaptable resources for surgeons to learn about diversity, equity, and inclusion; identify practical approaches for maximizing the benefits; and address issues that may arise locally, regionally, and nationally. We focus first on WHY: Why are diversity, equity, and inclusion important to all members of the College? Followed by WHAT: Defining diversity topics, and HOW: What are the tools at our disposal for solving DEI challenges? Each of the chapters includes case studies to serve as examples of DEI challenges in the surgical workplace and in educational forums. References or a bibliography of cited sources is provided for each chapter as well as a section of general resources and a lexicon of common vocabulary and terms.

The Toolkit has been developed to serve as a resource for surgeons and as a repository for information and a guide for implementation of equity practices to effectively address specific DEI issues. The Toolkit’s digital, interactive format allows for ease of use, access to internal and external content, and integration of multiple digital modalities by linking to existing literature, lectures, workshops, and seminars to be used by ACS chapters, surgical organizations, community-based and academic institutions, and practicing surgeons. Created as a collaborative effort led by the Diversity Pillar of the ACS Board of Governors and the Office of Inclusive Excellence, the Toolkit in its initial phase includes more than 40 chapters written by more than 90 surgeon authors, reviewed and edited by a core group of DEI experts. Additional chapters were solicited from a large number of surgeon stakeholder groups to ensure a wide and inclusive effort.

The editors are humbled and honored to have the opportunity to lead the work on this Toolkit and hope it will serve as a starting point for a journey of education and growth for surgeons and the surgical workforce everywhere to the benefit of all patients.

Bibliography

American College of Surgeons. ACS Statement on Diversity. January 2018. Available at: https://www.facs.org/about-acs/statements/diversity/. Accessed April 17, 2023.

American Surgical Association. Ensuring Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Academic Surgery. Available at: https://americansurgical.org/equity/. Accessed April 17, 2023.

Association of American Medical Colleges. Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Planning Toolkit. Available at: https://www.aamc.org/services/member-capacity-building/diversity-and-inclusion-strategic-planning-toolkit. Accessed April 17, 2023.

Association of Program Directors in Surgery. APDS Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit. Available at: https://apds.org/program-directors/apds-diversity-and-inclusion-toolkit/. Accessed April 17, 2023.