ACS Surgeons as Leaders

Today’s surgical environment—both in academic and community practice worlds—is challenging, complex, and unpredictable. The need for leadership has never been greater, and the demands on leaders are ever escalating, whether in the operating room or the board room.

The 2025 ACS Surgeons as Leaders Course aims to address today’s evolving challenges in healthcare from a leadership perspective. Features of the course include individual meetings with expert faculty for personalized guidance, working lunches with faculty to promote networking and discussion of challenges identified by course attendees, special concurrent sessions tailored to address issues faced by leaders in community practice and those in academic practice, sessions on diversity, and more. A variety of interactive panel discussions, case-based sessions, lectures, and small group discussions will foster networking and personalized learning throughout the three-day course. The purpose of this course is to provide surgeons with an understanding of leadership at all levels of an organization and to provide them with the skills that are essential for effective leadership.

Leadership

Whether in the operating room or in the boardroom, surgeons in academic medical centers as well as community hospitals must be able to:

Exhibit the attributes of a leader to effectively resolve leadership challenges
Lead oneself with insight regarding personal effectiveness
Build, maintain, and align effective teams to achieve goals
Change culture, resolve conflict, and balance demands within the larger environment
Utilize innovative approaches to address evolving concerns during organizational change
Translate the principles of leadership into action

Intended Participants

The course is designed for surgeons who currently serve in leadership positions, or aspire to such positions, and who seek to enhance their leadership skills across a wide variety of settings, from operating room to boardroom. Surgeons in community practice and academic practice who want to advance their skills in leading people, groups, and organizations will find the course beneficial. The emphasis will be on leadership; management of such entities and the skills generally associated with management will not be addressed in the course.

The course is limited to 72 participants. ACS Members will receive priority consideration. All participants are expected to attend the entire course and remain until the conclusion of the course.

Course Content

Nationally renowned faculty will guide sessions addressing the principles and practice of leadership, including preparing oneself to lead through mental readiness, applying emotional intelligence, leading as a diverse individual, and effectively managing up, down, and across as a leader. Strategies to address personal and professional stress and burnout will be highlighted, along with approaches for taking on difficult challenges, and leading through change. The roles of coaches in leader development and the value of learning from leadership failures will be explored. Participants will experience different styles of communication, identify their and others’ preferred styles, and apply principles to communicate effectively across all styles and be better prepared to handle difficult conversations.

Pathways to leadership positions, typical responsibilities of surgery chairs, evaluation of job opportunities, and negotiation of job offers will be discussed, along with envisioning the first 100 days of a new position, managing time and priorities effectively, and defining role responsibilities.

The principles of building and maintaining effective teams will be presented, including aligning surgeons to achieve consensus, and cultivating and leading a diverse work force. Recruiting and retaining surgeons, starting new clinical programs, integrating into health systems, changing culture, and addressing racism and diversity in organizations will be addressed. Other leadership challenges, such as managing conflict and territorial behavior, handling difficult personalities, and dealing with microaggressions will be emphasized. Finally, perspectives will be shared regarding the leadership role in crisis management, advocacy activities, guidance of surgeons with quality or other concerns, and leadership oversight of essential financial matters.

Course Fee

ACS Members: $5,250
Nonmembers: $5,925

Course participants must submit full payment upon notification of acceptance in order to reserve their seat in the course. Additional details will be enclosed with the notification letters. Full payment of the course fee will be due upon acceptance into the course. Personal or Institutional credit cards will be accepted. Please do not include payment information when submitting the application.

Contact

If you have questions about this course, please send an email to SurgeonsAsLeaders@facs.org.

ACS Course Staff:

Natalie Loper, Administrator
Michelle McNeilly, Senior Manager

Application

The 2025 ACS Surgeons as Leaders course application is now closed. If you have any questions or would like to be notified when the 2026 Course application is posted, please email surgeonsasleaders@facs.org.

Continuing Medical Education Credit Information

Accreditation
The American College of Surgeons is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.

Course Location & Accommodations

The 2025 Surgeons as Leaders Course will be held at the Washington Duke Inn (WDI) in Durham, North Carolina. There will be an ACS hotel block reserved closer to the date for accepted attendees.

Surgeons as Leaders Faculty

Gary L. Timmerman, MD, FACS, MAMSE, Course Chair

Dr. Timmerman serves as professor and chair of the surgery department at the University of South Dakota Sanford Medical school.

James W. Fleshman Jr., MD, FACS, FASCRS

Dr. Fleshman is Chief of Surgery and Sparkman Endowed Professor and Chairman of the department of surgery at Texas A&M Health Science Center, Baylor University Medical Center.

Julie A. Freischlag, MD, FACS, FRCSEd(Hon), DFSVS

Dr. Freischlag is chief executive officer of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, chief academic officer of Advocate Health and executive vice president for health affairs of Wake Forest University.

Andrea A. Hayes Dixon, MD, FACS, FAAP

Dr. Dixon became the first black woman dean of Howard University’s College of Medicine in 2022. With the distinction of becoming dean, Dr. Hayes Dixon adds to an already extensive list of groundbreaking accomplishments.

Matthew M. Hutter, MD, MBA, MPH, FACS

Dr. Hutter is a general and gastrointestinal surgeon at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where his clinical work focuses on advanced laparoscopic, foregut and bariatric surgery.

Larry R. Kaiser, MD, FACS

Dr. Kaiser is a managing director with Alvarez & Marsal’s Healthcare Industry Group Health Systems practice. He is a cardiothoracic surgeon by training and specializes in working with healthcare systems, primarily in restructuring, process improvement and strategy.

Melina R. Kibbe, MD, FACS

Dr. Kibbe has been the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Medicine’s dean and chief health affairs officer since 2021. She is also James Carroll Flippin Professor of medical science, professor of surgery and professor of biomedical engineering at UVA.

Carlos A. Pellegrini, MD, FACS, FRCSI(Hon), FRCS(Hon), FRSCEd(Hon), FWACS(Hon)

Dr. Pellegrini is a surgeon with expertise in surgical education, simulation, professionalism, and leadership. He is a pioneer in the development of technological surgical advancements and a world leader in minimally invasive gastrointestinal surgery.

Ajit K. Sachdeva, MD, FACS, FRCSC, FSACME, MAMSE

Dr. Sachdeva is the Founding Director of the Division of Education of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Dr. Sachdeva established this Division, which is responsible for developing and implementing innovative education and training programs for surgeons, surgery residents, medical students, and surgical teams.

Kenneth W. Sharp, MD, FACS

Dr. Sharp is a professor of surgery and vice chair for faculty promotion & development at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Sharp's clinical interests include the gastrointestinal tract and applications of minimally invasive surgical procedures in that area.

Nathaniel J. Soper, MD, FACS

Dr. Soper is a trailblazer in the field of minimally invasive surgery, foregut surgery and surgical education. He was one of the first academic surgeons performing laparoscopic surgery, which has defined his subsequent career.

Beth H. Sutton, MD, FACS

Dr. Sutton serves as a general surgeon in private practice in Wichita Falls, TX. Dr. Sutton participates in the call schedule for the Level II trauma center and acute care surgery service at United Regional Health Care System, where her practice is located.

Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS

Dr. Turner is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the American College of Surgeons and a clinical professor at the University of Chicago Medicine.

Staff Consultants

Ajit K. Sachdeva, MD, FACS, FRCSC, FSACME, MAMSE
Director, ACS Division of Education
Patrice Gabler Blair, DrPH, MPH
Associate Director, ACS Division of Education

ACS Surgeons as Leaders: From Operating Room to Boardroom