Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) in the Age of Competency-based Surgical Education

This virtual Grand Rounds organized by the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators will feature three panelists with a great deal of expertise on EPAs and the requirement of the American Board of Surgery for General Surgery residents beginning in July 2023. The discussion will cover the history of EPAs and the practical implementation by General Surgery Residency Programs.

Jo Buyske, MD

Dr. Buyske is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Board of Surgery (ABS). She joined the board in 1998, initially as a Qualifying Examination item writer, then an associate examiner, and finally a director of the ABS starting in 2006. In 2008 she joined the staff full time as Associate Executive Director and Director of Evaluation, and in 2017 was named Executive Director. Prior to that, Dr. Buyske was Chief of Surgery and Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia, and on faculty at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where her clinical experience focused on applications of minimally invasive surgery in all areas of general and gastrointestinal surgery. Still clinically active, she remains on staff at the University as an Adjunct Professor of Surgery on the acute care surgery service.

Dr. Buyske attended medical school at Columbia University and completed her General Surgery Residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She began her career at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts, before coming to Philadelphia.

Dr. Buyske is a past President of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons. She is also a director of the ABMS, the ABMS-International LLC, is on the executive committee of ACGME-International Board, and serves on the inaugural Advisory Council for the Agnew Surgery Clinic at Penn, forwarding her personal and professional passion of advancing equitable access to quality healthcare.

Brenessa Lindeman, MD, MEHP

Dr. Lindeman is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Medical Education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; there she serves as Section Chief and Fellowship Director for Endocrine Surgery and the Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education. She earned her MD from Vanderbilt University, completed general surgery training at Johns Hopkins, and endocrine surgery fellowship at Harvard/Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She earned a Master of Education in the Health Professions from Johns Hopkins and has been part of drafting EPAs for the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American Board of Surgery, and the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, and is an Associate Member of the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators.

John D. Mellinger, MD, FACS

Dr. Mellinger currently serves as Vice President for the American Board of Surgery (ABS) and is Professor Emeritus of Surgery at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIU) in Springfield, IL. He is the former J. Roland Folse Endowed Chair in Surgery, Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery, Professor in the Department of Medical Education, and Director of Leadership and Excellence for the Center for Human and Organizational Potential at SIU, having retired from those roles in 2021. Dr. Mellinger received his MD from Case Western Reserve University, and completed residency training in general surgery at the Blodgett/St. Mary’s Hospitals in Grand Rapids, MI, followed by a surgical endoscopy fellowship at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Cleveland, OH. He has also completed a Surgical Education Research Fellowship through the Association for Surgical Education (ASE). He served on active duty in the United States Air Force, and has had academic appointments at Wright State University, Michigan State University, and the Medical College of Georgia prior to his most recent duties at SIU.

Dr. Mellinger has served on the Boards of several national organizations, including serving as a Director of the American Board of Surgery (ABS) and the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), on the Board of Governors of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), on the Council of the Central Surgical Association (CSA), and on the Board of Trustees of the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA). Dr. Mellinger has received more than 30 teaching awards and has co-authored 130 peer reviewed publications and review articles, 30 book chapters, and one book.

The session will be moderated by Mohsen Shabahang, MD, PhD, FACS, MAMSE, Chair of the Subcommittee on Novel Teaching and Assessment Methods and Educational Resources for the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators. Dr. Shabahang is the VP/CMO of the Wellspan Surgery Service Line, York, PA. Dr. Shabahang joined Wellspan in summer 2021.

Welcome remarks will be given by Ajit K. Sachdeva, MD, FACS, FRCSC, FSACME, MAMSE, Director of the ACS Division of Education and Co-Chair, Steering Committee of the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators.