The ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators™ Virtual Grand Rounds connects you with experts on a range of clinical and nonclinical topics. The latest topic, Virtual Interviews as Part of Residency Recruitment, is now available as a recording within an online course. You may enroll in the online learning course now and view the recorded presentation. Please note the online course is designated for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
This dynamic panel addresses various considerations regarding virtual interviews for the upcoming season, and features questions from the audience. This session is ideal for faculty, program directors, residents, and medical students.
Kareem R. AbdelFattah, MD, FACS, has the privilege of serving as the Program Director for the General Surgery Residency at UT-Southwestern Medical Center. His clinical practice is focused in burns and trauma care, and his research interests are in the optimization of the clinical work environment and the format of surgical training.
Paris D. Butler, MD, MPH, FACS, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS). He also serves as the Director of Underrepresented in Medicine (UIM) Affairs for the UPHS Graduate Medical Education (GME) office. After completing his undergraduate education at Roanoke College, he attended medical school at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He completed a general surgery residency at the University of Virginia and subsequently completed his plastic surgery training at the University of Pennsylvania. During his general surgery training, he completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Stanford University and obtained a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) from the Univ. of California-Berkeley in health policy and management with special certificate in minority health. He is board certified by both the American Board of Surgery.
He has received numerous teaching awards in addition to recognition for his work with mentoring residents, medical, undergraduate, and high school students aspiring to enter the field. He served on the Accreditation Council for Graduation Medical Education’s (ACGME) Surgical Residency Review Committee (RRC). He currently serves on the ACS Committee on Health Care Disparities, the American Society of Plastic Surgery’s (ASPS) Diversity Committee, and is a Director of the American Board of Surgery (ABS).
James C. Denneny, III, MD, FACS, is the Executive Vice President/CEO of the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery and its Foundation (AAO-HNS/F), one of the oldest medical associations in the United States. The Academy represents about 12,000 otolaryngologist—head and neck surgeons who treat the ear, nose, throat, and related structures of the head and neck.
He is a past president of the AAO-HNS/F, with 11 years of service on the Boards of Directors and 22 years on the Board of Governors, including a term as chairman. His career has spanned both private and academic practice. Before serving the Knoxville, TN, community for 24 years as a private practitioner, he held academic appointments in Houston and Indianapolis. In 2011, he left private practice to join the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Missouri, where he remains Adjunct Professor of Clinical Otolaryngology. He has a part-time practice at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine as an Adjunct Professor. He assumed his current role as Executive Vice President/CEO in December 2014.
Dr. Denneny received a Bachelor of Science from Baylor University in Waco, TX. He earned his medical degree and finished a general surgery residency at the University of Oklahoma Medical School. He completed his residency in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA, with a subsequent fellowship in facial plastic reconstructive surgery at the University of Illinois in Chicago, IL. He serves as Secretary of the ACS Board of Governors and is a member of the ACS Board of Regents.
Sophia K. McKinley, MD, EdM, is a General Surgery Chief Resident at Massachusetts General Hospital. She recently completed a virtual fellowship interview cycle in complex general surgical oncology and will begin her fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in August 2021.
Mohsen Shabahang, MD, PhD, FACS, is the chair of the Geisinger Surgery Institute, Danville, PA, and the director of general surgery residency. Dr. Shabahang joined Geisinger in July 2010 as the director of the department of general surgery and director of the general surgery residency program at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville.
Welcome remarks are 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.
Read more about successful virtual interview strategies through the subcommittee’s recently published Virtual surgery residency selection: Strategies for programs and candidates on this topic.
An additional resource to facilitate discussion and support those involved with virtual interviews is the establishment of a listserv. This listserv is intended for medical students, program directors, faculty, and anyone involved in the interview process. Those interested must opt-in here. All participants are encouraged to pose questions, share thoughts and ideas, and highlight resources and best practices.