Virtual Surgical Practice and Education in the Post-COVID Era: Perspectives of Three Surgical Educators

Our dynamic panel discussed the impact the pandemic has had on surgical practice and education paradigms, as well as what lessons can be carried into the future

Anthony Atala, MD, FACS, is the G. Link Professor and Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, and the W. H. Boyce Professor and Chair of Urology at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Atala is a practicing surgeon and a researcher in the area of regenerative medicine.  Fifteen applications of technologies developed in Dr. Atala's laboratory have been used clinically. He is the editor of 25 books and three journals. Dr. Atala has published more than 600 journal articles, and has received more than 250 national and international patents.  Dr. Atala was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, the National Academy of Inventors as a Charter Fellow, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

Dr. Atala is a recipient of the U.S. Congress-funded Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation Award—bestowed on a living American who is currently working on a discovery that will significantly affect society; the World Technology Award in Health and Medicine for achieving significant and lasting progress; the Edison Science/Medical Award for innovation; the R&D Innovator of the Year Award; and the Smithsonian Ingenuity Award for Bioprinting Tissue and Organs. Dr. Atala’s work was listed twice as Time Magazine’s Top 10 medical breakthroughs of the year, and once as one of five discoveries that will change the future of organ transplants. He was named by Scientific American as one of the world’s most influential people in biotechnology, by U.S. News & World Report as one of 14 pioneers of medical progress in the 21st century, by Life Sciences Intellectual Property Review as one of the top key influencers in the life sciences intellectual property arena, and by Nature Biotechnology as one of the top 10 translational researchers in the world. 

Dr. Atala has led or served on several national professional and governmental committees, including the National Institutes of Health working group on Cells and Developmental Biology, the National Institutes of Health Bioengineering Consortium, and the National Cancer Institute’s Advisory Board. He is a founding member of the Tissue Engineering Society, Regenerative Medicine Foundation, Regenerative Medicine Manufacturing Innovation Consortium, Regenerative Medicine Development Organization, and Regenerative Medicine Manufacturing Society.

Dr. Atala serves as a Regent of the ACS.

Brenessa M. Lindeman, MD, MEHP, FACS, is an assistant professor of surgery and Associate Designated Institutional Official for the Clinical Learning Environment at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). A native of Kentucky, she completed her undergraduate training summa cum laude at the University of Louisville, KY, and graduated Alpha Omega Alpha as the Founder’s Medalist at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, in 2009.  She completed residency training in general surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, where she served as an administrative chief resident, and completed a fellowship in endocrine surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. At UAB, she also serves as director of the Endocrine Surgery Fellowship, wellness champion for the department of surgery, and co-director of the Multidisciplinary Endocrine Tumor Clinic.

Dr. Lindeman earned a master of education in the health professions (MEHP) degree from Johns Hopkins University and completed surgical education research fellowships with the Association for Surgical Education and Massachusetts General Hospital. She served as a member of drafting panels for both the Association of American Medical Colleges Core Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for Entering Residency and the American Board of Surgery EPAs for General Surgery. She is a member of the editorial board for Academic Medicine, PLOS One, and American Journal of Surgery. Her research interests are in development and assessment of competency in surgical trainees and evaluation of the learning climate/physician well being.

Dr. Lindeman is an Associate Member of the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators.

Jeffrey B. Matthews, MD, FACS, is the Dallas B. Phemister Professor of Surgery, chair of the department of surgery, and surgeon-in-chief of the University of Chicago Medicine. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Matthews completed surgical residency at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, MA, and a hepatobiliary fellowship at the University of Bern, Switzerland. During his appointment at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Hospital, he rose to the rank of associate professor of surgery and chief of the division of general surgery at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. In 2001, he was appointed Christian R. Holmes Professor and Chair of the department of surgery at the University of Cincinnati, OH, until assuming his current position in 2006. 

Dr. Matthews is a leading expert in pancreaticobiliary and gastrointestinal surgery. He has more than 200 original articles, chapters, and editorials as well as multiple surgical textbooks.  He led a federally funded research laboratory for more than two decades studying the regulation of epithelial transport and barrier function. He serves on the editorial board of 11 prestigious surgical and scientific journals and is editor-in-chief emeritus of the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery. He is the past chair of the Surgery Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. He is a senior director of the American Board of Surgery, and past president of the Society of Surgical Chairs, the Society of University Surgeons, and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract.

Moderated by

Mohsen M. 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 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