Jameson L. Chassin, MD, FACS, Award for Professionalism in General Surgery

2024 Award Winner Katharine E. Caldwell, MD, MSCI

To recognize Jameson L. Chassin, MD, FACS, and his career and professional interests, an annual award is bestowed upon a chief resident by the Chassin family, contributors to the Chassin Memorial Fund, and the American College of Surgeons Foundation. In accordance with the wishes of the Chassin family, the Jameson L. Chassin, MD, FACS, Award for Professionalism in General Surgery is presented to a chief resident in general surgery who exemplifies the values of compassion, technical skill, and devotion to science and learning.

In 2024, the 12th annual Jameson L. Chassin, MD, FACS, Award for Professionalism in General Surgery was presented to Katharine E. Caldwell, MD, MSCI.

2025 Call for Nominations

The ACS Division of Education is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the 2024 Jameson L. Chassin, MD, FACS Award for Professionalism in General Surgery. Nominations can be submitted through the online application from April 21, 2025 to June 9, 2025.

Qualifications

Eligible nominees are chief residents in general surgery who are in good standing at an accredited surgery residency program as of May 12, 2025. Evidence of outstanding professionalism should be provided, especially proof of the nominee’s values of compassion, technical skill, and devotion to science and learning. These are the areas upon which the candidates will be evaluated:

Awards
Administrative activities
Scholarships
Community involvement

Documentation supporting the above criteria might include letters from patients, peers, and other members of the surgical team including faculty, medical students, nurses, and other allied health professionals. Other evidence might include service on relevant committees, special initiatives in which the resident may have been involved or led, and relevant scholarships.

Nominations will be accepted from program directors and department chairs and will be reviewed by an independent review panel of the Committee on Resident Education. Each general surgery residency program may nominate one resident.

For more details and submission instructions, please download the 2025 Jameson L. Chassin, MD, FACS, Award Nominations Packet.

Past Award Recipients

2024

Katharine Caldwell, MD, MSCI
Washington University, St Louis, MO
Nominator: Paul E. Wise, MD, FACS

2023

Mark Fleming II, MD, MS
The University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Nominator: Charles Friel, MD

2022

Simin Golestani, MD
The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Nominator: Carlos Brown, MD, FACS

2021

Bernadette Goudreau, MD
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Nominator: Charles Friel, MD, FACS

2020

Neal Bhutiani, MD
University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
Nominator: Kelly M. McMasters, MD, PhD, FACS

2019

Ruchi Amin, MD
East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
Nominator: Danielle S. Walsh, MD FACS FAAP

2018

Lane L. Frasier, MD, MS
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Nominator: Jacob A. Greenberg, MD, EdM, FACS

2017

Joseph Alden Herrold, MD, MPH
USC/LAC+USC Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
Nominator: Kenji Inaba, MD, FACS, FRCSC

2016

Sarah L. M. Greenberg, MD, MPH
Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals, Milwaukee, WI
Nominator: Matthew I. Goldblatt, MD, FACS

2015

Anji E. Wall, MD, PhD
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
Nominator: Kyla P. Terhune, MD, FACS

2014

Katie White Russell, MD
University of Utah and Affiliated Hospitals, Salt Lake City, UT
Nominator: Daniel Vargo, MD, FACS

2013

Justin P. Fox, MD, MHS
Wright State University School of Medicine, Dayton, OH
Nominator: Mary McCarthy, MD, FACS

Jameson L. Chassin MD FACS Award for Professionalism in General Surgery