ACS Medical Student News: Summer 2019

Welcome to ACS Medical Students News. This quarterly newsletter will keep you informed on important opportunities and medical student initiatives throughout the College.

Any feedback regarding this newsletter is greatly appreciated. See past issues of ACS Medical Students News.

Thank you,

Hanna Lakew
Assistant, Division of Member Services
hlakew@facs.org

ACS Leadership Summit 2019

JT Morgan
University of Virginia School of Medicine
MD Candidate, Class of 2021

Leadership and medicine go hand in hand. Whether working with teams in the hospital or providing care directly for a patient, chances are someone is looking to the surgeon or surgical trainee for expertise and guidance. Attending the leadership summit in DC gave me a chance to see what the surgical governing body views as important characteristics and traits for its members and future members. Seeing the impact we as future physicians will have one day was tremendously helpful in reminding me why I chose to leave my profession as a Marine Corps Officer to pursue a career in medicine.

At the summit, I was able to interact with leaders and innovators in surgery and gain a better appreciation for my role in the organization. I look forward to the next ACS event I get to attend and I am excited to work on increasing my involvement with the Virginia Chapter and recruiting other students from the UVA School of Medicine as well. Thanks for a great weekend and I look forward to hearing more next year from the outstanding leaders in the field of surgery.

Surgery Interest Group Spotlights

Share your SIGs success story about a program, new initiative, event, or volunteer project and you may be featured on our website and in an issue of ACS Medical Student News. Submit a brief synopsis of your success story—with photos, if available—to Hanna Lakew at hlakew@facs.org.

Howard University College of Medicine Surgery Interest Society

“The mission of the Surgery Interest Society at Howard University College of Medicine is to foster interest in the field of surgery, provide opportunities to develop a broader understanding of surgery, and to assist students in matching into surgical residency position.”

Get the ACS Medical Student Toolkit

As you know, becoming a Medical Student Member demonstrates your interest in a surgical career, and a commitment to learn more about this exciting and challenging profession. We encourage you to share your membership experience and support your fellow classmates in joining the ACS.

Connect your SIG with the College and receive the Medical Student Toolkit. The kit illustrates the benefits of being an ACS medical student member and includes a PowerPoint presentation containing information about the benefits of medical student membership, ACS giveaways, and brochures and information on how to apply.

Please complete and return the Toolkit request form to Hanna Lakew at hlakew@facs.org.

Request Medical Minutiae Today!

Medical Student Program 2019

October 27–29, 2019 | Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA

The ACS Division of Education invites students from all four years of medical school to participate in a special three-day program designed especially for them. Programming is varied from day to day, and students are welcome to attend all or selected portions of this three-day program. The program is free to ACS Medical Student members who register in advance. Nonmembers will be charged a reduced registration fee. Note that registrants must be currently enrolled in medical school to attend. Watch the ACS site at for more information as it becomes available.

Some of the planned presentations and activities are listed below:

• Lifestyle Issues in Surgery
• Mastering the Surgical Residency Interview
• Skills Workshops
• Mock Interview Practice
• Networking with Specialty Surgeons, Program Directors, and Surgical Residents

Medical Student Program Call for Abstracts

Included in the ACS Medical Student Program is the Medical Student Program ePoster Session. Medical students planning to attend are invited to present their research in one of three areas:

• Basic science
• Clinical
• Education, innovation, or outcomes.

Those selected will present their posters on Sunday, October 27, 2019. Abstracts are being accepted online through 11:59 pm CT on Monday, June 10, 2019.

For additional information about the ACS Medical Student Program, please contact Katrina (“Katie”) McKenzie at 312-202-5404 or kmckenzie@facs.org.

RAS-ACS Medical Student Hangout—Save the Date!

Choosing a Specialty: Rural Surgery

Are you interested in rural surgery? Join Drs. Laura Stearns and Mike Sarap—members of the ACS Rural Surgery Advisory Council—and Dr. Alisha Reiss to discuss the ins and outs of thoracic surgery as a specialty.

• Why chose rural surgery?
• What is a rural surgeon?
• Rural surgery shortage
• Rural surgery residency tracks

• Mike Sarap, MD, FACS
  Cambridge, OH
• Alisha Reiss, MD, FACS
  Greenville, OH
• Laura Stearns, DO
  PGY-3 Western Michigan School of Medicine

Join Us!

No need to preregister, just phone in!
Call: 1-888-585-9008
Room: 549-242-585#

New pathways for medical student education address concerns of both students and educators

Matthew B. Rossi, MD, FACS
Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons

Innovative approaches to medical student education are largely driven by two key factors: a projected shortfall of up to 120,000 physicians by 2030 and escalating medical student debt, which can average $150,000–$210,000 per graduate.

Rural rotations often expose medical students to aspects of general surgery and personalized patient care that they would rarely see in a larger metropolitan teaching hospital. In this respect, I find rural surgery is an “easy sell” to the eager first- or second-year medical student formulating career plans.

Read the full Bulletin article

Prepare Students for their Surgical Residency Interviews with a Residency Workshop

Sophia K. McKinley MD, EdM; John T. Mullen, MD, FACS; and Roy Phitayakorn, MD, MHPE, FACS
Resources in Surgical Education

In 2018, approximately 7 percent of U.S. senior medical students who applied for a residency position exclusively in general surgery did not obtain a categorical position.1 Neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, and plastic surgery are even more competitive; more than 10 percent of U.S. medical students who applied to these specialties found themselves without a position.^{® href=''>2,3 href=''>}

Read the full RISE article

Stop the Bleed

May 2019 was the first ever National Stop the Bleed Month!

During last month this nationwide campaign highlighted the importance of Stop the Bleed training and provided the public with information and education through local fire, EMS, and health care professionals. FREE Bleeding Control Basics classes were offered to the public, furthering the goal of the American College of Surgeons to train everyone in the U.S. about what to do during a bleeding emergency.

Did your SIG host any bleeding control classes? If so, we’d love to share it! Submit your SIGs story—with photos, if available—to Hanna Lakew at hlakew@facs.org.

ACS Medical Students Stop the Bleed

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Benjamin Rush Surgical Society
Brad Chernock, MD | Class of 2019

At Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) we started a program without our Community Engaged Service Learning program (longitudinal community service project) that trains medical students as instructors to then go into the community to teach classes. All students are exposed to Stop the Bleed (STB) during their first-year orientation on the same day they do CPR. We hold one to two train the trainer sessions per year which allows students to teach after they have been monitored by a senior instructor. The main groups we teach are Newark PD/FD, community organizations, the Rutgers community and we will be starting public classes in the near future. In addition, twice per year we do a Bleeding Control (BCon) class for the Rutgers Mini Medical School program, which brings high schools students from around the region to NJMS.

STB has also been integrated into all four years of the NJMS curriculum. First year students take BCON as described above. In second year they have a skills refresher. During the third year, students are tested during an objective structured clinical examination session and in the fourth year they have another skills refresher. We have also started to do research on BCon, which students can participate in if they have been significantly involved with BCon at NJMS. The program is run by students and new student leaders are selected every year. Adam Fox, DO, FACS, who is very active nationally with STB, is our mentor and has been a great asset to ensure our programs.

Get Involved—Find a Bleeding Control Class Near You!

To date, the American College of Surgeons has estimated that it has helped train more than 600,000 people in bleeding control training. Training sites have included firehouses, community centers, hospitals, and schools. Our courses have taught elementary school children through senior citizens.

Get Published in the ACS Case Reviews in Surgery

The ACS Division of Education has an online journal, ACS Case Reviews in Surgery, which covers an extensive array of specialties, including breast, colorectal, pediatric, transplant, acute care, trauma, general, and rural surgery. The journal links to other College publications that cover similar topics, including the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Selected Readings in General Surgery, and Evidence-Based Decisions in Surgery modules.

Medical students are encouraged to submit to ACS Case Reviews in Surgery; however, in order to do so, an ACS Fellow must be included as one of the case report authors.

For more information on this opportunity, contact Claire Sydow at csydow@facs.org.

Join Your Local ACS Chapter

Enhance your experience as an ACS member by joining your local ACS chapter to influence surgical care and network with colleagues at the local level. Visit Find a Chapter to learn more about how to join today!