SIG Success Stories

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 Anita Johnson at anita.johnson@facs.org.

Read the full stories to learn more about what our medical student members are accomplishing through Surgery Interest Groups!

Surgery Interest Group at California University of Science and Medicine School of Medicine (CUSM-SOM)

Bringing Surgical Insight from the OR to the Virtual Platform

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical school instruction has converted to a virtual format for the safety of students, staff, and patients. Such conditions have offered benefits and drawbacks. Students can enjoy the convenience of a virtual classroom from home, avoid traffic, and have more flexible breaks and schedules. Conversely, students are unable to see classmates and lose in-person training on patient interaction. Interest groups similarly are unable to engage students via in-person workshops and talks. As student leaders of our surgery interest group, this year we had to ask ourselves, how do we meet this challenge? Read more

LSU Health Sciences Center-New Orleans SIG

At LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, SIG has taken strides to keep members involved and excited while safely navigating interactions amidst the latest COVID-19 delta variant surge. We kicked off the year with a virtual meeting that included a suture kit giveaway and introduced new club perks such as a bi-monthly SIG newsletter and a Research in Surgery Workshop. The newsletter brings members opportunities to join research projects and mentor pre-meds through partnership programs. It provides tips for getting involved in the ACS community and exposure to new research articles in various surgical fields. The SIG Research Workshop will be a session to give students an overview of why research is essential for surgery, how to join projects, and how to advocate for themselves as student researchers. It will also provide a safe place for questions to our faculty that manage student research programs. Many students have expressed excitement for the programs SIG provides, notably because of how difficult virtual limitations can make club involvement. Our executive board has worked hard to provide students with all of the available opportunities before the pandemic, including a "Night with the Trauma Fellows" from our partnering hospital and a "Chat with a Surgeon" session. Finally, thanks to the declining number of SARS-CoV-2 cases and increasing vaccination rates in the community, we are excited to be able to host our first in-person event to finish off the semester. We have carefully and safely planned a suture clinic with residents to provide members with a hands-on learning activity that will hopefully further their interest in surgery and bring some long-awaited fun!

The San Juan Bautista School of Medicine's Surgery Interest Group (SJBSM SIG) looks to promote the importance of surgery within our institution and our community. Our goal to achieve this has been to nurture partnerships, networking and community outreach activities that exemplify the astounding work surgeons do inside and outside of the OR. Read more

Istanbul Okan University

O’SIG provides a wide range of benefits to its members. Since the start of the 2019-2020 academic year Okan Surgery Interest Group hosted more than 23 events. Which included suturing courses, anatomy lectures for 1st and 2nd year students, Exam preparation manual, a series of shadowing events where students assisted various surgeries including emergency cases, physical examination and history taking events where students had the opportunity to examine and take history of patients in hospital. Read more

Uniformed Services University Student Surgery Interest Group

In November of 2018, the Surgery Interest Group at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) turned over its leadership positions to new students in the School of Medicine Class of 2022. The new leadership had a mission to revamp the SIG presence on campus and bring forth more opportunities for students to learn more about surgical specialties. Read more

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center Student Surgical Society

The Student Surgical Society (SSS) at UTHSC underwent a revitalization over the past year. We wanted the organization to actively engage students with surgical mentors while also providing students early exposure to various fields within surgery. Read more

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. Read more

Chicago Medical School

The Surgery Interest Group (SIG) at Chicago Medical School (CMS) has been actively working to expand opportunities for our members that will result in greater exposure within the field of surgery, and more readily prepare them for their surgical clerkships. Additionally, we have been working other groups on campus to raise awareness of various public health issues affecting us at both a local and national level. This has been accomplished through participation in The Stop the Bleed Campaign, Scrubs Addressing the Firearm Epidemic (SAFE) initiative, as well as hosting speaking events highlighting local surgeons who are combating these issues on a daily basis. Read more

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

If Holden Surgical Society at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has taken anything from its namesake, Dr. William D. Holden, it would be the dedication to innovation in the area of medical and surgical education. For many years, Holden Surgical Society (HSS) has been the mainstay for interdisciplinary surgical exposure and education at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (CWRUSOM), offering mentorship and shadowing opportunities, a variety of panels and skills workshops, and our monthly Holden Lecture Series. Read more

The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

“The Charles G. Rob Student Surgical Society (CGRSSS) at East Carolina University (ECU) Brody School of Medicine was founded several years ago by a humble man. Walter J. Pories, MD, FACS, father of bariatric surgery as we know it today, is the Founding Chair of the department of surgery at ECU. With a passion for research, education, and mentorship, Dr. Pories sought to begin a society for students to collaborate and grow as rising physicians. He chose to name this society after the man that mentored him, Charles G. Rob, MD, FACS. Dr. Rob, a modest man with humility to match that of Dr. Pories, was a gifted and accomplished surgeon. He was most known for operating on Winston Churchill; however, he was better known to Dr. Pories as a caring educator, mentor, and friend. These core values embodied by Dr. Rob remain—to this day—as the foundation upon which our group is built.” Read more

Spring 2018

Winter 2017