Program Committee
Chair: Colonel Jennifer Gurney, MD, FACS, ESS President
Co-Chair: Captain Matthew D. Tadlock, MD, FACS, ESS Vice-President
Executive Council Member: Entire Executive Committee
The Program Committee had another busy year coordinating the monthly ESS webinars and planning the 2024 ESS Symposium. The 2023-2024 series of webinars included a diverse range of topics: managing burns and disasters; a question-and-answer session with military program directors; an overview of the US DoD Combat Casualty Care Research Program; military-civilian partnerships and creating partner agreements; establishing an integrated trauma system; minority contributions to military medicine; and an inspiring talk by NASA astronaut and Navy Seal Jonny Kim, MD.
We are excited for this year’s ESS Symposium program, which continues to build on the themes of the ESS symposia in 2022 (Military Civilian Partnerships to Overcome the Peacetime Effect) and 2023 (The Expeditionary Surgeon).
The theme of this year’s program is The Agile Surgeon: Navigating Uncertainty & Seizing Opportunities. As in previous years, the 2024 ESS Symposium military residents will have an opportunity to meet their surgical consultants/specialty leaders and compete in the Committee on Trauma Region 13 paper competition. This year’s Major John P. Pryor Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Colonel (Retired) Matthew J. Martin, MD, FACS, and the Edward D. Churchill Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Thomas Scalea, MD, FACS, MCCM.
The year 2025 will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, 80th anniversary of the formation of the original Excelsior Surgical Society, and 10th Anniversary of the modern Excelsior Surgical Society. ESS President Colonel Gurney along with the ESS support staff has been working tirelessly to plan a special event commemorating these anniversaries. Stay tuned for a special announcement at the 2024 ESS Symposium.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
Chair: Colonel Kenneth Wilson, MD, FACS
Co-Chair/Executive Council Liaison: Major Elise (Hill) Fannon, MD
We are excited to share the latest developments from the DEI Committee, highlighting ongoing efforts and upcoming initiatives aimed at promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the ESS.
Webinar: Hidden Figures–Minority Contributions to Military Medicine
We are thrilled to announce that our webinar on Hidden Figures: Minority Contributions to Military Medicine was held in July. This event spotlighted the invaluable contributions of minority medical professionals in military history. It proved to be an engaging and informative session.
Building on the momentum of this webinar, we are expanding this initiative into a larger project. We aim to publish a comprehensive piece on “hidden figures” in military medicine, with a projected release of early next year. This publication will serve as a valuable resource for recognizing and honoring the overlooked contributions of minority professionals in our field.
In conjunction with this year’s ACS high school outreach program, we are planning a dedicated effort to inspire and mentor high school students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds. This initiative aims to ignite their interest in surgical careers and provide them with the guidance and support necessary to pursue their aspirations.
We are also in the preliminary stages of developing a smartphone app designed to increase diversity within the surgical subspecialties and surgery as a whole. This app will provideresources, mentorship opportunities, and networking platforms to support minority students and professionals in their surgical careers.
We are committed to these projects and look forward to your continued support and participation. Together, we can make significant strides toward a more inclusive and diverse surgical community.
Membership Committee
Chair: Major Omar A. Rokayak, DO, FACS
Co-Chair: Major Daniel Lammers, MD
Executive Council Member: Colonel John Horton, MD, FACS
The Membership Committee has continued to expand its efforts to increase ESS membership across all surgical specialties. Toward that goal, we launched a new member-driven, email-based recruitment initiative facilitating greater reach to potential future members on a more personal level.
We have also continued the ESS Membership Recruitment Booth initiative which we launched in 2023 at major national conferences where prospective members can learn more about ESS from current active members and easily submit a membership application. Throughout the past 12 months, implementation of this initiative has expanded from the ACS Committee on Trauma Annual Meeting to also include the annual ACS Clinical Congress, and the annual meeting of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma. In the future, we look forward to expanding this initiative even further to include multiple additional annual conferences spanning the spectrum of surgical specialties.
We continue to work on streamlining the membership dues collection and tracking process. We have gained approval by the ESS board and membership for the reduction of annual dues for resident members by 50%. This proposal was unanimously passed during the ESS meeting in October of 2023. To further improve the overall ESS membership experience and demonstrate our appreciation for our members, members of all categories who are in good standing have begun to receive ACS ESS membership certificates in a phased manner.
In June of 2024, the Membership Committee organized and moderated a widely attended and engaging webinar titled “Establishing an Integrated National Trauma System; Why, When, and How” which featured guest speaker Eileen M. Bulger, MD, FACS, Medical Director of ACS Trauma Programs.
Moving forward, we look to continue the process of optimizing the ESS experience by bringing the greatest benefit and growth possible to all of our members.
Mentorship Committee
Chair: Major James Wiseman, MD, FACS
Co-Chair: Lieutenant Colonel Mary O’Donnell, MD, FACS, FASCRS
Executive Council Member: Lieutenant Colonel Maggie Gallagher, MD, FACS
The highlight of the ESS Mentoring Committee each year has traditionally been the February webinar, in which the committee hosts representatives of all military surgical residencies in a Q & A aimed at medical students, particularly health professions scholarship program recipients. This year’s version featured an inspirational 20-minute presentation by Colonel Brian Gavitt, MD, MPH, FACS, consultant to the Air Force Surgeon General for trauma and surgical critical care, followed by breakout sessions organized by Service. With nearly 150 participants, this year’s Mentorship Committee webinar is the most-attended webinar in the history of the society.
The summer of 2024 saw the kickoff of several important initiatives developed by committee members. Of particular interest are plans for a mentoring session at the ACS Clinical Congress to coincide with the annual ESS banquet. This event will aim to group military surgical residents with active and retired military surgeons for short periods of facilitated guidance and fellowship. The committee will also continue the tradition of sending congratulatory letters on behalf of ESS to the nation’s graduating class of military surgical residents this summer.
The year to come is equally as exciting as the present year for the Mentorship Committee. We will again host the Residency Director Q & A—PDs, so look for your invitation to participate in the coming months. Additionally, we are steadfastly planning a board review seminar for military residents and fellows to kick off early next summer, a remarkable collaborative effort with the military committee of the Association for Academic Surgery.
Outreach Committee
Chair: Commander Daniel Hammer, DDS, FACS
Co-Chair: Major Kal Gunasingha, MD
Executive Council Member: Lieutenant Colonel Maggie Gallagher, MD, FACS
This year we continued to expand the visibility of the ESS on social media, and the society now has more than 2,700 followers across Twitter/X, Instagram, and LinkedIn. This is an increase of more than 200 followers during the past year.
In addition, engagement across all channels has increased. We recognize and thank our hard-working social media ambassadors who have made this possible:
- Captain Kal Gunasingha, MD, currently stationed at Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Liberty, North Carolina.
- Commander Michelle Roper, MD, FACS, currently in Colorectal surgery fellowship in Atlanta at Georgia Colon and Rectal Associates.
The Outreach Committee also hosted the May 2024 webinar, “Ensuring Surgeon Readiness: Establishing and Leveraging MOUs for Military Surgeons.” During the webinar, Captain Eamon O’Reilly, MD, FACS; Colonel Shaun Brown, MD, FACS; Robert Klant (Naval Medical Center San Diego Healthcare Attorney); and Ms. Ginger Paad (Defense Health Agency, Office of the General Counsel San Diego attorney) discussed how to successfully develop, implement, and sustain military-civilian partnerships via memorandum of understanding or training agreements. View the Webinar Recording
Research Committee
Chair: Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer Sabino, MD, FACS, USA
Co-Chair: Captain Travis Polk, MD, FACS, USN
Executive Council Member: Colonel (Retired) John Oh, MD, FACS
The Research Committee has been an active and productive group since last year’s ESS Symposium. The committee has grown during the last year, adding a number of committee members from a diverse group of training backgrounds, institutions, and experience levels. This year, our Co-Chair, Captain Polk, Director of the DoD Combat Casualty Care Research Program at the US Army Medical Research and Development Command at Ft. Detrick, hosted the annual research webinar on March 22, 2024. In his presentation, “Preparing for the Next Fight: An Overview of the DoD Combat Casualty Care Research Program,” Captain Polk discussed program highlights and funding opportunities as the DoD prepares for the future battlefield.
The Research Committee had the privilege of reviewing abstract submissions for the Scientific Forum military session at the ACS Clinical Congress 2024. We truly appreciate the caliber of abstracts submitted and believe we have put together a session of high-quality and relevant research. The Research Committee Chair and Co-Chair look forward to moderating the military session at the Clinical Congress on October 21, 2024, in San Francisco.
