Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS, has been named the next Executive Director of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Dr. Turner will begin her new role as Executive Director-Elect October 1, 2021, and she will formally assume the role of Executive Director January 1, 2022. She succeeds David B. Hoyt, MD, FACS, who has served as Executive Director since 2010.
L. Scott Levin, MD, FACS, Chair of the Board of Regents, noted, “The selection process for the next Executive Director of the ACS went flawlessly under the leadership of Beth Sutton, MD, FACS, who chaired the search committee in partnership with the Board and the search firm Isaacson Miller. Starting with 175 surgeon applicants, the process led to the Board of Regents unanimously selecting Dr. Turner to direct the ACS, following the exemplary leadership of David B. Hoyt, MD, FACS.”
Steven D. Wexner, MD, FACS, FRCSEng, FRCSEd, FRCSI(Hon), FRCSGlasg(Hon), Vice-Chair of the Board of Regents, commented, “We are exceptionally grateful to Dr. Hoyt for his wisdom, guidance, and commitment since 2010. Dr. Turner’s visionary leadership of the Division of Member Services, her international recognition, and the tremendous respect with which she is held by surgeons in all stages of their careers in every discipline will be assets in the continued global growth of the ACS. The Board of Regents is very enthusiastic that Dr. Turner’s incisive mind, superlative communication skills, and innovative methods will benefit all surgeons and our patients.”
Dr. Hoyt added, “Dr. Turner is ideally suited for this position given her experience and love of surgery and the College. Her effectiveness in building our membership is a legacy that will thrive in her new role.”
Dr. Turner has served as Director of the ACS Division of Member Services since 2011, in which time ACS membership has grown every year in every category. She has led the development and implementation of many initiatives that serve the diverse and evolving needs of surgeons in the U.S. and internationally. She has been responsible for streamlining and updating processes that allow more member engagement and has focused on meeting the needs f surgeons of all specialties and in all practice configurations.
Under her stewardship, the ACS has introduced new programs that address intimate partner violence and surgeon well-being, expanded scholarship opportunities, and strengthened Operation Giving Back, a volunteerism program established to reflect the humanitarian tenets central to the surgical profession.
Dr. Turner is an innovator in surgical quality improvement and outcomes. She has published and presented widely on leadership, innovation, quality improvement, surgical outcomes, and graduate surgical education.
A champion for critical issues to surgeons, Dr. Turner is dedicated to fostering the development of leadership qualities in the surgical profession. As the Director of Member Services, Dr. Turner launched the well-attended annual ACS Leadership & Advocacy Summit in partnership with the ACS Division of Health Policy and Advocacy.
Dr. Turner also holds a faculty appointment at the University of Chicago, IL. She was formerly a faculty member at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, where her clinical focus was minimally invasive gastrointestinal surgery and surgical endoscopy. Additionally, Dr. Turner served as the residency program director and the ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program surgeon champion. She chairs the ACS delegation to the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates and serves on the Board of Directors of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies; Wake Forest University/Baptist Hospital, Winston-Salem, NC; and OceanFirst Financial Corporation. Her leadership roles in national professional organizations include having served as past-chair of the Surgical Section of the National Medical Association, past-chair of the AMA Council on Medical Education, and past-president of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons. She is an active member of several other surgical specialty societies, focusing on her clinical and academic interests.
“It has been my pleasure, over the last decade, to meet thousands of ACS members across the country and around the world,” Dr. Turner said. “I am excited to lead the ACS in this new capacity and look forward to supporting surgeons and advancing the care of our patients in meaningful and innovative ways.”
The ACS and Dr. Turner will share more on her vision for the College when she assumes her new role as Executive Director-Elect in the fall.
