Ronald M. Stewart, MD, FACS, a trauma surgeon from San Antonio, Texas, will receive the Distinguished Service Award—the ACS’s highest annual honor—at Convocation during Clinical Congress 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts.
The award is in recognition of exceptional and continuous service as an ACS Fellow, as well as a career distinguished by devotion to patient care and the principles and ideals that guide all surgeons in their professional practice.
“I am honored and humbled to receive the ACS Distinguished Service Award. I am so grateful to be a member of the American College of Surgeons. Partnering with inspirational colleagues, toiling to reach the ACS Committee on Trauma’s goal of optimal patient care, transformed my life,” Dr. Stewart said. “To me, this recognition is a tribute to colleagues across the American College of Surgeons.”
Service to the ACS
Dr. Stewart, who has been an ACS Fellow since 1997, is being recognized for his tireless work as an instructor, mentor, and colleague, encouraging many with his “7 Ps to Be”: “Be participatory, be professional, be a problem solver, be a performance improvement leader, be passionate, be patient, and be perseverant.”
Among Dr. Stewart’s contributions to the College are 27 years of service on the ACS Committee on Trauma (COT), serving as Vice-Chair of his state COT, State Chair, Region Chief in the Regional COT, COT Central Committee member, and COT Chair. He has been the Medical Director for ACS Trauma Programs and a member of the ACS Board of Governors. Dr. Stewart also helped spearhead the national launch of STOP THE BLEED®.
Notably, Dr. Stewart has been a driving force behind the College’s efforts to reduce firearm violence, testifying before US Congress on the need to treat firearm injury as a critical public health issue. As a trauma surgeon, he has been in the unfortunate position of caring for victims from two of the largest mass shootings in modern US history—Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church in 2017, and Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas in 2022.
In his work for the ACS to make firearm injury prevention a reality, he helped develop the Firearms Strategy Team (FAST) in 2017, comprised of highly regarded trauma surgeons. The FAST group developed a strategy covering 13 areas to reduce firearm injury, death, and disability.
Career Accomplishments
Dr. Stewart has served more than 30 years with The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio), where he currently is chair of the Department of Surgery.
Dr. Stewart helped develop the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC), which has advanced trauma system development and disaster preparedness in the San Antonio region. STRAC serves as a regional medical operations center in times of disaster and stands as a model for the nation.
Dr. Stewart is a prolific researcher in trauma care, critical care, injury prevention, and other topics, authoring more than 150 peer-reviewed articles and 13 book chapters. He has presented nearly 300 lectures on firearm injury prevention, trauma care, STOP THE BLEED, and more. Among these lectures is his Scudder Oration on Trauma, which he delivered at Clinical Congress in 2022, on the COT’s 100th anniversary.
Dr. Stewart earned his medical degree and completed his residency at UT Health San Antonio, followed by fellowships in trauma and surgical critical care at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis.
