AAS News Fall 2009

8/7/2019 AAS News Fall 2009

1/8

P R E S I D E N S M E S S A G EDr. Kevin Staveley-OCarroll

Te Association for Academic Surgery (AAS) is a society focused on the development of young academic surgeons. our most critical initiatives in this endeavor has been the development of our Fal l Courses. Tese courses continue toand flourish in this country, and we have recently been very successful in marketing them throughout the world.

I am absolutely delighted to report that the AAS Fall Courses recently held before the American College of Surgeons CCongress in Chicago had record attendance: 100 surgeons and trainees participated in the 20th Annual Fundamof Surgical Research Course (FSRC), and 96 attended the 5th Annual Career Development Course (CDC).absolutely clear from the participants feedback that our recent changes in format were very well received: particenjoyed having the opportunity to attend both courses in sequence and to choose between sessions focusing onbasic or clinical research. At this years retreat, the AAS Executive Council invested a great deal of energy in an atteincrease the attendance at these courses. Dr. Scott LeMaire ultimately organized these ideas into a protocol that I

is largely responsible for the courses outstanding success. I would like to congratulate the following individuals, whothis years courses better than ever: the co-chairs of our Leadership Committee, Drs. Lillian Kao and Peter Nelsoorchestrated the CDC course under the excellent guidance of President-Elect Dr. Dan Albo; and FSRC Director Dr.Berger, who, with the help of the co-chairs of the AAS Education Committee, Drs. Clifford Cho and Carmen Soloran the FSRC course under the able guidance of Past President Dr. Herb Chen. Te speakers this year were outstaand we are all very grateful to them for taking time out of their busy schedules to help the AAS accomplish its furthering the development of young academic surgeons.

I would also like to thank A AS reasurer Dr. Max Schmidtand AAS Co-Deputy reasurer Dr. Eric Kimchi for orgathe successful luncheon presentation on industrys relationship with academic surgery during the Fal l Courses. Alonlines, Dr. Schmidt, Dr. Kimchi, and Dr. imothy Pawlik, the AAS Co-Deputy reasurer, have been very creatiinnovative in working with industry to organize hot-topic sessions at our upcoming meeting in San Antonio, exFebruary 3-5, 2010.

Abstract selection has been completed for the 5th Academic Surgical Congress (ASC) under the guidance o

Recorder and Program Committee Chair Dr. Melina Kibbe and Society of University Surgeons Publications ChGeorge Yang. Our combined meeting will enjoy another year of stellar participation: 675 abstracts will be presTanks to a ll of you who will be participating. More details are provided in Dr. Kibbes update in this issue.

We are currently accepting self-nominations for the upcoming elections of AAS committee members. Tis year, for ttime, these elections will be held on-line. In this issue, AAS Secretary Dr. Scott LeMaire, who has done an extraor

job organizing the quarterly newsletters and keeping our Association on track, will inform you of the process.

Also in this issue, Dr. Mary Klingensmith, the AAS representative to the Association for Surgical Education, presarticle on Paving the Road to Success in Academic Surgery, our second in a series of articles about the impact of receiv

AAS Research Fellowship Award. Te AAS is proud to offer a variety of research awards to students, residents, fellowfaculty. Te application deadline for this years AAS Foundation Research Fellowship Award for residents and felDecember 1, 2009. We encourage all eligible members to apply.

In addition to its efforts on the AAS Web site, our Information and echnology Committee is hard at work on behAAS members: in this issue, Dr. Michael Yeh presents How to Build and Optimize a Web Site for Your New Practice

I would like to congratulate the AAS members who will represent our society as International Visiting Professorprestigious honor has recently been awarded to Dr.Julie Ann Sosa, who will represent us to the Royal Australasian Cof Surgeons (RACS), and to Dr. Lillian Kao, who will represent us to the aiwan Surgical Association (SA). In exc

we will be welcoming to the ASC Dr. Ming-Feng Hou from the SA and Dr. Chris Que He from the RACSbetter understanding of these fellowships, please refer to Dr. Peter Nelsons article in this newsletter, in which he prhighlights of his recent experiences as the 2008 AAS/RACS Leadership Exchange awardee.

Te AAS continues to expand its international presence by establishing fellowship exchanges throughout the world. to do so are ongoing in South America and Europe. By establishing international fellowships, we can work wipartnering societies to conduct our courses abroad. Drs. Evan Nadler and Benedict Nwomeh, co-chairs of the

Affairs Committee, under the guidance of Past President Dr. Fiemu Nwariaku, recently organized and participatedsecond Academic Development Course, which was held in West Africa. Tis was once again a very successful andattended course, which continues to increase our international presence and membership. Watch for the report abocourse in the next edition of the newsletter.

ASSOCIAION FOR ACADEMIC SURGERY FALL 2

N

D. Kein Sa-OCarol

I N H I S I S S U E

Presidents Message

1

ogram Finalized for 2010 ASC2

Secretarys Report:Call for Self-nominations

for AAS Elections

3

Research Fellowship Awards:Paving the Road to Success

in Academic Surgery

4

Information &echnology Review:How to Build and Optimize aWeb Site for Your New Practice

5

International Visitingrofessorship Awards Updates:

Report from the AAS Visitorto Australia and Announcement

of the 2009 Awards

6

Continued


2/8

D. Mli Kib

I look forward to seeing each of you at the 5th Annual ASC at the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel in San Anin February 2010! Happy Holidays!

All the best, Kevin

P RO G R A M F I N A L I Z E D F OR 5 H A N N U A L A SDr. Melina Kibbe, AAS Recorder & Program Committee Chair

As we look forward to the 5th Annual Academic Surgical Congress (ASC), we are excited about what proto be a very successful meeting. As they did last year, the AAS and Society of University Surgeons

Program Committees functioned as a joint Program Committee, with great team spirit and camaradthe common goal of advancing academic surgery.

As the chair of the AAS Program Committee, I would like to thank all of the committee membetheir dedication and work. Tis year, they reviewed nearly 700 abstracts. With their invaluable helpProgram Committee Co-Chair Dr. George Yang and I have put together a scientific program that reprecross-section of our scientific community. o enhance dialogue among like-minded investigators, the pris organized in thematic units that range from the basic sciences to clinical outcomes and from educattranslational research. We hope that the scientific program will foster academic discussion among investfrom all walks of academic life.

In addition, a variety of other exciting sessions will be held during the ASC. Tis year, our AAS presDr. Kevin Staveley-OCarroll, and the SUS president, Dr. David Geller, have organized a session enAcademic Surgery, Inc. Tis session promises to be stimulating, as the speakers, Drs. Chari, Zinner, S

and Dunn, will discuss issues pertinent to academic surgery. We are very excited about the Common Issues session, which will address Discussing Conflicts with Conflicts of Interest, a very timelimportant issue. In fact, the AAS and SUS are developing a white paper position statement on conflinterest; thus, if you have thoughts to share, please attend this exciting session. Te AAS Founders L

will be delivered by Dr. Lucian Leape, who will ta lk about Te ransformation of American MedicineAssociation for Women Surgeons dinner session, organized by Dr. ara Breslin, will feature Drs. BarbaraPamela Martin, and Danielle Walsh, who wil l discuss Te Future of Surgery. Te Committee on Edu

will hold a dynamic session on Changes and Solutions in Resident Education in 2010. Building on lastsuccess, the State-of-the-Art Lectures will showcase cutting-edge advances in academic surgery. Tisdistinguished speakers will include Drs. Andrew Lee, Nathaniel Soper, John Windsor, and Steven Leachprogram includes two new Hot opics sessions, organized by our treasurer, Dr. Max Schmidt. Tese se

will include topics on hernias and biologics, as well as emerging approaches to managing malignanthe liver. Tere will also be hands-on sessions with limited enrollment, so sign-up early! Lastly, we a

stimulating talk from our own president, Dr. Kevin Staveley-OCarroll, with his Presidential AddrTursday, February 4th at 2:30 PM.

Tis year, the AAS will present several awards during the ASC:

AAS Outstanding Resident Research Award: Residents who submit the top 3 scored abstracts will rthis award and will present their work in the AAS Plenary Session. Te 3 award winners will reccertificate and a cash prize of $250.

AAS Outstanding Medical Student Award: Medical students who submit the top 10 scored abstracbe selected to present their work in the Medical Student Quick Shot Session, during which the award w

will be selected. Te award winner will receive a certificate and a cash prize of $250.

Best Overall Abstract: Tis award will be given to an active member of the AAS who is the facultauthor of the highest-scoring abstract. Te winner will receive a certificate and a paid trip to present

her work at the annual Surgical Research Society of Australasia (SRS) meeting, held in the fall of each yeither Australia or New Zealand (the 2010 meeting will be Adelaide, Australia).

Best Overall Manuscript: Te winner of this award will receive a certificate and a cash prize of $500. o be efor this award, the manuscript must be submitted to the Journal of Surgical Research by January 8, 2010.

Best Manuscript by a New AAS Member: Te winner of this award will receive a certificate and a cashof $500. o be eligible for this award, the manuscript must be submitted to theJournal of Surgical Resea

January 8, 2010, and the new AAS member must be either the first or the senior author. New membeindividuals who have joined the AAS within the last 2 years (i.e., after July 2007).

Best Oral Presentation by a New AAS Member: Te winner of this award will be selected from the presof the 10 top-scoring abstracts at the Oral sessions. Te winner will receive a certificate and a cash p$250. o be eligible for this award, the new AAS member must be either the first or the senior aNew members are individuals who have joined the AAS within the last 2 years (i.e., after July 2007).

Folw AASn ite!

Do you like to weet?Interested in receiving

uick updates on importantdeadlines, announcements

and general news ofhe AAS? If so, please follows on witter. Our name is

AcademicSurgery.

A ok fad h 5 Aa

Aemc SuaC , aid au a

pms ve u i.

Continued


3/8

Best Quick Shot Presentation by a New AAS Member: Te winner of this award will be selected fropresenters of the 10 top-scoring abstracts at the Quick Shot sessions. Te winner will receive a certificaa cash prize of $250. o be eligible for this award, the new AAS member must be either the first or the author. New members are individuals who have joined the AAS within the last 2 years (i.e., after July 200

All ASC abstract presenters are invited and encouraged to submit a manuscript to theJournal of Surgical ReManuscripts submitted by 11:59 PM CS on Friday, January 8, 2010, will receive an expedited review

We are looking forward to a terrific meeting in February. For more information about the meeting, pleaswww.academicsurgicalcongress.org. I hope to see you in beautiful San Antonio!

S E C R E A R Y S R E P O R : CA LL FORSELFNOMINAIONS FOR UPCOMING A AS ELECIO

Dr. Scott LeMaire

Last year, under the guidance of the AAS councilors, the AAS began implementing several changes

election process in an effort to improve its effi ciency. Tis year, elections will occur in two distinct phase

for the first time, the AAS will hold on-line elections for three of its committees.

PHASE 1 ELECIONS: Te Education, Issues, and Leadership Committees

We are currently accepting self-nominations for the upcoming on-line elections for the Education,

and Leadership Committees. Tese three committees were selected for phase 1 because each will be respo

for organizing programs for our 2010 Fall Courses, sessions at the 2011 Academic Surgical Co

(ASC), or both; having these elections finalized before February will enable the committees to meet

2010 ASC and begin planning their respective programs for the following fall and winter. Self-nomin

for the phase 1 elections must be submitted on-line by 11:00 PM CS on December 1, 2009. Po

are available for both active and candidate members. Members are welcome to nominate themselves

to three committees but may only serve on one committee. Statements of interest are limited to 100

or less. On-line voting will take place during the first weeks of December, and the election results w

announced by December 15.

PHASE 2 ELECIONS: Offi cers and the Ethics, Global Affairs,

Information and echnology, and Membership Committees

After the phase 1 elections have been finalized, we will solicit on-line self-nominations for offi cer po

(president-elect, secretary, and treasurer) and for membership on the Ethics, Global Affairs, Informatio

echnology, and Membership Committees. We anticipate that this second set of self-nominations w

accepted between December 15, 2009, and January 15, 2010; voting for these positions will occur duriAAS Annual Business Meeting, which will begin at 5:30 PM on February 4, 2010 at the ASC in San Ant

Submit Your Self-nomination On-line

Enthusiastic participation is critical for the future of our society. If you are interested in being a cand

for the upcoming elections, please visit http://aasurg.org/nominations/index.php for more inform

including descriptions of committee activities and full details about the on-line self-nomination pr

Please let me know if you have any questions about the election process by e-mailing me direc

[email protected].

H E 2 0 0 9 FA L L C O U R SE S A Hg S !Te 2009 AAS Fall Courses were held October 9 and 10 in Chicago, immediately before the AmericaCollege of Surgeons Clinical Congress. For the first t ime, the Fundamentals of Surgical Research Cour(FSRC) and Career Development Course (CDC) were conducted sequentially, enabling registranto attend both courses. Under the leadership of Past President Dr. Herb Chen and FSRC DirectoDr. Adam Berger, the 20th annual FSRC was organized by the Education Committee, which is cochaired by Drs. Clifford Cho and Carmen Solorzano. Te courses revised 1-day format was extreme

well received by the 100 attendees, many of whom returned the following day to participate in the 5annual CDC. Te CDC was organized by the Leadership Committee co-chaired by Drs. Lillian Kaand Peter Nelson and enjoyed record attendance, with 96 registrants. Tanks to everyoneincludinthe sponsors, organizers, faculty, and attendeeswho participated in the courses and helped to makthem so successful. We look forward to offering another pair of great courses in October 2010.

D. S LMai

Caua Ia Uiei

ad D. F. CaBua!

ongratulations to Indiananiversity, which won the AASareer Development Scholarship

sending the most attendeesthe 2009 Fall Courses.

ongratulations, as well, tor. F. Charles Brunicardi fromaylor College of Medicine, whoas listed most often as a referral toe Fall Courses and who won theareer Development Recruitmentward. Both Indiana Universityd Dr. Brunicardi will receive amplimentary registration to the

Academic Surgical Congress inn Antonio, February 3-5, 2010.

Tank you to all institutions andembers who participated in these

ward opportunities and helped toake the Fall Courses a success.

Vi u li aWWW.AASURG.ORG


4/8

R E S E A R C H F E L L O W S H I P AWA R D S :PAVING HE ROAD O SUCCESS IN ACADEMIC SURGE

Dr. Mary Klingensmith, recipient of the 1994-1996 AAS Resident Research Fellowship Aw

SECREARYS NOE: Tis is the second article in a new series that highlights the impact of AAS ResearFellowship Awards on the careers of previous recipients. Te AAS began giving these awards in 1988 with

goal of providing the necessary support to enable residents and fellows to spend 2 years in full-time basic or cliniresearch under the mentorship of an AAS member. Until recently, the awards were made possible through

generous support of several corporate sponsors, including Davis & Geck, Bayer Pharmaceutical, Inc., US Surgi

Corporation, Astra Zeneca, Ethicon, Inc., and Karl Storz Endoscopy. In 2008, the AAS Foundation committo supporting future Research Fellowship Awards; the Foundation gave its first award in Fort Myers in Febru

2009. In recognition of their strong support and commitment to the development of young academic surgeothe award has been renamed the AAS Foundation Research Fellowship Award.

Dr. Mary E. Klingensmith was the recipient of the 1994-1996 AAS Resident Research Fellowship Award, whwas funded through the generous support of Davis & Geck. In the following article, Dr. Klingensmith descrihow receiving a Research Fellowship Award enabled her to spend 2 years studying gastrointestinal mucosal itransport while solidifying her desire to build a career as an academic surgeon.

In the fall of 1993, my journey as a surgeon-scientist began with a trip to San Francisco, where the Am

College of Surgeons Clinical Congress was being held. At that time, I was a sleep-deprived secon

resident at Brigham and Womens Hospital, 15 months into my surgical career. Several months earlierdecided to enter a full-time laboratory experience after my R2 year. My identified mentor was Dr.

Soybel (AAS president 1999-2000), who was a new faculty member at the Brigham. For me, he w

obvious choice of lab mentor: he had an infectious enthusiasm for his research and displayed that b

I hoped to someday achieve between operating, teaching, spending time with family, and still manag

contribute in a meaningful way toward surgical scholarship; a quadruple threat! My identified proje

ion transport in amphibian gut mucosa (ultimately, studying regulators of gastric acid secretion)a p

that was both simply elegant and terribly complex and daunting. I had written applications for bo

AAS award and an individual National Research Service Award (NRSA), a crash course in ion transpo

intracellular monitoring techniques that I undertook on the nights and weekends when I wasnt on ca

junior resident. (Tis was before the 80-hour work week!)

I made that trip in 1993 to be interviewed for the AAS Davis & Geck Research Fellowship Award. Loback on it now, I see that it truly was a pivotal moment in my career. During the interview process,

introduced to several important people in academic surgery, had to present and defend my ideas for sci

inquiry in a meaningful way (wow, those interviewers knew a lot of science!), and began to apprecia

myriad of ways to achieve success in academic surgery. Later, I was delighted to learn that I had been gr

the award, and I was further honored to also receive an individual NRSA for the same time perio

NRSA paid my salary support, while the A AS Davis & Geck award ($15,000 for each of 2 years, 1994

was used for research supplies and equipment. It was thrilling to attend the AAS meeting that year to

the award; it was in Hershey, PA, and Dr. Karen Guice was president. Members of the AAS were welco

and warmtrue role models to a young resident just beginning her journey.

I had a very successful t ime in the lab, spending 2 years in dedicated study, with 15 peer-reviewed public

as a result (6 as first author). I am convinced that the funding from the AAS award aided me (and our lthe successes; we had the monies needed to try new projects and pursue interesting findings.

I am further convinced that while I no longer study ion transport in amphibians, the lessons learned d

those 2 years of dedicated research have led me to where I am today: professor of surgery at Washi

University, still very much involved in surgical scholarship. My primary focus in scholarship is su

education, including team training, simulation, and surgical ethics. I have been successful in obt

funding for these projects because of the successes I had in my AAS Davis & Gecksupported wo

a director of a residency program intended to train future leaders in academic surgery, my own pe

experience with dedicated research time is crucial to advising and directing my residents. I am grateful

support of the AAS in launching my career, and I make it a point to contribute to the AAS Foundation

annual basis, as a means to pay it forward to other aspiring academic surgeons.

D. Ma Kliemi

For more information

about the AAS Foundation,

or to make a contribution,

please contact Jill Smith at

[email protected]

10-437-1606, ext. 114

T a uis 2 ya ad

a a d e I

a .


5/8

I N F O R M A I O N & E C H N OL O G Y R E V I E WHOW O BUILD A ND OPIMIZE A W EB SIE

FOR YOUR NE W PRACICEDr. Michael Yeh,1 on behalf of the Information & echnology Committee

QUESION: How do I create the optimal Web site to promote my practice?

A well-designed, high-visibility Web site has the potential to help a new surgical practice grow, as welstreamline and enhance certain aspects of patient care and workflow. Tis review describes some ba

Web site design and optimization for surgeons who are starting a new practice or are considering ad

Web component to an existing practice.Preparatory Work:Aims and Budget

What do you hope to achieve with your Web site? Who is your target audience? Is there a specific geogregion of interest? Most new surgeons are, not surprisingly, eager to attract new referrals. Tus, the audience encompasses both potential new patients and referring physiciansthese are the personas thdesigner and project lead (in this case, the surgeon) must consider. Referrals are increasingly patient-dEarly on, it is important to have realistic expectations regarding what a Web site can potentially do forpractice. Fundamentally, a good Web site can bring you one new opportunity at a time. From that point fodeveloping and maintaining strong relationships with referring physicians rests on the time-tested pileffective communication and delivering superior outcomes.

Of course, you will need funds to start a Web site. A good starting amount is $5000, which should alloto get a presentable home page and several other content pages up and running. You will need to negotiat

Web designers to learn exactly what your initial build will involve. Plan on spending another $5000 for yomajor revision within 1 year of launch, plus $1000 annually for ongoing maintenance and updates. Remea Web site is a living project; without updates, it will lose visibility and soon become obsolete.

Getting Started: Finding a Domain Name and DesignerTe overall structure and uniqueness of domain names is coordinated by the Internet Corporation for AsNames and Numbers (ICANN), which interfaces with users through a number of accredited domainregistrars.2 You can register a new Web site through a variety of registrar sites that will allow you to specific domain names to see if they have already been registered by someone else and, if so, to obtain cinformation for the registrant. Not surprisingly, many desirable names associated with the .com topdomain have already been registered. You will need to choose between creating a novel, unique domain(which can involve tagging with a different top-level domain, such as .net or .us) and bidding to purcdomain name from the current registrant (which gets expensive rather quickly).

Once you have chosen your aims, budget, and domain name, youre ready to find a designer. Of course, yothe option of learning HML programming yourself or perhaps using a simplified Web publishing sopackage such as Adobe Contribute. But most of us are suffi ciently busy in the operating room that outso

Web design makes the most sense. Web designers abound in the modern economy. Finding one that fitneeds is similar to finding a contractor for a home improvement project. Are you looking to work with a bor a small one? Is it important to you that they be locally-based or not? Check out their portfolios and intyour top candidates. Tere are even clearinghouse Web sites where you can post your project descriptiobudget for various designers to bid on. Most importantly, find someone that you will be able to work withterm, because collaborating to build a Web site involves frequent exchanges of ideas, content, and feedbasure to find a designer that responds quickly and effectively to your requests and questions. At the samekeep in mind that unless you provide direction regarding concept and functionality, as well as ample coeven the most gifted Web designer will be unable to help you.

Search Engine Optimization:Whats Your Google Rank?

Because Google owns two-thirds of the search market, many enterprises live and die by their Google ri.e., their Web sites position in queries for key search terms. Although one may choose to purchase a sponlink on a pay-per-click basis, this may not be feasible unless you have a monthly Web marketing budgealgorithms employed by the various search engines continually grow more sophisticated, so there are esseno shortcuts or tricks that can yield rapid gains in visibility. Te science of search engine optimization (i.e., how to improve your Web sites position, now boils down to several basic, rational concepts:

Content is king. Your Web site will contain a combination of text, images, flash animations, and pvideo. In general, the more content you provide, the more visible your Web site will be. Indexing pro(spiders, robots, or Web crawlers) sent forth by the search engines are primarily text-driven, so fopurposes, you will want to sacrifice large images in favor of informative text. Use images strategically to your site visually appealing. Videos (particularly those featuring a talking head) are often ignored byso they should be used sparingly.

D. M Y

Caua h

AAS 2010SUDEN

RESEARCH

AWARDWINNERS

Joel . Adler

University of Wisconsin

Jose L. Diaz-Miron

Baylor College of Medicine

Menarvia K. C. Nixon

Howard University

Sarah J. Novis

Northwestern Universityeinberg School of Medicine

David M. Straughan

Te University of exasMedical School at Houston

Continued


6/8

Choose your target search terms. Tis is where you need to get inside the head of your target audience. Patients may not search under biliarybut rather a more organic term such as gallbladder pain. Likewise, the term hernia may bring up so many results that your site is unlikelyvisible. In that case, you may target a more specific search phrase such as hernia surgery Houston to reach a local audience. Discuss your search terms with your Web designer and create content that highlights these key words.Relevance. If your site is about pancreatic surgery, then stick to that topic in your writing and avoid extraneous text. Make your site informativeuseful, and readable (more on this below). Tis will help with SEO and encourage other sites to link to you.External links to your site.Your Web visibility can grow quickly and substantially when other sites link to you. Of course, you must earn thosby creating a high-quality site that can be used as a resource.Lugnuts to lugnuts. Tis is Web lingo meaning that internal links should be well organized. If you have a navigation link on your home page thbreast cancer surgery, make sure that it takes the user to a content page on that specific topic and not something else. Tis seems obvious, but lap

Web site organization can reduce your visibility.Be easy to index. Indexing programs continuously scan the Web for relevant, timely, and well-organized content. Well-designed Web sites hamaps, meta-data (invisible text associated with images), and entire invisible pages created purely for indexing purposes.Be patient. Changes in content and organization take time to get noticed by the search engines. Sometimes, your rank may fall before risingweeks later. A competing site that has been around for 5 years will probably rank ahead of your new site for some time. Not to worrywith conimprovements in content and organization, you will eventually succeed.

asics of Writing for the WebTis topic is largely beyond the scope of this review. Suffi ce it to say that users dont actually read Web sitesthey scan Web sites. For this r

riting for the Web is fundamentally different from writing regular prose. Eye-tracking studies have shown that users scan Web sites accordinttern that resembles a capital letter F: they start by scanning horizontally across the top of the page, then read progressively shorter distances they move downward along the left-hand side of the page. Tis means that the first few words (some experts say the first 11 letters!) of each texust be highly informative in order to capture the users attentiona feature that is an absolute must for navigation links. More on the topic ofability can be read at Jakob Nielsens Web site on usability and Web design.3

yle Pointswell-designed surgical Web site should contain disease-specific information, biographical data about personnel, and descriptions of any ded

sources offered. Be sure to include practical information that will be helpful to patients planning their first visit, such as maps, directions, and cformation. Te content should be both accurate and written in plain English. When possible, references should be provided. Exaggerated cnsational style (all caps or exclamation points), and negative or disparaging remarks about other physicians are to be absolutely avoided. Te coould be mainstream, balanced, evidence-based, and, ideally, widely applicable to the practices of other physicians in order to limit patient conf

When writing new content, it is helpful to consider the factors that affect quality from the users perspective; refer to the useful guide to assessinuality of medical Web site content created by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.4

ey PointsBudget appropriately for design, implementation, and revisionsSelect your designer carefully (as you would any other employee who represents your practice)

Keep the content focused on critical aspects of your practiceInclude practical information like maps, directions, and contact information

EFERENCESDr. Yehs Web site: www.endocrinesurgery.ucla.eduWeb sites for registering a new domain name: www.godaddy.com, www.enom.com, www.networksolutions.com

Jakob Nielsens Web site on usability and Web design: www.useit.comMedlinePlus Guide to Healthy Web Surfing by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health:www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthywebsurfing.html

INER NAIONAL VISIINGPROFE SSORSHIP AWAR DS UPDAE S:

REPOR FROM HE AA S VISIOR O AUSR ALI ADr. Peter Nelson, recipient of the 2008 Visiting Professorship Award

for the Royal Australasian College of SurgeonsI had the distinct pleasure and honor to travel to Australia last May as the AAS Leadership Exchange Visitor to the

Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) Younger Fellows. I followed in the footsteps of Scott LeMaire, who

last year from the AAS and made a very strong impression on the Australasian Younger Fellows. My own trip be

Maroochydore, a beautiful beach town on the Sunshine Coast of Eastern Australia. Tere, I attended the Younger F

Forum (YFF), which is an intimate retreat for 20 or so select bright young surgeons (


7/8

aculty of the inaugural Developing a Career in Academic Surgery course

unch with EmusWith Richard Page, chair of theYounger Fellows Committee

2009 INERNAIONAL VISIING PROFESSORSHIP AWARDS

Te AAS Executive Committee would like to congratulate Dr. Lillian Kao and Dr. Julie Ann Sosa for receiving the AAS International VisitiProfessorship Awards.

Dr. Kao will be attending the 69th Annual Meeting of the aiwan Surgical Association in aipei in March 2010. In exchange, Dr. Ming-Feng Hoa representative of the aiwan Surgical Association, will attend the 2010 Academic Surgical Congress (ASC) in San Antonio, exas.

Dr. Sosa will be attending the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) Younger Fellows Forum, the Developing a Career in AcademSurgery Course, and the RACS Annual Scientific Congress in May 2010. Te 2010 Leadership Exchange is made possible, in part, by the generosupport that the Younger Fellows Committee has obtained from Johnson & Johnson Medical. In exchange, Dr. Chris Que He, a representativethe RACS Younger Fellows Committee, will attend the 2010 ASC.

Te International Visiting Professorship Awards were designed to further foster the AASs international relations and to highlight the work beidone by academic surgeons from other countries. We look forward to welcoming our colleagues from around the world at our next ASC.

was that, despite significant differences in health care system

training pathways, the issues that confront young surgeons in Au

and New Zealand are the same as those that confront us here in Am

Tey struggle with significant differences between academic and

practice, limited funding and time for research, and the desire for

mentorship, to name a few. In fact, I learned at least as much from

as they did from me. Tey were very appreciative for the perspec

the AAS, because we have made inroads into tackling many o

issues. Tis leg of my journey was capped by a team-building ex

aptly named Survivor Surgeon that was a productive bonding exas well as great fun. It helped that our team won the competitio

that the AAS was well represented.

om Maroochydore we traveled to Brisbane, where the RACS Annual Scientific Congress was held. Tere, the AAS took part in the ina

eveloping a Career in Academic Surgery (DCAS) course. Tis course was born from the AAS Fall Courses and was the first of its ki

ustralia/New Zealand. It was an enormous success and a very rewarding experience for me and several members of the AAS leadership who pro

ctures. Richard Hanney, the 2008 Australian exchange visitor, did a remarkable job assembling an excellent program. After the DCAS, I was in

give three additional lectures during the RACS Annual Scientific Congress in both the vascular and educational sections: Developing a Res

ogram, Encouraging an Academic Career, and Does Systemic Inflammation Predict Vein Bypass Graft Failure? I previewed a segment

AS-sponsored surgery recruitment video for the RACS attendees, which received such significant interest and praise that we talked about pote

lping to develop an Aussie/Kiwi version for their own recruitment strategies. Although all this made for a busy few days, in return I gained enowards in terms of insight, knowledge, and friendship.

Finally, my wife, Janice, and I then traveled to Sydney for a little bit

of sightseeing. We got to see the incredible Sydney Opera House,

eat exquisite seafood, enjoy Australian wine, and learn how to

play the didgeridoo from the Aborigines. I got to pet a koala, feed

kangaroos, and even had an emu eat off my head (provoked by

Richard Hanney, of course).

Tis trip was clearly the highlight of my academic career to date.

I met some extraordinary, inspiring young surgeons, exchanged

information with colleagues literal ly half way around the world,

and most importantly found lifelong friends in Richard Page, who attended the 2009 Academic Surgical Congress in the

exchange, and his wife Belinda. Tank you to the AAS and the

RACS Younger Fellows for this amazing opportunity.


8/8

Te Academic Surgical Congress is designed to

provide three days of comprehensive continuing

education in academic surgery. Both the Association

for Academic Surgery (AAS) and Society of University

Surgeons (SUS) bring together the worlds leading

authorities to present and discuss their most recent

clinical and research efforts. Tis years program features

special topics on Discussing Conflicts with Conflicts of

Interest, Changes and Solutions in Resident Education

in 2010, a session on corporate surgery, and hot topic

lunch symposiums on liver tumors and hernia repair.

Early Registration Deadline

is January 11, 2010

An Advance Program containing detailed information

about the scientific program, accreditation, hotel and

registration information will be available on-line this fall.

On-line registration and housing will also be available

later this year. Check the Web site for further updates.

www.academicsurgicalcongress.org

We look forward to seeing you

in San Antonio in February 2010!

5H ANNUALACADEMIC SURGICAL CONGRESS

February 3-5, 2010San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter San Antonio, exas

ASSOCIAION FOR ACADEMIC SURGERY

11300 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 600Los Angeles, CA 90064Phone: 310.437.1606Fax: 310.437.0585

SOCIEY OF UNIVERSIY SURGEONS

341 N. Maitland Ave., Suite 130Maitland, FL 32751Phone: 407.647.7714Fax: 407.629.2502

SAVEHE DAE!

Join us in San Antonio

for the 5th AnnualAcademic Surgical Congress!

Photo Courtesy of the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau

AAS News Fall 2009

Documents

Transcript of AAS News Fall 2009