The Academic Surgeon - Official Blog of the AAS

I was often intrigued by the number of conflict of interests listed on the disclosure slides at the beginning of the talks back in the days when I was a medical student and surgery resident. It gives the audience, or perhaps only me, an impression that the speakers must be influential figures in their respective …

I recently returned from my first in-person College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa (COSECSA) annual meeting, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. For COSECSA members and trainees, the first week of December is notable each year for surgeons and residents from more than 14 African countries gathering for the annual fellowship-level exams, general …

I had not been an attending and operating for more than a few months before the insidious onset of pesky pains in the shoulder, elbow, and wrist of my dominant arm. Initially, I figured out “workarounds” to minimize or avoid painful movements and positions when possible, and pushed through the pain when unavoidable. I acquired …

Garrett Masey MD, Sindhu Dwarapumdi BS, Ayesiga Herman MBBS, Lily Gutnik MD MPH The demand for global surgery has been on the rise in medical schools across the United States. International electives during medical school and residency training encourage personal growth, deepen medical knowledge, and develop cultural competence of our future medical care providers. Although …

Academic global surgery has gained significant traction over the last decade, in part due to the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery’s seminal report in 2015 (Meara et al., 2015). This increase in interest has led to many initiatives, and subsequent publications, focusing on providing much-needed surgical care to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Pediatric surgery, …

The AAS Ethics Committee Art & Essay Festival for 2024 continues with our art auction, benefitting the AAS Foundation. Visit the Auction Site, review the art and learn about the artists, and be sure to bid on the submitted work by AAS member artists, like this entry from Joseph Talbet: Description: The artwork is a …

During my dedicated research time in residency, I started running. I had never run for fun before. I had played sports before—growing up I loved basketball, tennis, and lacrosse—but running was just the annoying and difficult thing you had to do in order to play, and I liked playing on a team. When I finally …

The AAS Foundation’s fourth annual “Get Off Your AAS” Fitness & Wellness Challenge is just around the corner! This year, the challenge is expanding beyond physical fitness to include wellness, emphasizing mindful activities and social connection. This will be a four-day fitness campaign that will be held from January 12-16, 2024, to help support various …