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ACS Surgeons as Leaders: From Operating Room to Boardroom
Today’s surgical environment—both in academic and community practice worlds—is challenging, complex, and unpredictable. The need for leadership has never been greater, and the demands on leaders are ever escalating, whether in the operating room or the boardroom.
The 2025 ACS Surgeons as Leaders course has been updated and modernized to effectively address today’s evolving challenges in health care. Exciting features of this course include individual meetings with expert faculty for personalized guidance, working lunches with faculty to promote networking and discussion of challenges identified by course attendees, special sessions tailored to address issues faced by leaders in community practice and those in academic practice, and sessions on leadership in diverse environments. We are introducing a new small group session focused on building and maintaining effective teams. This session will provide attendees with the essential tools to collaborate effectively and tackle the challenges that surgeons encounter in healthcare environments. A variety of interactive panel discussions, case-based sessions, lectures, and small group discussions will foster networking and personalized learning throughout this course.
The purpose of this course is to provide surgeons with an understanding of leadership at all levels of an organization and to provide them with the skills that are essential for effective leadership.
Target Audience
The course is designed for surgeons who currently serve in leadership positions, or aspire to such positions, and who seek to enhance their leadership skills across a wide variety of settings, from operating room to boardroom. Surgeons in community practice and academic practice who want to advance their skills in leading people, groups, and organizations will find the course beneficial. The emphasis will be on leadership; management of such entities and the skills generally associated with management will not be addressed in the course.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this activity, the learner should meet the following learning objectives:
- Exhibit the attributes of a leader to effectively resolve leadership challenges
- Lead oneself with insight regarding personal effectiveness
- Build, maintain, and align effective teams to achieve goals
- Change culture, resolve conflict, and balance demands within the larger environment
- Utilize innovative approaches to address evolving concerns during organizational change
- Translate the principles of leadership into action
Contact
For course-related questions, please email Michelle McNeilly, MHA, Senior Manager, Continuing Education Programs and Lifelong Learning, at [email protected] or Natalie Loper, MPPA, Administrator of Continuing Education & Review Courses, at [email protected] or [email protected].
For technical questions related to our learning management system, please email [email protected].
Nationally renowned faculty will guide sessions addressing the principles and practice of leadership, including preparing oneself to lead through mental readiness, applying emotional intelligence, leading as a diverse individual, and effectively managing up, down, and across as a leader. Strategies to address personal and professional stress and burnout will be highlighted, along with approaches for taking on difficult challenges, and leading through change. The roles of coaches in leader development and the value of learning from leadership failures will be explored. Participants will experience different styles of communication, identify their and others’ preferred styles, and apply principles to communicate effectively across all styles and be better prepared to handle difficult conversations.
Pathways to leadership positions, typical responsibilities of surgery chairs, evaluation of job opportunities, and negotiation of job offers will be discussed, along with envisioning the first 100 days of a new position, managing time and priorities effectively, and defining role responsibilities.
The principles of building and maintaining effective teams will be presented, including aligning surgeons to achieve consensus, and cultivating and leading a diverse work force. Recruiting and retaining surgeons, starting new clinical programs, integrating into health systems, changing culture, and addressing racism and diversity in organizations will be addressed. Other leadership challenges, such as managing conflict and territorial behavior, handling difficult personalities, and dealing with microaggressions will be emphasized. Finally, perspectives will be shared regarding the leadership role in crisis management, advocacy activities, guidance of surgeons with quality or other concerns, and leadership oversight of essential financial matters.
Disclosure Information
In accordance with the ACCME Accreditation Criteria, the American College of Surgeons must ensure that anyone in a position to control the content of the educational activity (planners and speakers/authors/discussants/moderators) has disclosed all financial relationships with any commercial interest (termed by the ACCME as “ineligible companies”, defined below) held in the last 24 months (see below for definitions). Please note that first authors were required to collect and submit disclosure information on behalf all other authors/contributors, if applicable.
Ineligible company
The ACCME defines an “ineligible company” as any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services used on or consumed by patients. Providers of clinical services directly to patients are NOT included in this definition.
Financial Relationships
Relationships in which the individual benefits by receiving a salary, royalty, intellectual property rights, consulting fee, honoraria, ownership interest (e.g., stocks, stock options or other ownership interest, excluding diversified mutual funds), or other financial benefit. Financial benefits are usually associated with roles such as employment, management position, independent contractor (including contracted research), consulting, speaking and teaching, membership on advisory committees or review panels, board membership, and other activities from which remuneration is received, or expected.
Conflict of Interest
Circumstances create a conflict of interest when an individual has an opportunity to affect CME content about products or services of an ineligible company with which he/she has a financial relationship.
The ACCME also requires that ACS manage any reported conflict and eliminate the potential for bias during the educational activity. Any conflicts noted below have been managed to our satisfaction. The disclosure information is intended to identify any commercial relationships and allow learners to form their own judgments. However, if you perceive a bias during the educational activity, please report it on the evaluation.
Planning Committee Disclosures
Gary L. Timmerman, MD, FACS, MAMSE: Nothing to disclose.
Melina R. Kibbe, MD, FACS, FAHA: Nothing to disclose.
Ajit K. Sachdeva, MD, FACS, FRCSC, FSACME, MAMSE: Nothing to disclose.
Patrice Gabler Blair, DrPH, MPH: Nothing to disclose.
Faculty Disclosures
James W. Fleshman, Jr., MD, FACS, FASCRS: Nothing to disclose.
Julie A. Freischlag, MD, FACS, FRCSEd(Hon), MAMSE: Nothing to disclose.
Matthew M. Hutter, MD, MPH, MBA, FACS: Vicarious Surgical – Stock options for consulting; GI Windows – Stock options for consulting; Hillrom – Consulting fee for scientific advisory board; MarvelBiome - Stock options for Advisory Board; Aiomics - Honorarium for consulting.
Larry R. Kaiser, MD, FACS: Nothing to disclose.
Melina R. Kibbe, MD, FACS, FAHA: Nothing to disclose.
Carlos A. Pellegrini, MD, FACS, FRCSI(Hon), FRCS(Hon), FRCSEd(Hon), MAMSE: Nothing to disclose.
Ajit K. Sachdeva, MD, FACS, FRCSC, FSACME, MAMSE: Nothing to disclose.
Kenneth Sharp, MD, FACS: Nothing to disclose.
Nathaniel J. Soper, MD, FACS: Mesh Suture, Inc. – Stock options for scientific advisory board.
Beth H. Sutton, MD, FACS: Nothing to disclose.
Gary L. Timmerman, MD, FACS, MAMSE: Nothing to disclose.
Patricia Turner, MD, MBA, FACS: Nothing to disclose.
Patrice Gabler Blair, DrPH, MPH: Nothing to disclose.
For more information about our faculty, please visit: https://www.facs.org/for-medical-professionals/education/programs/acs-surgeons-as-leaders/course-faculty.
Continuing Medical Education Credit Information
Accreditation
The American College of Surgeons is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
The American College of Surgeons designates this live activity for a maximum of 23.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Additional CME Information
The ACS Surgeons as Leaders: From Operating Room to Boardroom Course will offer attendees continuing medical education credits (CME) for their participation in this activity. Physicians are eligible to claim CME Credits. Residents and Allied Health Professionals are not eligible to claim CME Credits and may instead request a Certificate of Completion.
All attendees must complete the course evaluation in order to obtain a CME Certificate or Certificate of Completion no later than 11:59 pm CT on May 27, 2025. The course evaluation will close at this time.
Please access your Surgeons as Leaders Certificates in the Transcript section of the MyCME portal upon completing your evaluation. Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the learner to earn credit toward the CME of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program.
Course Completion
Attendees must complete the course evaluation in order to claim a CME Certificate or a Certificate of Completion. The course evaluation will appear once you take and complete this course. The following requirements will need to be completed:
Review all course materials
Complete course evaluation
Available Credit
- 23.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
- 1.00 Certificate of Completion
To Start Course
To access the course content and evaluations, please click the "Take Course" button above.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact [email protected] or [email protected].