The 2017 Leadership and Advocacy Summit comprised three activity-filled days: one full day of leadership education, a second day of legislative advocacy preparation, and a third day of meetings with members of Congress. Thanks to some financial assistance from the American College of Surgeons, I was one of 100 fortunate residents and associate fellows that participated in the 2017 summit, joining more than 350 additional attendees in Washington, D.C. In between the informative sessions, there was plenty of time to socialize with local chapter members, connect with other residents, and network with distinguished surgeons from around the country.
Kicking off the Leadership Summit, Melina Kibbe, MD, FACS, FAHA, Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of North Carolina gave a captivating lecture on handling difficult conversations and managing difficult people, complete with an entertaining audience participation component. She taught the audience that 9% of physicians cause 50% of complaints, and that complications correlated with complaints. Patrick Hudson, MD, FACS, BCC then delivered an insightful and thought-provoking talk on leading by building collaborative relationships, and leaving us to ponder what we want to achieve in life. Scott Leckman, MD, FACS, then delved in a different direction, and spoke about the importance of surgeon-leaders rendering aid to the less fortunate by volunteering through Operation Giving Back. We then heard various success stories from Chapter Presidents from Connecticut, Texas, and Georgia. Dennis Ashley, MD, FACS related his chapter’s experience in bringing the Stop the Bleed campaign to the Georgia State Capitol, inspiring other chapters, including my own, to attempt the same.
After a lunch break with our respective local chapters, Krista Kaups, MD, MSc, FACS discussed predisposing factors for surgeon burnout, and encouraged surgeons to take the Physician Well-Being Index (https://www.facs.org/member-services/surgeon-wellbeing). The Resident and Associate Society (RAS) sponsored the next lecture, given by Bhagwan Satiani, MD, MBA, FACS, FACHE. An accomplished surgeon with additional training and experience in business management, Dr. Satiani stressed the importance of surgeons taking leadership roles within health care organizations, as physician-led organizations perform better. Finally, Steven Yule, PhD, Director of Education & Research at the STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation in Boston, MA demonstrated the importance of non-technical skills for surgical teams while finding parallels between simulating surgical training, preventing deep sea drilling disasters in the North Sea, and preparing for surgical care on a mission to Mars. The evening was topped off with a well-attended and lively RAS-sponsored social event at the City Tap House.
The Leadership Summit delivered quality pearls of wisdom for both new and veteran attendees, and this trend continued with the engaging speakers at the Advocacy Summit. Chuck Todd, the moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press, opened the summit by sharing his keen opinions on the current health care legislation over dinner. The following morning, Patrick V. Bailey, MD, MLS, FACS moderated a panel discussion on proposed legislation for healthcare reform, and Frank Opelka, MD, FACS moderated a panel discussing Medicare physician payments. Laurie Richards taught us how to craft our “ask,” and the importance of charisma, trust, and credibility when communicating with members of Congress. The SurgeonsPAC then sponsored lunch, with a featured talk by renowned National Public Radio political correspondent Mara Liasson. In the afternoon, we heard about proposed legislation from the staff of members of Congress, and were briefed on how to effectively lobby for the issues at hand. Dedicated staff from the Division of Advocacy and Health Policy shared detailed information about legislation affecting surgeons, including the Independent Payment Advisory Board, MACRA, the MISSION ZERO Act, and more. The day culminated with visits from Sen. Bill Cassidy, Sen. Roy Blunt, Rep. Anthony Brown, Rep. John Delaney, and Rep. Jamie Raskin, who gave their prepared remarks and answered questions from the attendees.
Invigorated with the knowledge gained at the summit, I joined motivated residents and surgeons from around the country on April 9th to lobby for improved surgical care on Capitol Hill. I repeatedly crossed paths with other surgeons headed to their senators’ and representatives’ offices, sharing a sense of purpose to effect change for the greater good of surgical patients.
For those RAS members interested in attending next year, I fully recommend adjusting your schedule to make it to Washington, D.C. At what other event can you receive travel support from the ACS to learn about leadership and advocacy, and immediately put those skills to use in meetings with sitting members of Congress? And don’t forget the awesome social events, like the SurgeonsPAC event held at the National Portrait Gallery, where you can rub elbows with surgeon-leaders and fellow residents. I plan to go again, and I hope to see you there!
Christopher McNicoll is a second-year general surgery research resident (PGY-4) at the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Las Vegas, NV. He is also the Secretary of the Advocacy and Issues Committee for the American College of Surgeons Resident and Associate Society (RAS), and the RAS Representative for the Nevada Chapter, American College of Surgeons.