Recently, many of you were asked to participate in an AAS member survey. On behalf of the AAS Engagement Work Group, we thank you for sharing your thoughts with us and are pleased to report that the results are in! Below is a sampling of the results from 338 respondents.
- The majority of respondents felt the Academic Surgical Congress (ASC) met their needs as a venue for research presentations (79%), support for professional growth and research connections (79%), opportunities for networking (76%), and opportunities for early leadership roles in academic surgery (65%).
- The top three reasons members regularly attended the ASC:
- Academic stimulation and the opportunity to interact with like-minded academic surgeons (81%)
- Opportunities for networking (76%)
- Opportunities for professional growth (71%)
- One of the more interesting findings from the survey is that over half of respondents are unlikely to use social media. For those who are likely to use it, Facebook is the most common, followed by Twitter. There seems to be wide variation in adoption of social media, with many senior and active members being less likely to engage in social media than those in the international, candidate, and medical student membership categories. There will be ample opportunities for many ASC attendees to sharpen their social media skills while at the upcoming meeting in San Diego (February 4-6, 2014).
Here are three ways to do this:
- Get the ASC 2014 Meeting App and/or sign up to follow the meeting on Twitter (hashtag #AcadSurg14)
- Attend the Hot Topic Session “Social Media 101” presented by Niraj Gusani MD on February 4, 11:30-1 pm
- Go to the AAS Presidential Plenary “Innovation in Surgery” on February 5, 1-2:30 pm
- As those of you reading this know, the AAS now has a blog called “The Academic Surgeon.” About 80% of respondents said they would or might read blogs on career development or academic surgery topics. The postings thus far in these areas have been very well-received, and we need more engagement. So, let’s get the word out– share what you’re reading with your colleagues and contribute to the conversation. If you have a topic you’ve been dying to explore in a brief blog post, please submit to the blog.
The results will continue to be used to inform content for upcoming ASC meetings and other AAS activities. ASC 2014 promises to be the innovative and forward-thinking and will include TED-style talks and Hot Topics sessions covering professional development, RVUs and economics (“RVU-oncomics”), and robotic surgery. There are also sessions on national health care reform and quality improvement.
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