The Academic Surgeon is the official blog of the AAS. We post anywhere from one to three times a week and our contributors will focus on issues relevant to young academic surgeons, residents, fellows, and even medical students.
If you would like to contribute, please submit your post here: https://www.aasurg.org/the-academic-surgeon-blog-submission/
Fueling Surgical Superstars (and Maybe Avoiding My Cooking)
Hey everyone, Tim Pawlik here, your perpetually enthusiastic President of the Association for Academic Surgery Foundation (AASF). I’m here today not to discuss the finer points of surgical knot tying (though that is a surprisingly engaging topic!), but to chat about something near and dear to my heart: nurturing the brilliant minds that will shape …
Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Geoffrey Dunn: Why Surgical Palliative Care and Mentorship Deserve Our Investment
In the fast-paced, high-stakes world of surgery, it’s easy to become singularly focused on curing disease or achieving technical excellence. But all of us who have walked alongside patients facing life-limiting illness know that there is another kind of skill—quieter, but no less vital—that defines excellent surgical care: the ability to meet patients where they …
My Father’s Hands
I believe without a doubt that we all have a path in life. In that respect, my career as a surgeon was inevitable. But as far as this worldly life is concerned, it’s fair to say that I chose the field of surgery in large part because of my father’s hands. My father’s hands. Big, …
Many Hands for Minimally-Invasive Surgery
Ethics Committee Cover Art Entry – Clinical photo from 2021 that illustrates the thankless aspects of surgery, the gifted hands that contribute to surgery through retraction and positioning. Photo captured during a minimally-invasive open arthroplasty of a temporomandibular joint prosthesis.
Finding My Place as a Medical Student in Academic Surgery
TL;DR: What I Wish I’d Known (if you don’t have time to read the whole thing…) You don’t need to have it all figured out. I started medical school thinking I’d be a neurosurgeon. Now, I find myself drawn to endocrine and pediatric surgery. Interests evolve, and that’s okay. The skills you gain matter more …
The Power of Vision in an Academic Surgical Career
A career as an academic surgeon offers unparalleled rewards: the privilege of transforming patient lives in the operating room, the thrill of pioneering research discoveries, and the satisfaction of mentoring the next generation of surgical leaders. Yet the journey rarely follows a straight line. Funding climates shift, clinical landscapes evolve, and external pressures—from institutional priorities …
Surgical Endurance
Mid-sentence I grabbed the Thompson retractor as my body instinctively protected itself from falling as my subconsciousness hit the off button and I fell asleep standing. It was a living donor liver transplant that I had scrubbed into to assist. I quickly brought myself to attention, naively thinking no one had noticed. I was thankfully …
Congratulations to the 2025 AAS/AASF Faculty Awards Winners!
We are delighted to announce the 2025 Faculty Award Winners! The AAS and AAS Foundation sponsor several travel, research, and presentation awards to support our members. Congratulations to you all!
Congratulations to the 2025 Best AAS Manuscript Award Recipients!
We are pleased to announce the winners of the Best Overall Manuscript by an AAS Member and Best Manuscript by an AAS Resident or Fellow. Congratulations to you both!
Connection, not exception: a subspecialist’s case for the AAS
It’s easy to assume that once you choose a subspecialty, you’ve chosen your academic identity too. But for me, as a transplant surgeon, it’s been just the opposite. The more specific my clinical and research work became, the more I needed a broader academic home. I’ve been part of the AAS since medical school, and …