The Academic Surgeon - Official Blog of the AAS

Although everyone may not agree, I would argue that the practice of surgery is an emotionally and mentally challenging endeavor. That we are so intimately involved in directly impacting a human being’s life—both positively and negatively— is both a privilege and a heavy weight (at times). One facet of this challenge that I find particularly …

After many grueling years of surgical training, which included five years of General Surgery residency, three years of clinical and basic science research, and two years of clinical fellowship, I was ecstatic to be finally done with my training.  I have finally become a “grown-up.” However, little did I realize that being on the other …

I decided to become a doctor at the age of 12, while my family was spending the summer in the Philippines.  My young mind could not grasp how and why so many children died of communicable diseases that were easily treated back home.  I couldn’t comprehend growing up in a place where there just weren’t …

AAS Members: This past few months have been a challenging time for many of our colleagues across the country as they have had to deal with mass trauma and severe weather which has shown the complexities and challenges of providing surgical care in these types of situations. While not all of our members have been …

Evie Carchman, MD: As a junior faculty member having never mentored a general surgery resident in the lab before, there have been several lessons that my mentee and I have learned over the last year. We share these trials and tribulations to enforce the lack of formal training on how to be a mentor or …

On July 1st, 2017, the World Bank published its annual update of the World Development Indicators (WDI). From fishing to farming, education to employment, these indicators track progress in a wide variety of forms over regions, nations, and time. This year marks the second time surgical data has been included in the World Bank’s indicators. …

From January, 1909, through April, 1910, Abraham Flexner1 traveled throughout the United States and Canada on a trip that revolutionized North American medical education.  He visited every one of the existing 155 medical schools and, by the end of 1910, had published his report detailing the resources and practices of all these schools.2   Startlingly, he …

I never thought I was going to be the attending who started off a sentence with “when I was a student/resident…”  But one day, I realized, I had become that person.  It was not to prove that I worked harder checking labs or rounding on my patients.  It was in a different context.  I was …