Reinventing Yourself Virtually: Fifth Annual Society of Asian Academic Surgeons Virtual Conference.

Virtual forms of communication have been integrated into academic surgery now more than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated its implementation in an effort to support social-distancing. Academic surgery is now learning valuable lessons from early experiences to optimally integrate this communication mode. The Society of Asian Academic Surgeons convened an expert panel during the society's fifth annual meeting that explores these lessons. Realms of virtual communication including meetings, networking, surgery department administration, social media, application processes, and advice for early or mid-career academic surgeons are explored. Virtual conferences pose a new challenge by removing the in-person component that is evident to be integral to networking, collaboration, and all aspects of academic socialization. Strategies such as creating virtual chat rooms, mentor-mentee virtual introductions, and deliberate interactions can enhance the experience. Virtual administrative meetings require special attention to preparation and strategies to insure engagement. Social media can be a valuable tool to integrate into academic careers but special attention needs to be made to utilize it deliberately and not to shy away from our individuality. The interview process can be enhanced when made virtual to give opportunities to those typically disadvantaged in the usual, in-person process.

Loss of liver transplant surgeons into alternate career paths.

In Germany, long-term commitment of surgeons to transplantation is rare. Most surgeons leave transplant surgery after a short stint and follow careers in other surgical fields. This rapid turnover of liver transplant surgeons may result in poor resource utilization and potentially compromise patient safety. In this report, we have analyzed the caseload and the careers of 25 surgeons in liver transplantation over a period of 22 years. The median time in liver transplantation was short. Of all surgeons who engaged in liver transplantation, the median time was 3.5 years. Surgeons who completed their training remained in the field for 7 years. Surgeons who prematurely stopped their training remained for 2 years. Individual total caseloads of transplant surgeons were relatively low. The median number of procedures was 40 for all surgeons, 153 for currently active surgeons, 51 for surgeons who completed training, 27 for surgeons currently in training, and a median of four liver transplantations for surgeons who prematurely stopped liver transplantation. The vast majority (75%) of surgeons prematurely quit liver transplantation to follow alternate surgical careers. Structural changes in academic transplant surgery have to be made to facilitate long-term commitments of interested surgeons and to avoid "futile" transplant careers.

The Society of Black Academic Surgeons membership survey: Insights on demographics, engagement, and opportunities for improvement.

BACKGROUND: The Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS) sought to understand who constitutes its membership and obtain feedback to improve the organization. METHODS: SBAS conducted a 25-question survey amongst members. RESULTS: The response rate was 19 â€‹% (n â€‹= â€‹132/685) with an even gender breakdown (male n â€‹= â€‹64, female n â€‹= â€‹68). The majority identified as Black or African American (85 â€‹%), followed by White (12 â€‹%). Fifty-two percent identified as trainees, while the rest were practicing surgeons specializing in burn/trauma/critical care (19 â€‹%), oncology (19 â€‹%), and general surgery (13 â€‹%). Half joined SBAS within the last 3 years. Satisfaction was reported at a mean of 3.7/5. Lack of awareness (41 â€‹%), time (13 â€‹%), or interest (5 â€‹%) limited committee participation. Networking (83 â€‹%), mentorship/sponsorship/allyship (71 â€‹%), and leadership development (46 â€‹%) were most valued benefits with job boards, webinars, and grants least valuable. CONCLUSION: SBAS is a unique organization uniting both new and lifetime members and opportunities exist to enhance current membership and improve participation.