.jpeg)
The Governors Guide Series
A Brief Guide to Gap Analysis and Clinical Congress Proposals
Board of GovernorsAMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS
The Governors Guide Series:A Brief Guide to Gap Analysis and Clinical Congress ProposalsShannon Marie Foster MD, FACS, Board of Governors Executive Council & Communications Pillar Lead
In the spring, leadership of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), including Governors, Liaisons, Young Fellows Association (YFA), Resident and Associate Society (RAS), Committees, and Advisory Councils, are asked to begin the process of creating the prestigious educational content of the Annual Clinical Congress (CC). The current system was implemented in 2017 and has evolved through several iterations, each progressively increasing the transparency of the process and the inclusiveness of the many broad arms and interests of the ACS and its constituents. The ACS CC Program Committee continues to improve methods to ensure representation of varied content of both clinical and non-clinical topics and broad subspecialty subject matter.The first step tasked to each respective group involves a dive into content areas of expertise to determine areas of educational need - the Gap Analysis. A gap refers to identification of the prescient questions and areas of needed improvements in practice, patient care, or other professional responsibilities within the purview of each group. An analysis relates to clarifying what sort of educational endeavor and format would address these questions and lead to improvements for the broad surgical community. The purpose of the gap analysis process prior to any formal program session proposal is to ensure that all resources - evolving literature, trends, quality initiatives, policy changes, etc. - have been inclusively assessed and reviewed. Once compiled, these gaps will be used to focus the proposed sessions.In a few simple steps:1. Broadly evaluate areas of active work.2. Determine needs and define in a few focused and specific statements.3. Use as basis for proposal creation.Within a short window from gap analysis submission, the call for proposals for CC will formally open. The portal is open for approximately three months to allow detailed creation and encourage collaboration. Confirmation of or listing of speakers is not required at this point, but at least several faculty who will see the session come to fruition if accepted should be named. Components of the proposal include sponsoring committee/workgroup, co sponsoring committee/workgroup, preferred session type (didactic or skills course, panelsession, meet-the-expert, town hall), gap to be addressed (as already created and submitted), description, objectives, moderator, and co-moderator(s). An effective proposal should use language as per Bloom1s Taxonomy and target knowledge-based, emotion-based, or action based key words and goals.For both the gap analysis and program proposal portals, the submission system is simple and comes with a step-by-step instruction packet. With that said, it is best done on a desktop format computer and with an updated browser to avoid compatibility errors.Be prepared: the annual acceptance rate for proposals is around 25%. Historically, this is due to both the overall large number of submissions, but also redundancies - competitive offerings to address similar gaps from within the same workgroup/committee or redundant gap identification from differing workgroups/committees. To address the latter, a new forum from the Board of Governors Education Pillar is expected this year to foster collaboration and consolidation between groups and committees prior to the finalization of submissions and portal closure. Updates on how to participate should be available soon.Notice of acceptance from the Program Committee is sent by early December of the previous calendar year. Once accepted, additional instructions will follow in succession including faculty confirmation, waivers, and release forms. Closer to the CC, technology support and sample format slides will be provided to each.In summation, the best approach to CC proposals: spend the time upfront to define the educational need, determine the way to address that need in the correct CC format, and actively collaborate with other groups and committees to prevent siloed redundancies of effort and ensure the highest quality at the premier surgical meeting - the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress.
Appendix:1. Complete List of Invited Creators/Potential Collaborators2. Visual Flow Chart and Timeline of Gap and Proposal Process Appendix: List of Invited Creators/Potential Collaborators
ACS Cancer Research Program Education Committee ACS/ASE Medical Student Core CurriculumACS Committee on Healthcare Disparities Advisory Council for SESAPACS Military Health System Strategic PartnershipACS Committee to Enhance Performance in Surgery Through Recognition and Mitigation of the Impact of FatigueAdvisory Council for Cardiothoracic Surgery Advisory Council for Colon and rectal Surgery Advisory Council for General SurgeryAdvisory Council for Gynecology and Obstetrics Advisory Council for Neurological Surgery Advisory Council for Ophthalmic SurgeryAdvisory Council for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Advisory Council for Orthopedic SurgeryAdvisory Council for Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Advisory Council for PediatricAdvisory Council for Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery Advisory Council for Rural SurgeryAdvisory Council for Urologic Surgery Advisory Council for Vascular Surgery Association of Program Directors in Surgery Association of VA SurgeonsExecutive Committee of the Board of Governors Board of Governors Advocacy and Health Policy Pillar Board of Governors Best Practices WorkgroupBoard of Governors Chapter Activities Domestic Workgroup Board of Governors Chapter Activities International Workgroup Board of Governors Communication PillarBoard of Governors Continuing Education Workgroup Board of Governors Diversity PillarBoard of Governors DEi Education/Advocacy Workgroup Board of Governors DEi Education/Communication Workgroup Board of Governors DEi Toolkit WorkgroupBoard of Governors Education PillarBoard of Governors Grassroots Advocacy Engagement WorkgroupBoard of Governors Governor Communications and Outreach Workgroup Board of Governors Health Policy & Advocacy WorkgroupBoard of Governors Patient Education WorkgroupBoard of Governors Physician Competency and Health Workgroup Board of Governors Quality, Research, and Optimal Patient Care Pillar Board of Governors Surgical Care Delivery WorkgroupBoard of Governors Surgical Training WorkgroupBoard of Governors Surgical Volunteerism and Humanitarian Awards Workgroup Board of Governors Survey WorkgroupBoard of Governors Telehealth WorkgroupCancer Surgery Standards Program Education Committee Central Judicial CommitteeChildren's Verification Committee Clinical Congress Program Committee Commission on CancerCommittee on Diversity Issues Committee on EducationCommittee on Emerging Surgical Technology Committee on EthicsCommittee on Global Engagement through Operation Giving Back Committee on lnterprofessional Education and Practice Committee on Medical Student EducationCommittee on Non-Technical Skills Committee on Pain Management in Surgery Committee on Perioperative CareCommittee on Preceptorships for Practicing Surgeons Committee on Professional Opportunities for Senior Surgeons Committee on resident EducationCommittee on Surgical Palliative CareCommittee on Surgical Skills Training for Practicing Surgeons Committee on TraumaCommittee on Video Based Education CRP Education CommitteeDivision of Research and Optimal Care Executive Office/Named Lectures Federacion Latinoamericana de CirugiaGeneral Surgery Coding and Reimbursement Committee General Surgery Review CourseHealth Information Technology Committee Health Policy and Advocacy GroupHistory and Archives Committee International Relations Committee Intimate Violence Partner TaskforceMSAQIP Committee for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer National Ultrasound FacultyNon-Technical Skills in Surgery Patient Education Committee Resident and Associate SocietyCommittee for the Owen H. Wangensteen Scientific Forum Surgical Journals Editors GroupSurgical Research Committee Task Force on Geriatric Surgery Women in Surgery Committee Young Fellows Association