Message from the President

Order, organization, and setting standards for the highest quality surgical training in gastrointestinal surgical disciplines have been the focus of the Fellowship Council since its inauguration over a decade ago.  The Board of the Fellowship Council has just adopted a new mission statement, which I feel is important to quote as a summary of that focus:

The Fellowship Council is an association of surgical fellowship directors formed to address the unique needs of fellowship programs and their directors and to ensure fair and equitable access for surgeons in training to the highest quality training programs.

Since its inception, the Fellowship Council has worked toward ensuring a better postgraduate experience for residents seeking further training in the field of gastrointestinal surgery.  The demand for such fellowships began largely with the integration of laparoscopy into surgical practice, but there has also been a demonstrated need for advanced training in hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery, flexible endoscopic surgery, and bariatric surgery by graduates of current surgical residencies.  Until the structure and experience in a typical surgical residency is modified to account for this increased demand for focused specialization by a large percentage of the graduating residents, fellowships serve as an important component of the training of the specialized gastrointestinal surgeon.  The Fellowship Council serves as the home organization to respond to the needs of both the program directors and the residents interested in pursuing fellowship training.  The Fellowship Council relies on the expertise of its component societies, SAGES, SSAT, AHPBA, and ASMBS, to supply specific guidelines for curriculum, operative experience, and other components of an optimal fellowship experience in their particular disciplines.   All component societies also have agreed on basic required components of any fellowship. 

The Fellowship Council now provides a directory of accredited fellowships for the candidate to consider.  Through its Accreditation Committee, our group reviews and performs site visits to all programs to ensure that each program provides an appropriate educational experience for the candidate.  An organized match occurs in the fall of each year.  Last year 147 fellows matched into 126 fellowship programs.   The Fellowship Council sponsors educational programs at national meetings, and serves as a component member for the Gastrointestinal Advisory Council to the American Board of Surgery.  Fellow case logs and other data collected during fellowship training will serve as important information to document the content of fellowships going forward.  Innovative concepts in assessing fellow performance are being developed.  Recently the Fellowship Council organized the Foundation for Surgical Fellowships, which will provide a mechanism for continued funding of fellowships in the years beginning in July 2011. 

I am personally quite humbled and honored to have been asked to serve as the current President of the Fellowship Council.  Much excellent work has been done by the previous leaders of our group, making my job much easier.  The above current agenda is ambitious, but when I sit at a meeting of the members of the Fellowship Council, I am reassured that we have the talent, leadership, ingenuity and willingness to serve among our members to carry out these tasks.   Our office and our organization welcomes the opportunity to help you in any way regarding our mission, our tasks at hand, or particular issues for which we may be of assistance.

Please contact our Executive Director, , at 310-437-0555 x 102 if you have further questions for the Fellowship Council. 

Sincerely,

Bruce Schirmer, M.D.

President

The Fellowship Council