Three UK surgery administrators invited to present during Surgical Education Week 2020

Three administrators from the UK Department of Surgery’s graduate and undergraduate medical education staff have been invited to make presentations during Surgical Education Week 2020 in Seattle, Washington this spring.

The Association of Residency Administrators in Surgery (ARAS) notified Sara Brown and Robin Riley, Graduate Medical Education program coordinators for the Division of General Surgery, that abstracts they submitted last fall were accepted for presentation.

Brown’s abstract, entitled “Leveraging Collaborations to Achieve Arching Program Goals,” addresses the unique point of view that program administrators share. Their experience enables them to “offer sound input” and “achieve greater goals” in graduate medical education through collaboration with other entities, Brown wrote.

After a period of small group exchange, Brown will discuss two successful cases of collaboration at UK in which she participated.

Riley’s presentation, “Categorical Interview Days: Time, Our Most Valuable Commodity,” focuses on the General Surgery Residency interview process at the University of Kentucky. The process receives consistent positive feedback from participating medical students and surgery faculty. A key reason, Riley said, is the efficient use of time that respects the schedules of all participants.

“Our office has organized an efficient interview process that enables our faculty and residents to get to know applicants to our program without sacrificing operating room time. Conversely, our candidates don’t wait long hours between interviews. Everyone’s time is respected,” Riley said. 

Brown and Riley are scheduled to make presentations of about 30 minutes on Friday afternoon, May 1. In addition to their work as coordinators of the General Surgery Residency program, Brown is administrator over the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship Program. Riley manages the Vascular Surgery Fellowship.

Also, Jamie Ward, senior medical education specialist for the undergraduate surgery program, received an invitation from the Association for Surgical Education (ASE) to present her proposal, “What I Wish I Had Known My First Year” during a Clerkship 101 panel session.

Ward will join colleagues on Monday morning, April 27, to share experiences and answer questions primarily from course directors and coordinators who are new to the field of undergraduate surgical education.