Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the Program Committee and the Division of Education, we would like to invite you to the 2019 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. We are very excited about the Congress returning to San Francisco, CA, this year!

The Clinical Congress remains the premier annual professional education and training meeting for surgeons worldwide. It offers an array of outstanding learning opportunities firmly rooted in cutting-edge science, state-of-the-art surgical practices, and contemporary principles of surgical education and continuous professional development. Our goal is to continually introduce innovative programs to address the evolving needs of practicing surgeons, surgery residents, medical students, and members of surgical teams.

The 2019 Clinical Congress Program covers a broad range of critical topics across the breadth of surgery and includes 11 Named Lectures, 112 Panel Sessions, 19 Didactic Courses, 14 Surgical Skills Courses, 31 Video-Based Education Sessions, 87 Scientific Forum Sessions, 45 Meet-the-Expert Sessions, and 19 Town Hall Meetings. The Clinical Congress Program should help in addressing specific educational needs based on individual surgical practices, interests, and evolving regulatory requirements.

Important features of the 2019 Clinical Congress Program include:

• Named Lectures delivered by nationally and internationally renowned experts
• Panel Sessions focusing on cutting-edge advances and timely topics
• A variety of important Didactic and Skills Courses
• Presentations of the latest scientific advances in surgery
• Certificates for achieving specific levels of verification through participation in Didactic and Skills Courses, based on the Division of Education’s five-level Verification Program
• The Clinical Congress App for planning individual schedules and claiming Continuing Medical Education Credits

We are extremely grateful to the Members of the Clinical Congress Program Committee, Advisory Councils, and Standing Committees who have made extraordinary contributions to the 2019 Clinical Congress. We encourage you to take full advantage of this outstanding educational opportunity!

Henri R. Ford, MD, MHA, FACS, FAAP, FRCSEng(Hon)
Chair, Program Committee

Ajit K. Sachdeva, MD, FACS, FRCSC, FSACME
Director, Division of Education