Letter from your Physician Wellness Workgroup Chair: Faina Nakhlis, MD, FACS

It is a great privilege to be a surgeon. The rigorous training and career development are very rewarding, yet being a surgeon presents unique challenges. The balance of doing surgery, seeing and communicating with patients, interacting with colleagues and surgical education, while trying to achieve personal fulfillment, can be extremely difficult to achieve.

The Massachusetts Chapter of the American College of Surgeons (MCACS) was the first chapter in the country to create an ad-hoc Wellness Workgroup in 2020. The Workgroup has been on a quest for gradual and tangible changes to improve surgeon wellness which is well-known to promote personal and professional wellbeing, to retain talent and reduce burnout.

Recently the ACS has launched several initiatives and collaboratives to address surgeon wellness and the MCACS Wellness Workgroup is actively engaged in these endeavors and wishes to broaden the involvement of the Chapter membership moving forward.

Please check the MCACS website often for updated information regarding the ACS and MCACS wellness initiatives.

With gratitude,

Faina Nakhlis, MD, FACS
MCACS Physician Wellness Workgroup Chair