The American Board of Surgery (ABS), the national certifying body for general surgeons and related specialists, is pleased to welcome Dr. Mary E. Klingensmith as chair for 2017-2018.
Originally from Beckley, West Virginia, Dr. Klingensmith is the Mary Culver Distinguished Professor of Surgery and vice chair for education at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. A graduate of Wellesley College, she completed medical school at Duke University and general surgery residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Dr. Klingensmith is a general surgeon with an emphasis in minimally invasive surgery. Formerly director of Washington University’s general surgery residency program, she has a long-standing interest in graduate medical education and residency curricula, including the use of simulation and the teaching of ethics in residency education.
Beyond her work at Washington University, Dr. Klingensmith is vice president and advisory council chair of the Surgical Council on Resident Education (SCORE®), a nonprofit consortium of surgical education organizations that seeks to improve general surgery training. She also serves as an associate editor for Annals of Surgery, and is a past president of the Association for Surgical Education (ASE) and past board member of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Dr. Klingensmith received the Philip J. Wolfson Outstanding Teacher Award from the ASE in 2005, and the Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in 2012. She is also lead author of the last four editions of The Washington Manual of Surgery.
Dr. Klingensmith was elected to the ABS in 2011, representing the American College of Surgeons. During her time as ABS director, she has served as chair of the ABS General Surgery Advisory Council, which provides input on issues impacting general surgery training and practice, and as ABS representative to the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.
“I’m looking forward to working with our directors, staff and diplomates as we steer a new course for continuous certification. We will be making a concerted effort to gather diplomate feedback in the months ahead, to shape a new program that offers surgeons greater flexibility and more high-value, learner-centric options,” said Dr. Klingensmith. “Additionally, the coming year will see continued development of a competency-based education design for residency training, as well as a strategic planning process for the ABS. It is an honor to be chairing the board at such a key time in its history.”
About the ABS
The American Board of Surgery is an independent, nonprofit organization founded in 1937 for the purpose of certifying individuals who have met a defined standard of education, training and knowledge in the field of surgery. Surgeons certified by the ABS have completed at least five years of surgical training following medical school and successfully completed a written and oral examination process administered by the ABS. They must then maintain their board certification through ongoing learning and practice improvement activities.
The ABS offers board certification in general surgery, vascular surgery, pediatric surgery, surgical critical care, complex general surgical oncology, surgery of the hand, and hospice and palliative medicine. It is one of the 24 member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties.
July 26, 2017