Thread by @DawnEmick

Reasons I will not attend #ASC2022 in person:
1. My hospital is in crisis
2. I am a mom to a 4 year old
Why am I announcing this publicly on Twitter? Because hundreds of trainees who felt so proud and honored to be invited to present their work now feel frightened and unsure /1

They worry that if they voice their concern and not attend, faculty (who have largely remained silent) will not support them, @JSurgRes might not publish their work, and it could jeopardize future leadership positions within @AcademicSurgery /2

I know I cannot be the only faculty on #MedTwitter who feels that the decision @AcademicSurgery made to hold #ASC2022 in person from Feb 1-3 is wrong, and not the only one frustrated that the letter sent out lacks transparency /3

Their “reasons to hold it in person” is a list of justifications for not moving to to virtual, but there is not a single, valid reason to ask surgeons to travel and gather during the largest surge to date /4

https://twitter.com/academicsurgery/status/1479145530336759814?s=21

The letter does mention an economic issue, and I suspect that is the real reason. I love @AcademicSurgery. The organizations means a lot to me. If something were about to happen that resulted in near bankruptcy, and the leaders asked me for help, I would provide it /5

I would donate the money I am not spending on a hotel, so that we continues to exist and support future generations of surgical scholars. But instead I feel gas-lighted, given meek reassurances for my personal safety when personal safety is NOT the reason I will not attend /6

@AcademicSurgery and @UnivSurg please move #ASC2022 to a virtual meeting or postpone for a few months. Please do not put trainees in the position to have to go against you and their faculty to present their work /7

We have to stop making it an individual choice to make public health decisions, especially since we are group of physicians /8

https://twitter.com/leyladasadi/status/1479538351057227776?s=21

Surgery residents are at their breaking point, no hospital can afford them having to quarantine, especially in the smaller academic centers that our organization has worked so hard to include these last few years /9

https://twitter.com/cchildersmd/status/1479466454634283009?s=21

Our patients and our staff need us at our hospitals right now, not gathering together to do things that we have been able to move to virtual spaces for nearly 2 years /10

https://twitter.com/cutitoutpodcas1/status/1479518600297959424?s=21

Finally, to my colleagues who have trainees presenting, if you have not yet, PLEASE reach out to them and tell them it’s ok to not go the #ASC2022 in person. It’s ok to prioritize the health of your community and family over the ability to briefly meet some surgical mentors /11

There will be another opportunity to network in person, but right now is not the time. I hope we can still allow our trainees to showcase their work virtually or at a delayed meeting this summer /12

Wow. I’m blown away by the DMs this thread has generated from trainees AND faculty saying “thanks for saying what I was thinking, but I still don’t feel like I can publicly post my agreement.”

Thank you all for your replies and thoughtful responses. Really interesting things learned these last 36 hours, and we have work to do to make our organizations resilient and transparent. I’m now on call, so less likely to read or respond more. See you in person at #ASC2023 🙏