title: Survey of the American College of Surgeons scholarship recipients: a story of generating academic leaders.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The objective of this survey was to provide a review of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) scholarship activity.
  
  
  METHODS
  The domestic ACS scholarship recipient survey was electronically transmitted twice to awardees from 1987 to 2007 (n=253). Themes of the survey included type of practice, activities during scholarship period, success of peer review funding, and the role of mentors. All survey responses were evaluated using SPSS version 20.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 123 total responses, with 108 separate respondents (94, 1 award; 13, 2 awards; 1, 3 awards). The group averaged 11.8 years in clinical practice, with the majority (90.2%) having an academic appointment. Seventy-seven percent of respondents were on a tenure track, and almost three-quarters (72.4%) of the respondents hold a major leadership position. In terms of research, 67.5% of respondents have received extramural funding; 10.6% have received patents. The average number of publications related to their funded research is 19.2 (range 0 to 180). Most respondents perform peer review of research (73.2%), learned about the peer review process during their funding period (82.1%), and mentor medical students (88.6%). The average number of students currently mentored is 6.4; the average total trainees mentored is 13. Despite the significant research responsibilities of respondents, they still spend more time performing clinical care (49.2%) than research (30.4%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ACS scholarship has a significant impact on the recipient's academic career, even in the setting of increasing clinical burdens. This program also appears to tangentially identify surgeons who become leaders in academic surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. Electronic address: gru6n@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Gilbert R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Upchurch
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of California- Davis, Sacramento, CA.
authors.forename: Julie A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Freischlag
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Novicoff
authors.affiliation: Division of Surgical Education, American College of Surgeon, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Early
authors.affiliation: Division of Surgical Education, American College of Surgeon, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Patricia L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Zinner
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002322:Career Mobility; D003625:Data Collection; D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships; D013502:General Surgery; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008611:Mentors; D017712:Peer Review, Research; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012109:Research Support as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012955:Societies, Medical; D014481:United States