Drs. Hawn and Spain wrap up terms on American Board of Surgery

Drs. Mary Hawn and David Spain recently wrapped up their terms on the American Board of Surgery (ABS).

“When you rotate off the board you get to stand up at the dinner and say your goodbyes. Every single person says that serving on the ABS is one of the best things they ever did in their careers - and it's true,” said Spain.

ABS is a nonprofit organization that is tasked with setting the standards for surgical training programs, certification for new surgeons, as well as Continuing Medical Education requirements, and professionalism checks for surgeons in practice.   

While a typical term of six years, Dr. Hawn served a total of eight as a director, with her last as Chair of the Board. Spain was part of the Governance Task Force Ad Hoc Committee which made the changes in 2019. “The Governance Task Force was fascinating because we totally revamped the structure of the ABS, and I think improved it significantly,” said Spain. Spain also served on the Trauma/Critical Care/Burns Component Board, Qualifying Exam Committee, and Advanced Surgical Education Committee.  Prior to his 6-year term on the Council, he served the board in other roles.

Like Spain, Hawn served in a variety of different capacities.

“I don’t know if I had any singular impact as a member of The Board, but I served on the search committee for the current CEO and chaired our finance committee. We stabilized our finances so now we have the resources to invest in the future of surgical training like EPAs,” said Hawn.

Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) are part of The Board’s transition to a competency-based assessment model which rolled out earlier this month.

Despite their longer-than-anticipated time commitment, Hawn says time on the Board is extremely valuable.

“[ABS] is one of the few organizations where you come together with transplant, pediatric, vascular surgeons as well as many other subspecialties to work together to advance a common mission. You connect with people across different disciplines,” said Hawn. “It was also a great opportunity to stay up to date, stay sharp about the modern management of patients across multiple disciplines.”

Mirroring her sentiments, Spain said, “The people you meet and work with are spectacular. The ABS staff and all of the surgeons who volunteer their time are thoughtful, caring, and committed.”

Although Hawn and Spain’s service has come to an end, Stanford Surgery is still represented on The Board. Dr. Carla Pugh is currently serving on the Board’s council in a number of capacities the Assessment and DEI committees. Her term—which began in 2020—will end in 2026. And Dr. Jason Lee serves on the Vascular Surgery specialty board.

“Serving on the board is a huge responsibility and a lot of work (volunteer work). But it’s also very gratifying because you know it’s important work that is trying to make the field of surgery better for our patients,” said Spain.  Hawn added “It is really one of the most meaningful contributions that a surgeon can make to advance our discipline and ensure a high standard of care for our patients.”

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