The Operative Word

In this episode, Lillian Erdahl, MD, FACS, is joined by Jessica Liu, MD, MS, MPH, from the Department of Surgery, Harbor UCLA Medical Center. They discuss Dr Liu’s recent article, “Identifying Diagnostic Gaps and Mitigation Strategies for Older Adult Emergency General Surgery Patients: A Scoping Review,” in which the authors identified the current diagnostic issues, clinical tools, and clinician feedback strategies in the older adult emergency general surgery (EGS) setting. While challenges unique to older adults exist, variability in the use of tools to improve identification of older adult conditions in EGS and gaps in feedback to improve diagnosis remain.

 

Disclosure Information: Drs Erdahl and Liu have nothing to disclose.

 

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

 

Liu, Jessica K MD, MS, MPH; Peters, Xane D MD, MS; Remer, Sarah L MD; Beestrum, Molly MLIS; Cooper, Zara MD, FACS, MPH; Russell, Marcia M MD, FACS; Hall, Bruce L MD, FACS, PhD; Ko, Clifford Y MD, FACS, MSHS, MS. Identifying Diagnostic Gaps and Mitigation Strategies for Older Adult Emergency General Surgery Patients: A Scoping Review. Journal of the American College of Surgeons 241(5):p 904-916, November 2025. | DOI: 10.1097/XCS.0000000000001480

 

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

 

#JACSOperativeWord

 

Copyright © 2026 by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). All rights reserved.  

The contents of these materials may be cited in academic publications but otherwise may not be reproduced, disseminated, or transmitted in any form by any means without the express written permission of ACS. These materials may not be resold nor used to create revenue-generating content by any entity other than the ACS without the express written permission of the ACS. The contents of these materials are strictly prohibited from being uploaded, shared, or incorporated in any third-party applications, platforms, software, or websites without prior written authorization from the ACS. This restriction explicitly includes, but is not limited to, the integration of ACS content into tools leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, large language models, or generative AI technologies and infrastructures.

In this episode, JACS Editor-in-Chief Tom Varghese, MD, FACS, and Digital Media Editor Lillian Erdahl, MD, FACS, review 6 impactful articles from the past year, highlighting key themes shaping modern surgical practice. Dr Erdahl focuses on the surgeon as a subject, discussing research on moral distress, second-victim syndrome, health policy challenges, and peer surgical coaching. Dr Varghese then explores advances in surgical science, including pragmatic applications of artificial intelligence for risk prediction and operative documentation, as well as comparative evidence on robotic, laparoscopic, and open operation. Together, they emphasize clinically relevant research, thoughtful innovation, and ongoing critical inquiry to support surgeons and improve patient care. Listen to the podcast episodes mentioned at facs.org/operative-word.

 

Articles discussed:

Surgeon Perception and Attitude Toward the Moral Imperative: Institutionally Addressing Second Victim Syndrome in Surgery

A Framework for Managing Moral Challenges Related to Health Policy for the Surgeon

What About the Coach? Mixed Methods Study Assessing the Experience of Coaches in a Peer Surgical Coaching Program

Validation of Artificial Intelligence-Based POTTER Calculator in Emergency General Surgery Patients Undergoing Laparotomy: Prospective, Bi-Institutional Study

Enhancing Accuracy of Operative Reports with Automated Artificial Intelligence Analysis of Surgical Video

Robotic vs Laparoscopic vs Open Ventral Hernia Repair: Insights from a Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials

 

Disclosure Information: Drs Varghese and Erdahl have nothing to disclose.

 

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

 

#JACSOperativeWord

In this episode, Tom Varghese, MD, FACS, is joined by Ziad Sifri, MD, FACS, from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and Matthew Linz, MD, from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. They discuss Drs Sifri and Linz’s recent article, “Postoperative Pain Management in the US vs Low- and Middle-Income Countries by US Surgeons,” in which they found that surgeons in the US prescribe significantly more opioids after inguinal hernia repair compared with when they operate on short-term surgical trips to low- and middle-income countries, despite continued efforts to reduce opioid overprescription in the US.

 

Disclosure Information: Drs Varghese, Linz, and Sifri have nothing to disclose.

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

Linz, Matthew S MD1; Parvin-Nejad, Fatemeh P MD2; Srinivasan, Nivetha MD3; Vegunta, Geetasravya MD1; Eng, Ashley K BS1; Kim, Eugene BA MBS; Alexander, Imani BS1; Elgammal, Fatima MD2; Benson, Ryan MD2; Benneh, Albert Y MD4; Gyakobo, Mawuli K MD5,6; Lopez, Lorena MD7; Jalloh, Samba MD8; Sifri, Ziad C MD FACS2. Postoperative Pain Management in the US vs Low-and-Middle-Income Countries by US Surgeons. Journal of the American College of Surgeons ():10.1097/XCS.0000000000001538, July 30, 2025. | DOI: 10.1097/XCS.0000000000001538

 

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

#JACSOperativeWord

In this episode, Lillian Erdahl, MD, FACS, is joined by Eilidh Gunn, MBChB MRCSEd, from the Surgical
Sabermetrics Laboratory at the University of Edinburgh. They discuss Dr Gunn’s recent article, “What About the Coach? Mixed-Methods Study Assessing the Experience of Coaches in a Peer Surgical Coaching Program.” As peer-led surgical coaching becomes an increasingly popular professional development activity, this study explores the impact of participation on surgeons acting as coaches. Using a concurrent, mixed-methods design, results demonstrate that coaches found participation worthwhile and that it affected their own clinical practice.

Learn more about the SCOPE program here.

 

Disclosure Information: Drs Gunn and Erdahl have nothing to disclose.

To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

 

Gunn, Eilidh GM MBChB MRCSEd1; Sinyard, Robert D MD MBA2; Cummins, Emily R PhD3; Yule, Steven PhD4; Smink, Douglas S MD, MPH, FACS5. What About the Coach? Mixed-Methods Study Assessing the Experience of Coaches in a Peer Surgical Coaching Program. Journal of the American College of Surgeons ():10.1097/XCS.0000000000001506, July 24, 2025. | DOI: 10.1097/XCS.0000000000001506 

 

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

#JACSOperativeWord

In this episode, Lillian Erdahl, MD, FACS, is joined by Jordan Rook, MD, from UCLA, and Lorraine Kelley-Quon, MD, FACS, from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Keck School of Medicine of USC. They discuss Drs Rook and Kelley-Quon’s recent article, “Expanding the Public Health Role of Pediatric Trauma Centers: Drug Screening for Adolescent Trauma Patients,” in which the authors found that biochemical drug screening for injured adolescents is decreasing at pediatric trauma centers, despite increasing national adolescent overdose deaths. Given high rates of substance use among injured adolescents, this is a missed opportunity to intervene on problematic substance use and prevent future adolescent overdose deaths.

 

Disclosure Information: Drs Rook, Kelley-Quon, and Erdahl have nothing to disclose.
To earn 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this episode of the JACS Operative Word Podcast, click here to register for the course and complete the evaluation. Listeners can earn CME credit for this podcast for up to 2 years after the original air date.

 

Rook, Jordan M MDa,b; Spurrier, Ryan G MD FACSc,d; Lee, Jenna S MDc; Safavi, Arash MD MHSC FACSc,d; Barrington-Trimis, Jessica PhDe; Ignacio, Romeo C MD MS MPath FACSf; Juillard, Catherine J MD MPH FACSa; Kelley-Quon, Lorraine I MD MS FACSc,d,e. Expanding the Public Health Role of Pediatric Trauma Centers: Drug Screening for Adolescent Trauma Patients. Journal of the American College of Surgeons ():10.1097/XCS.0000000000001596, August 22, 2025. | DOI: 10.1097/XCS.0000000000001596 

 

Learn more about the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions on all aspects of surgery, including scientific articles, collective reviews, experimental investigations, and more.

 

#JACSOperativeWord