Sustainable Surgical Practice: Defining Workplace Standards for the Modern Era

In response to increasing surgeon burnout, unsustainable clinical demands, and ongoing loss of surgeon autonomy in the setting of employee-based models, the American College of Surgeons is speaking out. In this episode, hosts Dr. Steven Thornton and Dr. Emma Burke sit down with Dr. Douglas Wood, Chair of Surgery at the University of Washington and Dr. Thomas Varghese, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, to discuss the new ACS Workplace Standards Framework. The conversation covers how this initiative grew out of discussions around unionization, what domains the framework addresses — from call intensity and OR block access to administrative burden and inpatient census limits — and how specialty-specific guidelines can be developed and implemented at the local level. Dr. Wood and Dr. Varghese also reflect on the culture of "unlimited endurance" that has long defined surgery, why meaningful systems-level change is both necessary and achievable, and how improving workplace sustainability could transform the pipeline of future surgeons for generations to come.

Hosts: Emma Burke and Steven Thornton

Guests: Dr. Douglas Wood & Dr. Thomas Varghese Jr.

Papers Discussed:
1. Wood DE, Wolinsky PR, Dodgion CM, et al. Developing Specialty-Specific Workplace Standards for Surgeons: A Framework to Support Sustainable Surgical Careers. Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 2026. DOI: 10.1097/XCS.0000000000001880 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41773743/

2. Varghese TK Jr. Toward Sustainable Surgical Practice: Defining Workplace Standards for the Modern Era. J Am Coll Surg. 2026 Mar 3. doi: 10.1097/XCS.0000000000001888. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41773737. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41773737/

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