The Resident and Associate Society of the American College of Surgeons (RAS-ACS) invites all ACS Resident and Associate Fellow members to submit an essay to the annual RAS-ACS Symposium debate by the April 3, 2020, deadline. This year’s topic is Surgical Resident Unionization.

For participating institutions, resident unions provide a mechanism to unify and mobilize residents, who otherwise are departmentally based and decentralized. However, some argue against resident unionization for myriad reasons—from the financial to the cultural.

To participate in this debate, submit a 1,000-word essay taking either the pro or con position and submit it to the application site no later than 5:00 pm Central on the deadline. Details about the debate topic can be found on the application site. 

First-place winners of this essay contest will compete in the debate 1:00–3:00 pm Central time, October 4, 2020, at Clinical Congress 2020 in Chicago, IL. The two second-place winners will have their submissions published in the November issue of the Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons.

Submit your essays, and contact Rasnews@facs.org with any questions.