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Get Involved on a Committee or Task Force

Please see below for information on how you can get involved on an EAST Committee or Task Force. For additional information regarding EAST Committees/Task Forces, as well as a full list of volunteers, please visit the Rosters' page or contact us.

EAST conducts an annual Call for Volunteers in the summer. If you are interested in serving on an EAST Committee or Ad Hoc Task Force, complete the online Call for Volunteers form by the deadline. Look for the Call for Volunteers email notification sent to all EAST members and complete the online form by the deadline. You must complete the online form to be considered for an appointment.  Appointments for the next volunteer year will be finalized in November; an email communication confirming your appointment for the upcoming year will be sent to you.

The call for volunteers for 2024 appointments is closed. The call for 2025 appointments will open in August 2024. Look out for the email notification and apply!

Annual Scientific Assembly Committee

What the Annual Scientific Assembly Committee can do for the educational and/or professional development of EAST members:

  1. Provide a meeting to allow networking opportunities both formal and informal.
  2. Provide a forum to present your science with opportunities to collaborate on future projects.
  3. Provide educational and professional development sessions that promote career success. 

What EAST members can do for the Annual Scientific Assembly Committee:

  1. Submit scientific abstracts from your research.
  2. Complete evaluations on the assembly and its sessions to help us improve the next year.
  3. Attend the EAST Annual Scientific Assembly!

Burn Surgery Committee

What the Burn Surgery Committee can do for the educational and/or professional development of EAST members:

  1. Provide an opportunity for networking and collaboration with other burn surgeons around the country.
  2. Opportunity to engage in broader EAST programs using burn expertise - burn literature summaries for EAST literature review, provide burn presence at EAST mentoring and professional development programing, etc.

What EAST members can do for the Burn Surgery Committee:

  1. Contribute to ongoing committee projects - clinical guidelines, resource exchanges, course developments for national meetings, etc.
  2. Bring new ideas for projects of your own - the committee is always looking to support members in formulating and executing new initiatives.
  3. Your presence - above all, this committee is a chance for burn surgeons to gather as a community of colleagues and friends.

Career Development Committee

What the Career Development Committee can do for the educational and/or professional development of EAST members:

  1. The Career Development Committee produces a number of programs/educational sessions that can help members develop as leaders in their own personal practice, institution, and nationally (e.g., Leadership Development Workshop).
  2. Learn more about different aspects of our careers as trauma, surgical critical care, and acute care surgeons – (e.g., EAST Careercasts).
  3. Network with leaders in the field of trauma (e.g., "No Suit, No Problem" session at the EAST Annual Scientific Assembly).
  4. Increase fellowship in our community (e.g., "No Suit, No Problem" session, Oriens Award – Keynote Address).

What EAST members can do for the Career Development Committee:

  1. Take advantage of the committee's products! Part of what makes the "No Suits, No Problem" and "Engage the Experts" sessions so successful isn’t just the expert panels – it’s about the engagement from the audience  and connecting with peers.
  2. Encourage your trainees or colleagues to submit cases to the "Engage the Experts" session, essays for the Oriens Award, or ideas for Careercasts!

Development Committee 

What the Development Committee can do for the educational and/or professional development of EAST members:

  1. The Development Committee helps raise funds that will be leveraged for grants/awards for research, leadership, and injury prevention.
  2. Access to former leaders of EAST as the Development Committee has the immediate past presidents of EAST as committee members.

What EAST members can do for the Development Committee:

  1. Engage in fundraising efforts such as the EAST Trauma Center Challenge via social media or help to engage industry partners.
  2. Develop novel ways to raise funds to foster the mission of EAST.

Educational Resources Committee 

What the Educational Resources Committee can do for the educational and/ or professional development of EAST members:

  1. The Educational Resources Committee produces the EAST Traumacasts, providing members an immediate opportunity to get involved on a national stage in development, production, and hosting Traumacast podcasts. This is a great opportunity to meet members of EAST throughout the organization.
  2. The Educational Resources Committee produces the EAST Minute, providing members an opportunity to produce online education content for our members on the go. The committee's volunteers interact as liaisons with other committees to help edit and produce EAST YouTube videos. 
  3. The Educational Resources Committee works closely with the EAST home office team to help review, coordinate, and recommend new educational content produced by EAST from our committee and other committees. This committee is a great opportunity to get involved in long term educational planning for our organization.

What EAST members can do for the Educational Resources Committee:

  1. Members can get involved immediately in any the committee’s productions - either as hosts, development team or editors. There are opportunities for members who like the spotlight and for those who prefer to work behind the scenes.  Each team member gets credit for their work and these publications can and should be listed on a CV or dossier as national publications when considered for hiring and promotions.
  2. Members bring fresh ideas and creativity to the Educational Resources Committee. Each product that has been a success or has been “sun downed” by the organization started as an idea from a committee member!

Emergency General Surgery (EGS) Committee

What the EGS Committee can do for the educational and/or professional development of EAST members:

  1. Educate members about evidence-based practices for the management of emergency surgical conditions.  
  2. Provide mentorship and support to members interested in and/or practicing Emergency General Surgery. 
  3. Create opportunities for collaborative research focused on Emergency General Surgery. 

What EAST members can do for the EGS Committee:

  1. Contribute to educational resources dedicated to the practice of Emergency General Surgery, including monthly literature reviews, EAST Minutes and EAST Practice Management Guidelines. 
  2. Participate in Traumacasts and utilize social media platforms to discuss EGS-related topics with EAST members and the rest of the surgical community.  
  3. Explore opportunities to collaborate with other surgical societies and create educational content and research proposals aligned with our strategic goals and interests.  

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Trauma Surgery Practice (EAST4ALL) Committee 

What the EAST4ALL Committee can do for the educational and/ or professional development of EAST members: 

  1. Provides a forum for members who share a passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion issues to meet and network with other likeminded individuals.
  2. Offers members opportunities to become known for their expertise and accomplishments in a hot and emerging topic in trauma surgery. 

What EAST members can do for the EAST4ALL Committee: 

  1. Channel your passion and dedication to work towards achieving committee goals. 
  2. Bring your inspiration to the committee and engage with other members to keep pushing the bar for diversity, equity, and inclusion forward. 
  3. Promulgate the committee’s achievements and accomplishments on behalf of EAST, trauma surgeons, and patients. 

Guidelines Committee 

What the Guidelines Committee can do for the educational and/or professional development of EAST members:

  1. Provide training, step-by-step guides, resources, practical experience, and mentorship for those interested in learning how to develop evidence-based Practice Management Guidelines (PMGs) using GRADE methodology, which is widely accepted as the gold standard for development of rigorous and transparent clinical practice recommendations.
  2. Allow EAST members to build expertise in a particular area of interest and to work with a small group of colleagues through development of a peer-reviewed PMG. The committee partners with many other organizations to develop guidelines which allows opportunities for networking and collaboration with colleagues in related disciplines.  

What EAST members can do for the Guidelines Committee:

  1. Join a PMG working group as a volunteer! Your efforts will directly contribute to the development of evidence-based EAST PMGs. Use the volunteer online form to sign up.
  2. Use and promulgate EAST PMGs. Provide evidence-based care for patients by implementing EAST PMG recommendations in your clinical practice and at your institution, discussing PMGs with your colleagues and trainees, and joining the discussion during EAST Twitter Journal Clubs.
  3. Suggest topics and areas of interest for new PMG development. Submit a proposal.

Injury Control & Violence Prevention (ICVP) Committee

What the ICVP Committee can do for the educational and/or professional development of EAST members:

  1. Develop connections and relationships with other injury prevention professionals.
  2. Opportunities to participate in scholarly activity in injury prevention.

What EAST members can do for the ICVP Committee:

  1. Participate in the development and implementation of the committee’s community outreach efforts, including the annual in-person EAST Community Outreach event.
  2. Participate in scholarly activity (e.g., practice management guidelines, literature reviews, development of educational materials) related to injury prevention.
  3. Participate in the public dissemination of information regarding injury and injury prevention.

Manuscript & Literature Review Committee

What the Manuscript & Literature Review Committee can do for the educational and/or professional development of EAST members:

  1. Assist in the review of the manuscripts submitted in connection with oral presentations at the EAST Annual Scientific Assembly.  In 2021, the committee reviewed 73 manuscripts, with a deadline of 2 weeks for each review as well as each revision and, ultimately, a recommendation to JTACS regarding acceptance or rejection for publication.  This experience can be helpful for those wanting to be more involved with JTACS manuscript review.

  2. The committee also helps provide the monthly EAST Literature Reviews.  This effort is not limited to the Manuscript & Literature Review Committee, as the committee works with other EAST committees to provide these reviews.  These reviews are very popular with EAST members and could be an opportunity to not only do some literature review but also network with others in the organization.

What EAST members can do for the Manuscript & Literature Review Committee:

  1. What the committee really needs is people who have either a background in literature and manuscript review or a willingness to do a lot of self-directed work to learn how to do literature reviews.  Reviews that are half-hearted or "just the minimum" are not helpful. 
  2. And like any other committee, the most important thing is to be engaged and reliable.  Respond to emails.  Volunteer to do things.  Deliver on things you volunteer to do.

Membership Recruitment & Retention Committee

What the Membership Recruitment & Retention Committee can do for the educational and/or professional development of EAST members:

  1. Develop your strategic leadership skills by developing recruitment and retention strategies in relation to prospective member and member needs while upholding the mission, vision, and goals of EAST.
  2. Serve as a communication avenue between the EAST Board of Directors and its membership.

What EAST members can do for the Membership Recruitment & Retention Committee:

  1. Work with EAST HQ staff to recommend goals and strategies for the recruitment of new members and help oversee the new member recruitment process which include the annual review of new member applications.
  2. Retain existing members by working with EAST HQ staff and other EAST volunteers to determine and implement new ways to increase member value and satisfaction.

Mentoring Committee

What the Mentoring Committee can do for the educational and/or professional development of EAST members:

  1. The general EAST Mentoring Program provides members the opportunity to join mentoring pairs or mentoring families for a 1-year experience in which they will be matched with more senior members who will provide career mentorship across a wide range of topics.
  2. The EAST Executive Leadership Coaching & Mentoring Program is a two-year offering specifically for mid-career surgeons looking to take their career to the next level. Selected members will be matched with nationally-recognized leaders in trauma.

What EAST members can do for the Mentoring Committee:

  1. Join one of our programs! Early career surgeons, fellows, residents and medical students can participate in the Mentoring Program over several years to network with EAST members.
  2. For more experienced members, please consider joining as Mentors - we always value your expertise and insight.
  3. Participate in the  Professional Development Townhall Series with EAST, AAST, & SCCPDS

Mentor Member Committee

What the Mentor Member Committee can do for the educational and/ or professional development of EAST members:

  1. Provide insight to early/mid-career trauma surgeons on strategies to maintain longevity in the job.
  2. Assist early/mid-career trauma surgeons in navigating professional and personal transitions.
  3. Be a mentor group for new Division Chief/Trauma Program Director.
  4. Provide experience and support to new/early career committee chairs within EAST.  
  5. Provide guidance to late-career surgeons on strategies to stay current and relevant in trauma and acute care surgery.

What EAST members can do for the Mentor Member Committee:

  1. Utilize Mentor members from EAST and the committee in educational offerings.
  2. Bring forward ideas/topics that are questions/challenges for the early career/new leader that the Mentor member group can assist with formal and informal guidance.

Military Committee 

What the Military Committee can do for the educational and/ or professional development of EAST members:

  1. Opportunity to network with more senior military trauma surgeons.
  2. Opportunity to participate in journal summaries (electronically distributed to members).
  3. Opportunity to collaborate to support the military-civilian relationships.

What EAST members can do for the Military Committee:

  1. Help develop the plan for capturing lessons learned from combat operations.
  2. Help develop a mentoring program to link people across the continuum of their training and military career (from residency through the transition to civilian practice).
  3. Help strengthen academic/ research collaboration among military members.

Multicenter Trials (MCT) Committee 

What the Multicenter Trials Committee can do for the educational and/or professional development of EAST members:

  1. The MCT Committee facilitates the development and  execution of high-quality multicenter trials within the fields of trauma, emergency general surgery, and surgical critical care.   
  2. The MCT Committee supports investigator-led studies, providing a forum for collaboration among different investigators and institutions, and promoting participation among all EAST members. This allows for involvement of high-quality multicenter trials for surgeons early in their careers. 
  3. In addition, the MCT Committee works to foster junior MCT investigators via mentorship and scholarship. 

What EAST members can do for the Multicenter Trials Committee: 

  1. Volunteer to call for, review, and maintain multicenter trials supported by EAST.
  2. Offer support for study principal investigators to bring studies to completion.
  3. Review award applications and select the recipient of the annual Multicenter Trial Junior Investigator Award.

Quality, Safety, and Outcomes (QSO) Committee 

What the QSO Committee can do for the educational and/ or professional development of EAST members:

  1. Provide access and education relative to quality programs in trauma, critical care, and emergency general surgery.
  2. Lead development of structure and frameworks relative to trauma quality.
  3. Provide opportunities to network and collaborate with others who are dedicated to improvement of trauma care.

What EAST members can do for the QSO Committee:

  1. Participate in development of quality offerings to increase the diversity of thought related to quality, safety, and patient outcomes.
  2. Champion best-practices in trauma quality at members’ home institutions.
  3. Be an active discussant regarding quality methods such as Just Culture.

Research-Scholarship Committee 

What the Research-Scholarship Committee can do for the educational and/or professional development of EAST members:

  1. The committee works closely with the EAST Development Committee to manage existing scholarships such as the EAST Trauma Research Scholarship and the John M. Templeton, Jr., MD Injury Prevention Research Scholarship. The committee is dedicated to supporting young investigators.
  2. The committee helps facilitate the annual INVEST-C Research Hackathon, where researchers present their ideas to accomplished researchers to solicit feedback and strengthen their hypotheses and methods.
  3. The committee has been fortunate enough in the past few years to be selected by the Annual Scientific Assembly Committee to put on a “research” short course during the EAST Annual Scientific Assembly.

What EAST members can do for the Research-Scholarship Committee:

  1. Take advantage of all the things that EAST and the committee have to offer. Apply for scholarships, especially the EAST Trauma Research Scholarship and the John M. Templeton, Jr., MD  Injury Prevention Research Scholarship.
  2. Get involved, join the committee, and learn the important factors involved in submitting a successful scholarship submission.

Rural Care Committee

What the Rural Care Committee can do for the educational and/or professional development of EAST members:

  1. Educate members about the unique circumstances of providing care to a rural patient population.
  2. Provide mentorship from existing committee members to members practicing in rural areas.
  3. Create opportunities for research collaboration for members focused on rural care delivery.

What EAST members can do for the Rural Care Committee:

  1. Contribute perspectives and expertise to the Rural Trauma Handbook 1st edition coming the summer of 2022. The next edition will expand, and additional content is welcome!
  2. Create educational content for EAST members focused on rural trauma topics.
  3. Aid in the compilation of rural-focused literature on trauma and acute care topics.