Become a member and receive career-enhancing benefits
Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.
Become a member and receive career-enhancing benefits
Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.
Welcome to Washington, DC, and to Clinical Congress 2026. I am pleased to welcome you to our nation’s capital and my hometown, where I hope you will have a wonderful time.
Since the very first Clinical Congress in 1910, we have updated the meeting’s format and content innumerable times. This year, we have implemented innovations designed to ensure all attendees, whether participating in person or virtually, receive the greatest possible benefit.
This year’s schedule is more focused on the high-value programming we know you cannot find anywhere else, including new networking events, speaker series, and high-impact scientific sessions, while maintaining the prestigious traditions that have defined Clinical Congress for decades.
Meeting App
To easily access everything Clinical Congress has to offer, please download the meeting mobile app. It contains the full schedule, access to on-demand content, updates on programs and speakers, information on the venue, exhibitors, and shuttle bus schedules, and more.
Convocation and Welcome Reception Tonight
Tonight at 5:45 pm, we will induct more than 2,100 new Fellows into the ACS at Convocation. The ceremony will also include the presentation of the ACS’s most prestigious awards and the bestowal of Honorary Fellowship on eight surgeons from around the world. The evening will conclude with the Presidential Address of Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, FACS, immediately following his installation as the 107th President of the ACS.
Immediately following Convocation at 7:00 pm, we welcome all attendees and their families to the Capital City Welcome Reception to celebrate our new Fellows and our shared profession. This celebration will include samplings of local cuisine, entertainment, and a chance to network and enjoy the opening of this year’s Clinical Congress.
Opening Ceremony on Sunday
At 8:00 am tomorrow, Dr. Eberlein will lead the Opening Ceremony, where we will recognize many domestic and international leaders. The ceremony will conclude with my presentation of the annual State of the ACS address. The Martin Memorial Lecture will follow at 9:00 am, featuring Ralph V. Clayman, MD, FACS, dean emeritus of the University of California School of Medicine, who will present “Curiosity and Innovation: The Promise of Wonder.”
Distinguished Speakers
The Martin Memorial Lecture will be followed by the Olga M. Jonasson Lecture at 10:00 am. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson of the Supreme Court of the United States will offer her insights in a fireside chat format.
Additional speakers include former Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration Martin A. Makary, MD, MPH, FACS, and Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, president of the National Academy of Medicine. They will both speak on Monday.
New! Best of Grand Rounds Series
One of the goals of this year's reimagined Clinical Congress is to bring attendees exceptional educational experiences they are unlikely to find elsewhere. New this year is the Best of Grand Rounds series, in which three surgeons nominated by their colleagues deliver outstanding lectures they have presented elsewhere this year. Joseph V. Sakran, MD, MPH, MPA, FACS, will speak on the power of personal narratives in medicine on Sunday, September 27; Edward M. Barksdale, Jr., MD, FACS, will share his experience redesigning trauma care around the concept of antifragility on Monday, September 28; and Tovy H. Kamine, MD, MBA, FACS, will describe surgery in space on Tuesday, September 29.
Professional Connections for Every Surgeon
Clinical Congress is as much about professional development as it is about education. This meeting is where surgeons from every specialty, career stage, and practice configuration come together to strengthen our professional relationships. We are The House of Surgery®.
This year, we will pilot a Networking Coffee program, with dedicated sessions for surgeons in colorectal, pediatric, vascular, and plastic surgery to connect with colleagues in their specialties. Additionally, our Medical Student Society, Resident and Associate Society, Young Fellows Association, and Senior Fellows Society will each offer networking opportunities throughout the meeting. Please consult the online Clinical Congress app for further details.
Exhibit Hall Tomorrow through Tuesday
Please visit the Exhibit Hall Sunday–Tuesday to examine the latest surgical technology and services, visit the ACS Career Fair, and learn about what the College offers at ACS Central. Staff will assist with downloading the MyACS mobile app and updating your online profile so you can better access curated content throughout the year. Additionally, the Exhibit Hall will offer an area where attendees can interact with puppies as a wellness activity.
Annual Business Meeting of Members Tuesday
I encourage all ACS members to attend the Annual Business Meeting of Members on Tuesday at 2:30 pm. This meeting will include reports from ACS leadership, election of officers, presentation of several awards, and remarks from the new ACS President-Elect.
On-Demand Content
Because Clinical Congress offers more than 300 sessions, we provide on-demand recordings to help all registrants maximize their learning and continuing medical education credits. Access is included with your registration and is available through February 22, 2027. Many sessions will be available for viewing soon after the live presentations on the Clinical Congress Meeting Platform, accessible via the Clinical Congress app and facs.org. Both sources also include a full list of sessions available on demand.
This year, we have reimagined the offerings of Clinical Congress to better meet the needs of every attendee. Whether you are a medical student, resident, fellow, early career surgeon, seasoned practitioner, or retiree, please know that this meeting is for you. Every year will be Clinical Congress will increasingly reflect what you want from your meeting.
Clinical Congress is special because it is one of the few meetings that draws together the entire House of Surgery to discuss our individual disciplines and the issues and topics that touch each of us. Thank you for joining us. I hope to speak with you personally, and I know you’ll have a productive meeting experience.
Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS Executive Director & CEO
Claim CME and Access On Demand
Thank you to all who attended Clinical Congress in Chicago! CME Credit claiming closes on February 23, 2026. Virtual registration is available.
