Washington State Chapter General Information The combined American College of Surgeons Washington and Oregon State Chapter meetings have been a great success. The 7th Combined Annual Meeting of the Washington State Chapter and Oregon Chapter, ACS will be held at Sunriver Resort on June 15-18, 2012. The meeting will have approximately 40 abstract presentations. Abstracts Submission Dates 1/17/12: Send Initial Brochure and Call for Abstracts 3/13/12: Deadline 4/24/12: Judging and 2nd Brochure 5/22/12: Audiovisual and Manuscripts Abstract Submission Rules The call for abastracts will be made on February 1, 2012. At that time, ACS members are invited to submit abstracts for presentations in an 8-minute format. A link will be made available for abstract submissions. Suitable materials include clinical or laboratory research, interesting case vignettes, or personal experience with surgical problems. For the first time this year, we will have a special session focusing on the role of surgery in global health, and we invite participants to submit abstracts describing their service in developing countries, military or other austere environments. Due to the combined nature of the meeting, there will undoubtedly be greater competition for abstract slots. In order to accommodate as many presentations as possible, the bipartisan Abstract Review Committee will review all submitted abstracts. A limited number of those chosen will be for 8-minute presentations, each accompanied by a 5-minute audience discussion. The remainder of those chosen for presentation will be 3-5-minute “mini-presentations”, with discussion of all those papers reserved until the end of the session. The abstract deadline will be March 13. We will confirm receipt of all abstracts, so please contact us if confirmation is not forthcoming after abstract submission. Resident Competition We encourage anyone working with students or residents to compete for Resident Competition Prizes awarded by each chapter. The Oregon Chapter will award the Baker-Moseley Resident Prize for best cancer presentation. The Washington Chapter will award The Henry Harkins Resident Prizes, and the updated Rules and Regulations for the Harkins Competition are accessible on the Washington chapter web site at www.wachapteracs.org . As in past years, there will be two Harkins award categories: clinical and basic science. Harkins competition presentations must be 8 minutes long. Please note that if any abstract is selected for either competition, a completed manuscript is due prior to May 31, 2012. On behalf of the Program Committee, we look forward to seeing you at the June meeting. Scott Steele, MD Program Chair WA State Chapter Lazlo Kiraly, MD Program Chair Oregon Chapter For more information Contact Harvey Gail, Oregon ACS Administrator at 503-371-7457.