Looking Ahead: The SSAT Strategic Plan for the Next Decade

The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract's (SSAT) mission is to advance the science and practice of surgery in the treatment of digestive disease. An essential core value of the SSAT is multidisciplinary collaboration with both its sister societies in the Digestive Disease Week (DDW) Council and other surgical societies in Gastrointestinal Surgery. In order to achieve the society's goals, the strategic plan rests on the society's values of interdisciplinary collaboration, scholarship, education, and discovery. The strategic plan also creates a meritocracy system to foster the development of future leaders for both the SSAT and the broader house of surgery. In the short term, this plan will:Re-organize committee structure and reporting responsibilities;Clarify committee goals and deliverables;Facilitate member participation in the committees and governance of the society;Enhance member services by utilizing enhanced communication strategies;Accelerate efforts to meet the Maintenance of Certification needs of the membership;Re-focus the SSAT's energy on Quality and Outcome Assessment of GI surgery;Clarify and standardize the methodology for allocating funds for new projects.Over the course of the next few years, the SSAT will:Develop a financial model that increases revenue to support the expanded tasks the society intends to undertake;Play an active role in developing the evolving training paradigms for gastrointestinal surgeons through the continuum from residency, fellowship, and early mentored practice;Continue to support development of surgeon scientists through Career Development Award;Enhance relationship with the SSAT Foundation;Continue to improve the experience of members attending DDW;Develop surgeons interested in public policy to be leaders at a national level.The strategic plan is ambitious, and the current leadership realizes that all the tasks and objectives cannot be accomplished in 1 year. There is much to do in order to keep the SSAT the premier professional society for gastrointestinal surgery. Changes in the external environment may require modifications of the priorities or the plan itself in the coming years. Implicit in this plan is the need for annual review by the Board of Trustees at the May Board Meeting so that modifications can be made as the world around us changes.