Founded 2026
The Society of Early-Career Academic Surgeons
SECAS is a professional society for academic surgeons in the first years of independent practice. Members meet each month to share practical experience on building a clinical and research career.
2026
Founded
Monthly
Meetings
7 yrs
Eligibility window
No fee
Membership dues
Activities
What the society does
SECAS runs a monthly meeting, keeps a written record of each session, and maintains a directory through which members can reach one another between meetings.
Monthly meeting
A sixty-minute virtual meeting. Sessions open with brief introductions, cover one or two agreed topics in depth, and close by setting the next agenda.
Meeting notes
Every session is written up and archived, with the topics discussed and the actions agreed. Members who cannot attend can read what was said.
Member directory
Members are listed by specialty, institution, and research interest, so that colleagues working on similar problems can find and contact each other.
Focus areas
Topics
The subjects the society returns to most often. Members propose additional topics for future meetings.
Referrals and clinical niche
Building referral relationships, growing case volume, and developing a defensible area of focus.
Research and protected time
Starting a program, finding collaborators, securing funding, and protecting the time to use it.
Promotion
Criteria, documentation, visibility, and the slow work of building a national reputation.
Workload and competing priorities
Balancing clinical work, research, teaching, administration, and life outside the hospital.
Non-promotable work
What to accept, decline, delegate, or reshape so that necessary work actually counts.
Mentorship and sponsorship
Finding useful advice, advocacy, introductions, and durable institutional support.
Meetings
Meetings
The society meets monthly. Agendas for past and forthcoming meetings are listed here. Full notes and shared materials are available to members.
Membership is open and free of charge.
Surgeons within 7 years of completing training who hold an academic or academically affiliated appointment are eligible to join.