The Sealy & Smith LSTAR and the UTMB Department of Surgery hosted the 2024 Annual Texas Association of Surgical Skills Laboratories (TASSL) Meeting, marking its first time since 2014. Clifford Synder, Educational Director of the Sealy & Smith LSTAR was elected President of TASSL in 2023. In that capacity, he was responsible for leading and presiding over the annual meeting during his term. TASSL, a network of surgeons and surgical educators from across Texas, is dedicated to improving surgical simulation training for residents through collaboration and research. Out of the 23 general surgery residency programs in Texas, a dozen participated in this year’s meeting.
The meeting began with welcome remarks from Mr. Snyder and Dr. Steven Wolf, followed by presentations from UTMB Department of Surgery faculty members Drs. Tyler, Klimberg, and Lu. Additionally, UTMB General Surgery resident Dr. Diana Mao and LSTAR Surgical Simulation and Education Research fellow Dr. Joshua Roshal delivered presentations. The agenda also featured speakers from across the state. The event attracted a strong turnout, including surgeons, simulation directors, residency program directors, associate program directors, and other surgical educators throughout Texas.