After an extensive nationwide search, general surgeon Kyla P. Terhune, MD, MBA, FACS, from Nashville, Tennessee, has been selected as the next ACS Senior Vice President, Education.
“Dr. Terhune is an extraordinary leader, clinician, and educator. I look forward to her contributions to the ACS as we advance our ability to deliver timely, evidence-based training and education, modernize College educational platforms, and optimize our offerings to help us deliver the highest quality of care to our patients,” said Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS, ACS Executive Director & CEO.
Dr. Terhune will begin her position part-time as Incoming Senior Vice President, Education, on September 15 and transition to full-time Senior Vice President, Education, on November 1. She will succeed Ajit K. Sachdeva, MD, FACS, FRCSC, who will focus solely on the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators until his retirement in September 2026.
An ACS Fellow since 2014, Dr. Terhune is a professor of surgery and anesthesiology and the associate dean for graduate medical education at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine; senior vice president for educational affairs and the Designated Institutional Official (DIO) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center; and an associate chief of staff at Vanderbilt University Hospital. She practices acute care surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and was previously a staff surgeon and chief of general surgery in the Veterans Administration Tennessee Valley Healthcare System. Before her current position, she served as program director for surgery residency at Vanderbilt.
A nationally renowned lecturer, Dr. Terhune has been the recipient of several distinguished teaching awards, including the inaugural David Leach Award from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the Philip J. Wolfson Outstanding Teacher Award from the Association for Surgical Education. She is a past president of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery, was a founding officer of the National Association of DIOs, and serves on the ACGME Board of Directors and on committees for the National Board of Medical Examiners.
Her educational philosophy emphasizes the Importance of building systems of innovative educational practices that support the on-the-ground delivery of patient care.
