Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS is the executive director and chief executive officer of the American College of Surgeons and a clinical professor at the University of Chicago Medicine. She was previously director of the Division of Member Services at the American College of Surgeons, and before joining the College, Dr. Turner spent eight years in full-time academic practice on the University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty, where she was the surgery residency program director. Roles in national professional organizations or institutions include member of the Boards of Directors of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies and OceanFirst Bank (OCFC), Corporate Member CEO of The Joint Commission, Specialty Society CEO Coalition member, 2024 president-elect of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, and past chair of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons Foundation Fund, the American College of Surgeons’ Delegation to the AMA House of Delegates, AMA Council on Medical Education, and Surgical Section of the NMA, past president of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons and past member of the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center Board of Directors.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University, Dr. Turner continued her training as an intern and resident in surgery at Howard University Hospital in Washington, DC. Her fellowship training in minimally invasive and laparoscopic surgery was completed at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Weill-Cornell University School of Medicine, and Columbia University School of Medicine in New York City. Her MBA was completed at the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business. Dr. Turner is board-certified in surgery, is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and is a member of the American Surgical Association, American Medical Association, National Medical Association, Southern Surgical Association, Southeastern Surgical Congress, Society of University Surgeons, Society of Black Academic Surgeons, Association of Women Surgeons, Latino Surgical Society, and an honorary member of EAST, the Excelsior Surgical Society, and Asociación Colombiana de Cirugia.