Council Member Monday! Get to know the AUGIS council. Meet Andrew Smith, current President of AUGIS, a role he considers a real privilege. During his presidency, his aim is to make AUGIS relevant and valuable to everyone involved in upper GI surgery, not only surgeons, but also trainees, nurses, dietitians and the wider multidisciplinary team. Outside AUGIS, he is a Consultant Pancreatic Surgeon at Leeds Teaching Hospitals. He is also involved in pancreatic cancer research, national audit and clinical trials, all with the aim of improving outcomes and the experience of patients undergoing treatment. 🩺Favourite procedure? An artery-first, pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy. It is a technically demanding operation that combines detailed anatomy, careful dissection and judgement throughout. No two operations are quite the same, and when it goes well there is a tremendous sense of satisfaction, not simply from completing a complex operation, but from knowing that it can make a real difference to a patient with pancreatic cancer. 👤 Why become a member? I joined AUGIS because it provided a professional home for surgeons with an interest in upper GI and HPB surgery. It brought together people facing many of the same clinical challenges, while providing opportunities to learn, exchange ideas and improve practice. Over time, I have increasingly appreciated that AUGIS is about much more than meetings. It has an important role in setting standards, supporting education and research, representing its members and, ultimately, improving the care we provide to patients. 😊 Why he enjoys being on the Council? I enjoy being part of a group of people who genuinely want to improve our specialty. Council brings together individuals with different interests, backgrounds and perspectives, and the discussions can be lively, but they are nearly always driven by a desire to make things better. I particularly enjoy the opportunity to turn ideas into something tangible, whether that is an educational initiative, a research project, support for members or improving the way AUGIS represents the wider upper GI community. 💡Top tip! One of the best pieces of advice I received was from Mike Henderson, then Chairman of Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, when I was about to start as a consultant. He told me there were three fundamental rules for a new consultant surgeon: 1. Patient selection. 2. Patient selection. 3. Patient selection. His point was that getting the decision about who to operate on, and who not to operate on, right is more important than almost anything else. If you get that correct, much of the rest follows. It was good advice then and, over  twenty years later, I think it is even better advice now. #CouncilMemberMonday #AUGIS #Spotlight

Join the AUGIS Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) 2026, our flagship event bringing together Dietitians, Allied Health Professionals, Nurses (DAN's), Consultants and Resident Doctors from across the UK and Ireland. 📍 @HgtConventions 📅 23–25 September What to expect: ⭐High‑quality scientific and clinical updates ⭐Multidisciplinary learning and discussion ⭐Research, innovation and best practice ⭐National networking and collaboration To view the full programme and register, visit augis.org #AUGISASM2026 #MedicalConference #Networking