From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The American College of Surgeons is an
educational association of surgeons created in 1913[1] to
improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting
high standards for surgical education and practice.
Membership
Members of the American College of Surgeons are referred to as
"Fellows." The letters FACS (Fellow,
American College of Surgeons) after a surgeon's name mean that
the surgeon's education and training, professional qualifications,
surgical competence, and ethical conduct have passed a rigorous
evaluation, and have been found to be consistent with the high
standards established and demanded by the College.
The American College of Surgeons also has membership categories
for Associate Fellows (provides an opportunity for surgeons who are
beginning surgical practice and who meet specific requirements to
assume an active role in the College at an early stage in their
careers), surgical residents, medical students, and allied health
care professionals who are not surgeons, but who interact with
surgical patients.
As of 2008, total membership was over 75,000 including more than
4,000 members from outside the US and Canada, and more than 2,600
Associate Fellows. Fellows of the College are organized into 100
chapters. There are 65 chapters in the United States, 2 in Canada,
3 in Mexico, and 30 in other countries around the world.
The ACS elected its first black Fellow, Dr Louis T.
Wright, in 1934.[2]
Major Activities of the
College
- Sponsors a variety of continuing medical education programs,
such as the annual Clinical Congress, to help surgeons keep abreast
of the latest information on surgical subjects.
- Conducts various programs through its Commission on Cancer to
improve the care of the cancer patient. Promotes a program that
encourages hospitals to develop programs for optimal care of cancer
patients and to seek, on a voluntary basis, College approval of
these programs.
- Through its Committee on Trauma, works to improve the care of
injured and critically ill patients--before, en route to, and
during hospitalization. Conducts training courses in emergency care
for ambulance personnel; sponsors courses for the management and
prevention of injuries for trauma specialists as well as for
physicians who do not treat trauma victims on a regular basis; and
works to encourage hospitals to upgrade their trauma care
capabilities. Maintains a voluntary verification/consultation
program for trauma centers.
- Monitors and analyzes socioeconomic, legislative, and
regulatory issues affecting the field of surgery through its
Advocacy and Health Policy and Washington (DC) Office. Participates
in policy development on these issues and prepares responses to
Congress and federal agencies.
- Serves as a sponsoring organization for the Residency Review
Committees for Colon and Rectal Surgery, Neurological Surgery,
Otolaryngology, Plastic Surgery, Surgery (General Surgery),
Thoracic Surgery, and Urology. Supports postdoctoral education in
surgery through several scholarship programs.
- Through its Office of Public Information, provides public
education services to patients with general information to help
them make informed decisions about surgical care, and distributes a
brochure series on frequently performed surgical procedures.
Sponsors a national advertising campaign to inform the public about
selecting a surgeon who is trained and board-certified in an
approved surgical specialty. The Office also maintains a patient
education Web site, developed by the College's Division of
Education, to help surgical patients and their families make
informed decisions about surgical care.
- The College has developed the Surgical Education and
Self-Assessment Program (SESAP) to provide practicing surgeons with
an excellent resource for lifelong learning. SESAP is based on the
opinions of expert surgeons, and the published literature, and may
be used to stay current, earn CME credits, or prepare for
certification or recertification.
- Through the American College of Surgeons National Surgical
Quality Improvement Program and the Bariatric Surgery Center
Network Accreditation Program, the College promotes the highest
standards of surgical care through evaluation of surgical outcomes
in clinical practice.
- Established to augment the College’s ability to analyze issues
and develop well-informed position statements, the ACS Health
Policy Research Institute enhances the College’s presence in
legislative and policymaking efforts that affect surgeons and their
patients. Currently based in Chapel Hill, NC, at the University of
North Carolina, one of the Institute’s first projects was studying
surgical workforce issues that are currently and will, in the
future, affect the care of patients around the country.
- The ACS recognizes excellence, innovation and service among its
members with the Distinguished Service
Award (established in 1957) as well as the Jacobson Innovation Award
(established in 1994).
Publications
- The Journal of the American College of Surgeons, the
College's official scientific journal, is published monthly.
- The Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons is
the College's monthly news magazine for its Fellows. It contains
articles that the surgeon finds helpful in the daily practice of
his or her profession, columns and articles that highlight and
analyze socioeconomic trends, major addresses given at the Clinical
Congress, a news section, and detailed reports on College
activities.
- Surgery News, the College’s official monthly
newspaper, provides concise, cutting-edge reports from clinical
meetings; information on the politics affecting the surgical
profession and the socioeconomic scene in Washington, DC, and at
the state level; FDA actions and the results of clinical trials;
expert commentary; reports on the business aspects of surgical
practice today; and news from the College itself.
- ACS NewsScope is a weekly electronic newsletter for
Fellows of the American College of Surgeons and other interested
individuals.
- Annually, the College produces more than 350 publications that
focus on ways to improve surgical practice. Among the College's
many publications are a professional liability/risk management
manual, a practice management manual, socioeconomic publications,
ACS position statements, guidelines for trauma care, cancer program
publications, information on the operating room environment,
guidelines for optimal office-based surgery, and a manual on the
impaired surgeon.
Fictional
Portrayals
Drs. Kelly Brackett (Robert Fuller) and Joe Early (Bobby Troup) on the
popular 1970s television series Emergency! were both listed as being Fellows
of the American College of Surgeons.
In the season eight M*A*S*H episode "Stars and
Stripes," Drs. B.J. Hunnicutt (Mike Farrell) and Charles Emerson Winchester
III (David Ogden Stiers) are selected to write a paper for the
College describing their efforts saving a soldier's life.
See also
Citations
- ^
American College of Surgeons Online - "What is the American College of Surgeons?"
- ^
Medicine: Negro Fellow. Time Magazine, 29th October 1934. [1]
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