American College of Surgeons
Encyclopedia
The American College of Surgeons is an educational association of surgeon
s created in 1913 to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting high standards for surgical education and practice.
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.
) 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.
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
s created in 1913 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)Fellow of the American College of Surgeons
Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, often listed as "FACS", is a post-nominal title used to indicate 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...
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
Louis T. Wright
Louis Tompkins Wright was an American surgeon noted for his work in Harlem. The Spingarn Medallist played a major role in investigating the use of Aureomycin as a treatment on humans....
, in 1934.
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 centerTrauma centerA trauma center is a hospital equipped to provide comprehensive emergency medical services to patients suffering traumatic injuries. Trauma centers grew into existence out of the realization that traumatic injury is a disease process unto itself requiring specialized and experienced...
s. - 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 ProgramNational Surgical Quality Improvement ProgramThe National Surgical Quality Improvement Program was started in the Veterans Health Administration . In the mid-1980s the VHA was criticized for their high operative mortality...
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 FullerRobert Fuller (actor)
Robert Fuller is an American former television Western actor and current rancher. In his five decades of television, he's best known for starring roles on the popular 1960s western series Laramie as Jess Harper, and Wagon Train as Cooper Smith, as well as his work for his lead role, Dr...
) and Joe Early (Bobby Troup
Bobby Troup
Robert William "Bobby" Troup Jr. was an American actor, jazz pianist and songwriter. He is best known for writing the popular standard " Route 66", and for his role as Dr...
) on the popular 1970s television series Emergency!
Emergency!
Emergency! is an American television series that combines the medical drama and action-adventure genres. It was produced by Mark VII Limited and distributed by Universal Studios...
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
- SurgerySurgerySurgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
- SurgeonSurgeonIn medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
- American College of Surgeons Oncology GroupAmerican College of Surgeons Oncology GroupThe American College of Surgeons Oncology Group is a clinical trial cooperative group supported publicly by the National Cancer Institute . Established during the 1990s, ACOSOG has a different mission when compared to other cooperative groups. For the most part, ACOSOG focuses on the effects of...
- Trauma surgeryTrauma surgeryTrauma surgery is a surgical specialty involved in the invasive treatment of physical injuries, typically in an emergency setting. Trauma surgeons generally complete residency training in general surgery and often fellowship training in trauma or surgical critical care...
- General surgeryGeneral surgeryGeneral surgery, despite its name, is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal organs, e.g., intestines including esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland . They also deal with diseases involving the skin, breast, soft...
- Orthopedic surgeryOrthopedic surgeryOrthopedic surgery or orthopedics is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system...
- Maxillofacial surgeryOral and maxillofacial surgeryOral and maxillofacial surgery is surgery to correct a wide spectrum of diseases, injuries and defects in the head, neck, face, jaws and the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region. It is an internationally recognized surgical specialty...
- OtolaryngologyOtolaryngologyOtolaryngology or ENT is the branch of medicine and surgery that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, throat, and head and neck disorders....
- UrologyUrologyUrology is the medical and surgical specialty that focuses on the urinary tracts of males and females, and on the reproductive system of males. Medical professionals specializing in the field of urology are called urologists and are trained to diagnose, treat, and manage patients with urological...
- Pediatric surgeryPediatric surgeryPediatric surgery or paediatric surgery is a subspecialty of surgery involving the surgery of fetuses, infants, children, adolescents, and young adults...
- Plastic surgeryPlastic surgeryPlastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
- American Board of SurgeryAmerican Board of SurgeryThe American Board of Surgery is an independent, non-profit organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania founded for the purpose of certifying surgeons who have met a defined standard of education, training and knowledge...
- FRCSFellowship of the Royal College of SurgeonsFellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons is a professional qualification to practise as a surgeon in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland...
- FRACSRoyal Australasian College of SurgeonsThe Royal Australasian College of Surgeons is the body responsible for training and examining surgeons in Australia and New Zealand. The head office of the College is in Melbourne, Australia....
- FRACDSRoyal Australasian College of Dental SurgeonsThe Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons or RACDS is a professional college established in 1965 that administers Fellowship Exams for both general and specialist dental practitioners in the Australasian region...
- FRCS(C)Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of CanadaThe Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada ' , French: Collège royal des médecins et chirurgiens du Canada, is a national, private, nonprofit organization established in 1929 by a special Act of Parliament to oversee the medical education of specialists in Canada...
- FRCSIRoyal College of Surgeons in IrelandThe Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland , is a Dublin-based medical institution, situated on St. Stephen's Green. The college is one of the five Recognised Colleges of the National University of Ireland...
- FRCS(Edin)Royal College of Surgeons of EdinburghThe Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is an organisation dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and advancement in surgical practice, through its interest in education, training and examinations, its liaison with external medical bodies and representation of the modern surgical workforce...
- MRCSMembership of the Royal College of SurgeonsMRCS is a professional qualification for surgeons in the UK and IrelandIt means Member of the Royal College of Surgeons. In the United Kingdom, doctors who gain this qualification traditionally no longer use the title 'Dr' but start to use the title 'Mr', 'Mrs', 'Miss' or 'Ms'.There are 4 surgical...
- SAGESSociety of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic SurgeonsThe Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons is a non-profit organization of surgeons. It describes itself thus: SAGES represents a worldwide community of surgeons that can bring minimal access surgery, endoscopy and emerging techniques to patients in every country...