The American College of Radiology (ACR), founded in 1923, is a non-profit professional medical association composed of diagnostic radiologists, radiation oncologists, interventional radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists. It is based in Reston, Virginia, with offices in Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. The college publishes The Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR) and The ACR Bulletin.

Appropriateness criteria[link]

During the 1990s, the ACR undertook a massive project to define national guidelines for appropriate use of imaging technologies. The product of this effort is called the ACR Appropriateness Criteria (ACR-AC). The ACRAC were formally introduced during testimony by K.K. Wallace, MD (then chair of ACR Board of Chancellors) to the House Ways and Means Committee in 1993. Dr. Wallace indicated that the ACR stood ready to define a system of patient care guidelines for radiology to eliminate inappropriate utilization of radiologic services (Cascade 1994).

Following appointment of panel chairs in late 1993, the first panelists were selected during early 1994 and by spring, deliberations had begun (Cascade 2000). Ten years later, the ACRAC are the only comprehensive North American practice guidelines for diagnostic imaging selection, radiotherapy protocols, and indications for image guided interventional procedures. They embody the best current evidence for choosing appropriate imaging evaluation and interventional procedures for a large number of clinical conditions.

Further, the ACR has committed to continuously updating the content of these guidelines and has developed the human resources infrastructure to carry this out in the future. By 1999 there were 210 clinicians and scientists serving on 10 panels. These include 35 representatives from 19 specialties other than radiology. The 2000 version contained over 140 clinical conditions with 820 variants. Currently, the ACR website lists over 190 conditions with more than 900 variants.

Mammography accreditation[link]

The ACR provides the only national accreditation program for mammography. The Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992 requires all mammographers in the United States and its territories be accredited by a federally approved private non-profit or state accreditation body.

Political Action Committee[link]

By 2006, the bipartisan political action committee for the ACR (RADPAC) had become the second largest medical specialty PAC - only four years after its creation.

ACR Career Center[link]

The ACR also hosts the ACR Career Center, one of the largest job sites specifically for radiologists. Employers are carefully screened and recruiters are not allowed, making the ACR Career Center the best place to find a job. The site is meant to be a "user-friendly meeting place for individual employers and job seekers." In addition to the online resources, the ACR Career Center also provides an on-site interview service in late November.

The ACR Career Center was previously known as the ACR Professional Bureau. It began a dramatic transformation in July 2008 from a simple job board to a full service career center. One of the most notable additions is an E-Library of resources for both employers and job seekers to assist in the recruiting and hiring process, as well as provide advice for on the job issues.

References[link]

• Cascade PN. Setting appropriateness guidelines for radiology. Radiology 1994; 192(1):50A-54A.
• Cascade PN. The American College of Radiology. ACR Appropriateness Criteria project. Radiology 2000; 214 Suppl:3-46.

External links[link]

• American College of Radiology official website
• Journal of the American College of Radiology official website
• American College of Radiology official Facebook page
• American College of Radiology official Twitter page
• ACR Standards circa October 2003 Internet Archive

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[link]

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 African American Fellow, Dr Louis T. Wright, in 1934.^[2]

Major Activities of the College[link]

• 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^[3] (established in 1957) as well as the Jacobson Innovation Award^[4] (established in 1994).

Publications[link]

• 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[link]

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[link]

• American Board of Surgery
• American College of Surgeons Oncology Group
• FRACS
• FRACDS
• FRCS
• FRCS (Canada)
• FRCS (Edinburgh)
• FRCSI (Ireland)
• General surgery
• MRCS
• National Trauma Data Bank
• Maxillofacial surgery
• Otolaryngology
• Orthopedic surgery
• Pediatric surgery
• Plastic surgery
• SAGES
• Surgery
• Trauma surgery
• Urology

Citations[link]

1. ^ "American College of Surgeons: What is the American College of Surgeons?". Facs.org. 2011-11-11. http://www.facs.org/about/corppro.html. Retrieved 2012-02-01. 
2. ^ "Medicine: Negro Fellow". Time. October 29, 1934. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20101125060354/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,882266,00.html. 
3. ^ "American College of Surgeons: Division of Member Services: History and Archives: Online Resources: Recipients of the Distinguished Service Award". Facs.org. 2011-05-05. http://www.facs.org/archives/distinguishedservice.html. Retrieved 2012-02-01. 
4. ^ "News from the American College of Surgeons". Facs.org. 2008-06-16. http://www.facs.org/news/jacobsonlist.html. Retrieved 2012-02-01. 

External links[link]

• facs.org
• journalacs.org

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2011)

Dominic Smith is a British magazine editor.^[1] Born in Peterborough.^{[citation needed]}

Smith started editing main stream magazines in 1992. He is the former Managing Editor of FHM and Heat magazine. In 2006 he moved to Australia to become the Editor of the Australian version of FHM.^{[citation needed]}

Since February 2007 he has been editor of IPC'sNuts Magazine, Britain's biggest selling men's weekly.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

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