The 2000 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) met in October in Chicago. It was a lively meeting reflecting a new sense of optimism within the ACS. The meeting also showed that neurosurgeons are playing an important role at the ACS.
The ACS represents nearly 60,000 surgeons, most from the United States. There are Candidates and Associates groups similar to our Young Neurosurgeons.
The ACS has an endowment of more than $200 million and a very strong financial infrastructure. Unfortunately, the budget for the coming fiscal year has a negative bottom line of $112,000. This should be offset by changes in the investment portfolio but the deficit remains a concern of the Regents and Officers.
Role of Specialties
Tom Russell, MD, serves as the Executive Director and has been doing a fabulous job in reorganizing the ACS. He is dedicated to making it an umbrella organization for all of surgery and was good enough to visit the meeting of the Neurosurgical Advisory Council during the Clinical Congress in order to emphasize this message.
The program for the Congress includes sections on neurosurgery carefully prepared by program and Surgical Forum representatives. Some changes are forthcoming in future College programs that are designed to streamline the meeting to allow specialty areas to have more efficient and effective educational programs.
The leadership of the surgical specialty components of the College meets three times a year. These meetings have become increasingly effective, as the AANS Executive Director took an active and visible role.
Strategic Changes
The ACS is undergoing a strategic planning process. Included is the development of a Healthcare Policy Advisory Committee for the Regents that will deal with the usual socioeconomic issues and try to coordinate the College’s Washington efforts. There also are an Educational Task Force and a Trauma Task Force, which aim to revitalize the ACS’s trauma database activities. The trauma initiative will need constant surveillance because of difficulty getting adequate neurosurgical representation.
The Cancer Department is undergoing active restructuring under the leadership of Monica Morrow. The database aspects of the Commission on Cancer will be reviewed and revised. Grant-supported efforts exist to look at difficult issues such as the influence of surgeons and institutional volumes on outcomes in cancer treatment. The ACS’s highly effective Oncology Group, supported well by NIH, is moving to the Duke Center for Evidence Based Medicine in North Carolina. Neurosurgery has one clinical trial ready for approval by the NCI and three others are in development.
Implications for Neurosurgery
Along with the American Board of Surgery, the ACS is looking at educational and other competencies as suggested by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. This project may have some implications for neurosurgery and needs to be followed closely. We should be prepared to provide input as necessary.
The ACS owns two historic buildings in Chicago that are part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. There is a high likelihood that these properties will be used to house central archives for all of the surgical societies that wish to use the facilities. A professional archivist is involved, and having neurosurgery participate in this activity arouses great enthusiasm.
Distribution of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons will be expanded. It will be sent to all 60,000 members. A series of neurosurgically related articles are being prepared for the journal, and the hope is that the journal will serve as a unifying publication for all of surgery, including not only scientific articles but also commentaries and controversial articles.
The Surgical Forum, which takes place at the Clinical Congress, is an avenue for young neurosurgical investigators to obtain a peer-reviewed publication for their CV. Seean Grady, MD, our Surgical Forum representative, will do everything he can to improve and publicize this opportunity.
The Scholarships Committee has been active and has given out six resident scholarships. These are two-year awards totaling $40,000 each. Unfortunately, there were no neurosurgical applications this year, which is unusual. We traditionally have one or two of these scholarships, as well as Faculty Fellowships for neurosurgeons doing investigative work.
The Neurosurgical Advisory Council is highly effective under the leadership of Martin Camins, MD. Neurosurgeons are playing important roles in many aspects of the program, particularly in the multidisciplinary courses and in a large number of active committees of the ACS.
Organization Facts
- American College of Surgeons (ACS)
- Location: Chicago, Illinois
- Members: 60,000
- Web site: www.facs.org
Edward R. Laws Jr., MD, is neurosurgery’s representative to the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons and a Past President of the AANS. He is Professor of Neurosurgery and Medicine, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center.