Program areas at ACS
The mission of the acs division of research and optimal patient care (dropc) is to improve the quality of surgical care by enabling all Surgeons to apply the best scientific evidence available in their daily practice with respect, compassion, and dignity for all patients. The dropc promotes the practice of evidence-based surgery by developing new knowledge through basic and clinical research, the setting and verification of standards, development of best practices and guidelines, educational activities, and the collection and measurement of outcomes. (continued in sch o). (continued from part iii)the dropc is comprised of three focus areas: 1. Cancer - the acs cancer programs provide tools, resources, and data that enable cancer programs to deliver comprehensive, high-quality, multidisciplinary, evidence-based, patient-centered care to patients with cancer and diseases of the breast. In order to achieve this mission of providing care, the seven acs cancer programs and four functional core units are accrediting 2,100 programs, reporting on 1.5 million new cancer cases, developing 6-10 new cancer staging protocols and synoptic operative reports, while also meeting new strategic goals. The major programs within the cancer department include the commission on cancer (coc), national accreditation program for breast cancers (napbc), national accreditation program for rectal cancer (naprc), the national cancer database (ncdb), the American joint committee on cancer (ajcc), the cancer research program (crp), and the cancer surgery standards program (cssp). 2. Trauma - the committee on trauma (cot) and trauma programs staff oversee and support various didactic and experiential trauma courses, the national trauma registry, the national trauma data bank, the stop the bleed awareness campaign, the verification/consulting program for hospitals, the trauma system consultation program, and regional trauma organization of state/provincial activities. The cot is also active in pre-hospital trauma care, injury prevention and control, performance improvement and patient safety, rural trauma, disaster management, and outcomes studies.3. Continuous quality improvement (cqi) - the dropc's continuous quality improvement (qi) programs provide the infrastructure for several qi programs, as well as for conducting health services research, clinical research, laboratory research, meta-analyses, clinical trials, outcome studies, research hypothesis generation, and the development of evidence-based practice guidelines. The major qi programs within cqi include the acs national surgical quality improvement programs (asc nsqip), the children's surgery verification (csv) program, the geriatric surgery verification (gsv) program, and the metabolic and bariatric suregery accreditation and quality improvement program (mbsaqip).
The College has a member services division. Through member services, the College continues to remain a major professional association, with over 87,000 members. The diverse membership represents all surgical specialists, and member Surgeons are provided with programs and services that help them adapt to a changing health care environment. The division evaluates all applications for fellowship based upon defined fellowship requirements for practicing Surgeons, as well as admits associate fellow, resident, medical student, and affliate members. (continued in sch o)(continued from part iii)the division also staffs several committees including the international relations committee, scholarships committee, and 13 surgical specialty advisory councils. The division supports the 278 board of governors who advise and council the board of regents, and supports the activities of over 100 domestic and international chapters.
Educational programs - the College's educational division supports the efforts of practicing Surgeons, surgery residents, medical students, and members of surgical teams to provide the best care to patients. The programs provide Surgeons with opportunities for maintenance of certification, for lifelong learning, and for meeting the core competencies from the first day of medical school to the last day of surgical practice. In addition to providing continuing medical education activities, the division of education has developed patient educational materials relative to surgical care. Division efforts include staffing numerous education committees and the following programs: (continued in sch o). (continued from part iii)the acs clinical congress is an annual educational conference for Surgeons, including four days of lectures, panel sessions, postgraduate courses, presentation of scientific papers and research, video-based education sessions, and other educational activities. In october 2022, the clinical congress was held both online and in person, welcoming over 9,600 in person attendees and embracing a digital approach that unlocked new opportunities for Surgeons everywhere.the publication, selected readings in general surgery (srgs), provides a broad, topic-oriented analysis of the current surgical literature and is available in print, online, and cd-rom formats. Srgs reviews the entire specialty of surgery every two to three years for surgery residents and practicing Surgeons and has approximately 2,800 - 3,000 subscribers.surgical education and self-assessment program (sesap) is a premiere educational resource promoting excellence and expertise for practicing Surgeons. The latest edition covers a breadth of general surgery across seven modules and is available in web and print versions.
Division of advocacy and health policy (dahp) - the purpose of the health policy and advocacy group is to identify public policy issues and concerns affecting Surgeons and their patients. During 2022, acs and many of the surgeon members in the united states had very successful and productive relationships with key contacts at both the state and federal levels, as well as with regulatory and health agencies. These relationships have helped earn several noteworthy advocacy victories, including: reductions in proposed medicare payment cuts, increased public health research funding for the nih and the cdc, increased funding for military-civilian trauma partnerships, law requiring "stop the bleed" kits and or training in at least eight states, funding to support graduate education for physicians, the rural residency development program, and programs to address mental health and well-being in healthcare professionals.