What will ACOS membership do for you?
Training to be an osteopathic surgeon takes time, intelligence, and untiring commitment; the practice of surgery demands these same qualities. Membership in the ACOS will enable you to build on what you have worked so hard to achieve. The College's member services are designed to help you meet the challenges that arise in the day-to-day delivery of quality patient care.
ACOS eLearning Portal
The ACOS eLearning portal is your Go-To resource for upcoming webinars, access to on-demand courses, and conference recordings. Here, members are able to upload CME transcripts and download CME certificates.
ACOS Find an Osteopathic Surgeon Directory (includes AOBS credentials)
Using the Find A Surgeon Search Bar (found on the ACOS homepage), your patients can find you directly on the ACOS website. The Find a Surgeon service provides access to a list of practicing osteopathic surgeons who are members of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (ACOS). This physician list is compiled and published as a reference source for use by individuals interested in locating an osteopathic surgeon. Though not intended as a primary data source for physicians' credentials, AOBS credentials are also included with each member's listing in the ACOS Find A Surgeon database.
ACOS Journals
ACOS is home to an open access online peer-reviewed journal which includes separate journal channels for each of our discipline specialties through a partnership with Cureus. As a result of this partnership, ACOS is able to offer our members a robust peer-reviewed process, fully supported by experienced staff to ensure quick turnaround time for publishing, as well as worldwide article access via a PubMed number. Members are encouraged to submit original, previously unpublished work/research for review and publication. The editorial staffs in each division are positioned to receive, review and publish your research in the Journal of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (JACOS).
ACOS Member Benefits Marketplace
In addition to offering members a number of benefits for your practice, hospital or organization, the ACOS also offers a number of consumer-oriented benefits, from saving on your car rental, to discounted movie tickets and shopping to special savings on dining out. Check out your member benefits at the ACOS Member Benefits Marketplace. or click on the Member Benefits Marketplace link below.
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Government Affairs
Having chosen to locate its headquarters in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area, the ACOS can readily monitor federal regulatory and legislative proposals involving the practice of surgery and work to protect the ability of the osteopathic surgical profession to provide quality care.
As a member of the College, you will receive monthly briefings through the ACOS News and periodic email alerts on federal legislative and regulatory activity that will affect how you practice surgery. In addition, the ACOS works in conjunction with other national specialty societies and coalitions to ensure that the viewpoints of osteopathic surgeons are heard by Congress and federal agencies.
Continuing Surgical Education
The ACOS offers continuing surgical education programs to provide members with opportunities to learn about the latest surgical techniques and to discuss them with colleagues. Members receive significant discounts on registration fees for ACOS-sponsored educational programs. The College is an AOA-accredited CME provider and offers the following continuing surgical education programs:
Annual Clinical Assembly of Osteopathic Surgeons
Held each fall, this four-day program attracts nearly 1,000 surgeons from across the United States. The Annual Clinical Assembly offers osteopathic surgeons a unique opportunity to gain new insights and to sharpen their professional skills and techniques.
General Surgery In-depth Review Seminar
This comprehensive two-day program is designed to provide the knowledge and skills to address the needs of today's general surgeon.
ACOS Urological Discipline Mid-year Meeting
Held each summer, this program includes a discipline business meeting and a continuing education program. The educational program includes discussions on practice patterns and formal lectures by surgeons with clinical expertise in current advances in urological surgery.
Member Webinars
The ACOS offers monthly webinars that provide our members with access to current topics of interest to aid in patient care, career enhancement and personal growth. Most programming is CME-eligible. If you miss a webinar, you may access the webinar on demand within two weeks of the webinar's original date. One of the most in-demand webinars is the General Surgery In-depth Review, a 51 session board review course for those preparing for boards and for surgeons seeking opportunities to earn CME credits. Additional topic areas include legislative presentations, practice management, and technology.
Office Management Seminars
Designed specifically for practicing surgeons, these ACOS-sponsored seminars are conducted at the Annual Clinical Assembly. These sessions provide members with the latest information on managed care and innovative contract and negotiation strategies, mergers with multi-physician groups and integrated networks, computerized office management systems, policies and procedures for third-party reimbursement, and marketing tools for building a surgical practice. Seminars on risk management and HIV prevention also are offered.
Surgical Educators Seminars
A seminar is offered each year at the Annual Clinical Assembly to help physicians participating in surgical education become more effective teachers in the ward, the clinic, the operating room, and the conference room. Developed by the ACOS Residency Evaluation and Standards Committee, this seminar provides timely information on surgical training standards, residency program inspector evaluation skills, and adult 
learning techniques.
Member networks
ACOS offers its members formal and informal opportunities to develop valuable professional relationships with their colleagues. Your peers can be an important source of information about trends that are impacting the osteopathic surgical profession.
Mentor Match Program
A mentoring resource for students, residents, and new surgeons-in-practice to receive guidance from a mentor throughout the year.
Resident Training Review
As a member benefit, resident members in ACOS AOA-approved surgical training programs receive reviews by the Residency Evaluation and Standards Committee of their completed annual resident reports. (Nonresident members are required to pay an annual $250 processing fee for each annual resident report to be reviewed.)
FACOS Designation
The designation of Fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (FACOS) is conferred upon ACOS members, honorary members, and life and retired members in recognition of their voluntary activities and service to advance osteopathic medicine and surgery.
The recipients of the FACOS designation have demonstrated their commitment to the practice of surgery, surgical teaching, authorship of professional papers, and participation in local, state, and national organizations. Recipients also have adhered to the professional and ethical standards established by the profession.
Member Awards
The Distinguished Osteopathic Surgeon Award is presented annually to an ACOS member in recognition of his or her outstanding accomplishments as a surgeon, educator, and/or researcher. Nominees must be board certified by the American Osteopathic Association or the American Board of Medical Specialties. Nominations are reviewed by the Awards Committee and recommended to the Board of Governors for final selection.
The Humanitarian Award recognizes ACOS members who unselfishly participate in humanitarian activities. These activities may include voluntary service in the member's community or state or on the national or international level. A nominee for this award must be an ACOS Fellow and must be nominated by at least two ACOS members. Nominations are reviewed by the Awards Committee and recommended to the Board of Governors for final selection.
The Orel F. Martin Medal is awarded to an ACOS member who has made outstanding contributions to the College or to the osteopathic profession. Nominations are reviewed by the Awards Committee and recommended to the Board of Governors for final selection.
Resident Achievement Awards are presented annually to up to five outstanding resident members in recognition of their clinical ability, patient/resident manner, resident/staff relationships, and resident/community involvement. These awards may be presented to residents in the general, general vascular, neurological, orthopedic, plastic and reconstructive, cardiothoracic, and urological surgical specialties. Each award includes a plaque and a cash award of $2,000.
Robert C. Erwin Literary Awards are presented annually to ACOS resident members who have authored outstanding scientific manuscripts. Each award includes a plaque and a cash award for first, second, third, fourth or fifth place.
ACOS Member, Fellow and Distinguished Fellow Logos
To respond to requests from members and Fellows (FACOS) for an ACOS symbol to indicate their member or Fellow status, the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons has developed a special symbol for members and a special symbol for Fellows to use on their practice stationary, brochures related to their practice, practice forms, business cards, websites, advertising, personalized labels or stickers, plaques, office buildings, office furniture, and gifts for patients. These symbols are different from the College logo because the ACOS logo is a registered trademark that can be used only by the College.
Patient Brochure
This informative brochure, Osteopathic Surgery: The D.O. Advantage, explains the training undertaken by D.O. surgeons and what it means to be board certified. Written to answer the most frequently asked questions about osteopathic surgeons, this easy-to-read brochure is available to purchase for distribution to your patients.
Assistance with Denial of Medical Staff Privileges Based on Osteopathic Training
A summary of the options available to D.O.s who are denied clinical privileges based on their osteopathic education and postgraduate training has been developed by the ACOS's legal counsel. The summary focuses on litigation options and outlines the basic standards that prospective plaintiffs must satisfy if they are to state a cause of legal action for denial of medical staff privileges.
In addition, the ACOS legal counsel has reviewed existing state laws enacted to protect D.O.s against discrimination, and the College has drafted a model nondiscrimination statute to create a private remedy for D.O.s who have been injured by unlawful discrimination based on their osteopathic training. The College believes the model statute can serve as a useful tool for legislative initiatives by state and local osteopathic organizations.
Disaster Preparedness
A comprehensive program led by the AMA and joined by a coalition of eighteen health organizations provides a coordinated national agenda for health system preparedness for terrorism and other disasters. Through the AMA and the American Public Health Association (APHA) Linkages Leadership Summit Project, a report was developed to address how health care workers, public health responders and public health systems should respond to day-to-day emergencies and catastrophic mass casualty events. The report and recommendations from the AMA/APHA Linkages Leadership Summit (release date: July 18, 2007) can be viewed on-line at www.ama-assn.org.