American College of Surgeons - Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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THE BY-LAWS 1. Name. The name of the corporation shall be the American College of Surgeons. n. Object. The object of the College shall be to elevate the standard of surgery, to establish a standard of competency and of character for practitioners of surgery, to provide a method of granting fellowships in the organization, and to educate the public and the profession to understand that the practice of surgery calls for special training and that the surgeon elected to fellowship in this College has had such training and is properly qualified to practice surgery. III. The College, i. The College shall consist of all members of the corporation. Such members are to be designated as Fel- lows. The College shall vest the general management of the cor- poration in a Board of Governors. The Board of Governors shall, in turn, vest the details of the management in a board of trustees to be known as the Board of Regents. 2. The College shall hold an annual meeting on the day and at the place selected for the annual meeting of the Board of Governors. rV. Board of Governors, i. The original Board of Gov- ernors shall consist of the surgeons invited by the Organization Committee to serve as founders of the College, who have qualified as Fellows. The members of this first Board of Governors shall also be known as the Founders of the American College of Surgeons. 2. The original Board of Governors shall be divided by lot into three classes to serve one, two, and three years, respectively. At the annual meeting in 1914, and at the annual meeting in each year thereafter, the Fellows of the College shall elect (in a manner to be determined by the Board of Regents) fifty surgeons from among the Fellows of the College to membership on the Board of Governors, each to serve for a term of three years; thirty of these members are to be elected from a list of nominations, consisting of three members each nominated by the following sixteen surgical associa-

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American College of Surgeons The Call of the Meeting was read by Franklin H. Martin, Secretary of the Committee. This call, which is herein quoted in part, summarizes the work for which, in the opinion of the commit- tee, the American College should stand: First. It should formulate a minimum standard of require- ments which should be possessed by any authorized graduate in medicine who is allowed to perform, independently, surgical opera- tions in general surgery or any of its specialties. Second. It should consider the desirability of listing the names of those men who desire to practice surgery and who come under the authorized requirements. Third. It should seek the means of legalizing under national, colonial, state, or provincial laws, a distinct degree supplementing the medical degree, which shall be conferred upon physicians possessing the requirements recognized by this law as necessary to be possessed by operating surgeons. Fourth. It should seek cooperation with the medical schools of the continent which have the right to confer the degree of Doc- tor of Medicine under the present recognized standards, and urge these colleges to confer a supplementary degree on those of its grad- uates who have, in addition to their medical course, fulfilled the necessary apprenticeship in surgical hospitals, operative labora- tories, and actual operative surgery. Fifth. It should authorize and popularize the use of this title by men upon whom it is conferred, and its use should especially be urged in all directories of physicians in order that the laity as well as medical men may distinguish between the men who have been authorized to practice surgery and those who have not. The founders organization was completed by the election of a chairman and a secretary, and the authorization of an order of business. The meeting then proceeded to complete the organiza- tion by adopting by-laws, rules and regulations, and electing governors, regents, and officers.

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American College of Surgeons tions and societies of North America, and one each from the United States Army and from the United States Navy: 1. American Surgical Association. 2. Surgical Section of the American Medical Association. 3. Section on Obstetrics, Gynecology and Abdominal Surgery of the American Medical Association. 4. General Surgical Division of the Clinical Congress of Sur- geons of North America. 5. Division of Surgical Specialties of the Clinical Congress of Surgeons of North America. 6. American Gynecological Society. 7. Southern Surgical and Gynecological Association. 8. Western Surgical Association. 9. Section on Surgery of the Canadian Medical Association. 10. American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 11. American Orthopedic Association, 12. American Association of Genito-Urinary Surgebns. 13. American Laryngological Association. 14. American Ophthalmological Society. 15. American Otological Society. 16. American Institute of Homeopathy. Twenty members shall be elected at large to represent surgeons of North America not affiliated with the above societies or associa- tions. In case of failure of any of the above named organizations to make its quota of nominations, or in case of duplication of nominees, the Board of Regents shall nominate members from among the Fellows at large for the vacancies so caused in the list of nominees. The Board of Regents shall in the same manner fill all vacancies in the current membership of the Board of Governors due to death, resignation, or other causes. 3. The Board of Governors shall at its first meeting elect from among its own membership twelve who shall be members of the Board of Regents; this group shall be divided into three classes of four members each, whose terms of office shall expire in one, two, and three years, respectively. As the term of service in each class expires, their successors shall be elected, each for a term of three years. Not more than three of each class shall be selected from one country. In event of death or resignation of any member of the Board of Regents, his successor shall be elected at the next regular or special meeting of the Board of Governors, but the Board of