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Become a member and receive career-enhancing benefits

Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.

Become a Member
Become a member and receive career-enhancing benefits

Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.

Become a Member
ACS
Advocacy

AMA House of Delegates & Surgical Caucus

Advocates for patients, advocates for you

House of Delegates

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) actively participates in the meetings of the American Medical Association’s House of Delegates (AMA HOD). Currently the College supports a delegation which includes: Jacob Moalem, MD, FACS, Rochester, NY (delegation chair); John Armstrong, MD, FACS, Ocala, FL (ACS Delegate and AMA House of Delegates Vice Speaker); Daniel Dent, MD, FACS, San Antonio, TX; Lena Napolitano, MD, FACS, Ann Arbor, MI; Leigh Neumayer, MD, FACS, Salt Lake City, UT; Naveen Sangji, MD, Ann Arbor, MI (also serves as the ACS delegate to the AMA Young Physicians Section); Kenneth Sharp, MD, FACS, Nashville, TN; Michael R. Visenio, MD, FACS, Omaha, NE (Residents and Fellows Section); and Alternate, Luke Selby, MD, FACS, Leawood, KS.

The House of Delegates is the principal policymaking body of the AMA and functions like a Congress. State medical societies and national specialty societies are represented in the House, and during these meetings ACS delegates advocate for resolutions and reports on a variety of issues of interest to surgery. The College has introduced and successfully passed resolutions dealing with reimbursement for ultrasound imaging in the office; medical liability reform relating to expert witness qualifications and affirmation statements; studying the issue of specialty hospitals to determine their impact on the health care system; and development of patient safety principles for office-based surgery.

ACS delegates are leaders in the Surgical Caucus of the AMA, which is managed by staff of the College. The Caucus provides an opportunity for all surgeons in the HOD to meet and discuss resolutions and reports, and take in an educational session focusing on a topic of interest to surgery.

The ACS delegation is staffed through the Division of Advocacy and Health Policy. Questions relating to the AMA House of Delegates and the Surgical Caucus may be addressed to Catherine Hendricks at chendricks@facs.org or Cory Bloom at cbloom@facs.org.

Surgical Caucus of the AMA

ACS actively participates in the meetings of the AMA’s House of Delegates (AMA HOD). In these meetings, ACS advocates for resolutions and reports on issues such as reimbursement for ultrasound imaging, medical liability reform, and development of patient safety principles for office-based surgery, among others.

The Surgical Caucus of the American Medical Association (SCAMA) provides a forum at each session of the AMA House of Delegates (HOD) for discussion and recommendations concerning professional and socioeconomic issues of interest to surgeons. An Executive Committee manages the affairs of the Caucus and provides direction to administrative support through the ACS.

Membership

Caucus membership is open to all physicians who are designated by the AMA as practicing surgery or any of its subspecialties who are serving as delegates or alternate delegates in the HOD, the Organized Medical Staff Section, the Medical Student Section, the Young Physicians Section, or the Resident and Fellow Section. In addition, Officers of the AMA and state medical society presidents are welcome to join. Finally, physicians who are not surgeons but who practice in specialties with significant clinical interactions with surgeons may also become members of the Caucus. Examples include anesthesiology, critical care, emergency medicine, interventional cardiology, and interventional radiology.

Dues

Support by members of the AMA HOD is important for the Caucus to maintain activities. In addition to sponsoring a handbook review session to discuss HOD issues from a surgical perspective, the Caucus hosts an accredited continuing medical education session at each meeting.

HOD delegates or alternates who wish to support the Caucus through their dues may do so by completing a dues form. The cost of annual dues is $65, and payment may be made by check or credit card. Dues are invoiced from July to October.

Surgical Caucus Meeting during AMA House of Delegates Interim Meeting

The Caucus is scheduled to meet on Saturday, November 9th, with breakfast at 6:30 am, and the meeting takes place 7:00–10:00 am. The location of the meeting room will be shared once confirmed. 

RSVP for the meeting

Surgical Caucus Grid for the AMA Interim Meeting on November 9

Contact

For ACS Delegates and Alternate Delegates
Catherine Hendricks or Cory Bloom
American College of Surgeons
20 F Street NW. Suite 1000
Washington, DC, 20001
surgical.caucus@facs.org 

For Surgical Caucus Members
Katie Fitzgerald
American College of Surgeons
633 N. St. Clair
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: 312-202-5201
Email: scama@facs.org 

Surgical Caucus Executive Committee

November 2023–November 2024

Chair

Steven Chen, MD, FACS (2nd term exp 11/24)

Chair-Elect

Mary Ann Contogiannis, MD (2nd term exp 11/24)

Secretary

Tripti Kataria, MD (2nd term exp 11/24)

Treasurer

Alisha Reiss, MD, FACS (2nd term exp 11/24)

Members-at-Large

Hans Arora, MD (exp 11/26)
Brigitta Robinson, MD (exp 11/25)
Kassandra Scales, MD, MPH (exp 11/24)

ACS Delegate

Jacob Moalem, MD, FACS

RFS Representative

Daniel Kerekes, MD

YPS Representative

TBD

Bylaws of the Surgical Caucus

  1. Title: The name of this organization shall be the Surgical Caucus of the American Medical Association.
  2. Purpose: The purpose of the organization shall be to provide a forum at each session of the House of Delegates for discussion and recommendations concerning professional and socioeconomic issues of particular interest to surgeons.
  3. Membership: Membership shall be open to all physicians who are designated by the AMA as practicing surgery or any of its subspecialties and who shall be serving as delegates or alternate delegates in the AMA House of Delegates, the Organized Medical Staff Section, the Medical Student Section, or the Young Physicians Section, or as officers of the American Medical Association, or as state medical society presidents, and to residents in surgery or the surgical subspecialties who are delegates or alternate delegates in the Resident and Fellow Section.Physicians who are not surgeons but who practice in specialties with significant clinical interactions with surgeons may also become members of the Surgical Caucus and shall have all rights and privileges of membership in the Caucus. Examples of such specialties include but are not limited to: anesthesiology, critical care, emergency medicine, interventional cardiology and interventional radiology.
  4. Organization:
    1. Officers: The officers of the Caucus shall be Chair, Chair-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer.
    2. Executive Committee: There shall be an Executive Committee empowered to act on behalf of the Caucus in the intervals between meetings. The Executive Committee shall consist of the elected officers; three elected members-at-large; a delegate from the American College of Surgeons; a surgical or surgical subspecialty delegate representing the Resident Physicians Section, a surgical or surgical subspecialty delegate representing the Young Physicians Section; and a surgical or surgical subspecialty delegate representing the Organized Medical Staff Section.
    3. Nominating Committee: There shall be a Nominating Committee appointed by the chair at each meeting of the Caucus coinciding with the annual meeting of the House of Delegates. The Committee shall include a chair chosen from among the three elected members-at-large of the Executive Committee, and two additional members appointed from the membership-at-large. The Nominating Committee shall recommend a slate to the Caucus with nominees for: Chair; Chair-Elect; Secretary; Treasurer; and Members-at-Large (one or more per year as needed). Should a vacancy occur during the course of the year, the Nominating Committee shall recommend to the Executive Committee a member of the Caucus for appointment to that office until the next election.
    4. Planning Committee: There shall be a Planning Committee annually appointed by the Chair and charged with the development and implementation of the Caucus education session sponsored at each meeting of the House of Delegates. The Planning Committee will have no more than seven members composed of current Executive Committee members and general members from the Caucus, and will be presided over by the Chair of the Executive Committee. At least two participants appointed to the Planning Committee must be general members of the Caucus, and at least one must be an officer of the Caucus in addition to the Chair.
    5. Elections: Elections shall be held at each meeting of the Caucus coinciding with the interim meeting of the House of Delegates. Additional nominations from the floor shall be sought and voting shall be by written ballot for any contested election.
    6. Terms of Office: Terms of office for the Chair, Chair-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be one (1) year and terms of office for Members-at-Large shall be three (3) years. No person shall be eligible to hold the same office for more than three (3) years.
    7. Vacancies: Vacancies in any elected position may be filled by appointment of the Executive Committee until elections are held at the next regularly scheduled annual meeting. A member filling an unexpired term shall be eligible to hold the same position upon election.
  5. Dues: Dues shall be assessed of the members to annually defray the administrative costs of operating the Caucus. Dues shall be set on a yearly basis by the Executive Committee. Medical Student and Resident members are not required to pay dues.

  6. Meetings: Notice of the time and place of the meetings shall be publicized by the Secretary at least two (2) weeks in advance of the meeting date and may be posted on the Caucus website, included in the Speakers’ memo to the House of Delegates, or publicized by any other appropriate means. Minutes of the prior meeting as well as a preliminary agenda will be distributed prior to the beginning of the meeting. Insofar as possible, the agenda shall indicate items of proposed business before the current House sessions that are of particular interest to surgeons.

  7. Governance: The Surgical Caucus shall conduct its business according to the governance procedures used by the House of Delegates.

  8. Conduct of Meetings: The Chair, or in his absence, the Chair-Elect, or other successive officer should the Chair-Elect be absent shall preside at all meetings.

  9. Amendments: These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present at a scheduled meeting.

Adopted 12/4/89; Amended 6/22/92, 12/2/95, 12/2/00, 6/18/05, 11/8/08, 6/18/11, 6/15/13