January 1, 2020
The American College of Surgeons (ACS), in association with Pfizer, Inc., is accepting nominations for the 2020 Surgical Volunteerism and Surgical Humanitarian Awards. Nominations will be accepted through February 15, 2020.
The ACS/Pfizer Surgical Volunteerism Award—offered in four potential categories annually—recognizes surgeons who are committed to giving back to society by making significant contributions to surgical care through organized volunteer activities. The awards for Domestic, International, and Military* are intended for ACS Fellows in active surgical practice who engage in volunteer activities that go above and beyond their usual professional commitments or retired Fellows who have been involved in volunteerism during their active practice and into retirement. Resident Members and Associate Fellows (members of the Resident and Associate Society of the ACS) who have been involved in significant volunteer activities during their postgraduate surgical training are eligible for the Resident award.† Surgeons in any surgical specialty are eligible to be nominated in each category.
For the purposes of these awards, “volunteerism” is defined as professional work donated for charitable clinical, educational, or other worthwhile activities related to surgery. Volunteerism does not necessarily require that care is uncompensated. Instead, volunteerism should be characterized by prospective, planned surgical care to underserved patients with no anticipation of commensurate reimbursement.
The ACS/Pfizer Surgical Humanitarian Award is given in recognition of a Fellow who has dedicated the majority of their career to ensuring the provision of surgical care to underserved populations without expectation of commensurate reimbursement.
This award is intended to honor an ACS Fellow who has dedicated his or her surgical career to full-time or near full-time humanitarian efforts, rather than routine surgical practice. Examples include a career dedicated to missionary surgery, the founding and ongoing leadership of a charitable organization dedicated to providing surgical care to the underserved, or a retirement characterized by surgical volunteer outreach. Having received compensation for this work does not preclude a nominee from consideration and, in fact, may be expected based on the extent of the professional obligation.
Nominations will be evaluated by the ACS Board of Governors’ Surgical Volunteerism and Humanitarian Awards Workgroup and their selections will be forwarded to the Board of Governors’ Executive Committee for final approval.
The following conditions apply to the nominations process:
The nomination website is open until February 15 and can be accessed through the Operation Giving Back (OGB) section of the ACS website. For more information, contact OGB at ogb@facs.org.
*Military nominees: Describe how the nominee participated in service above and beyond his or her assigned military duties.
†Resident nominees will be evaluated among other trainees; they are not expected to have the same experience as more senior nominees.