Above and Beyond

From the Chair of the Board on Chancellors Alan H. Matsumoto, MD, FACR

 

Pamela K. Woodard, MD, FACR, ACR President

Guest Columnist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Nothing connects us as individual ACR members to our past as do the ACR Honors and Awards. Gold Medalists share the same honor as Marie Curie, recipient of the ACR Gold Medal in 1931, and Fellows enjoy the same accolades as do the first class of 70 ACR Fellows inducted in 1923 as founders of the College. At that time, the discipline of radiology was only 28 years old.

 

Today as then, ACR Honors and Awards are meant to celebrate individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of radiology — including diagnostic and interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and nuclear medicine specialists — and to the mission and values of ACR. These include Fellowship, open to all members who have served the society through a combination of length of cumulative membership and extent of service; Honorary FACR, for individuals with outstanding contributions to radiology who do not otherwise qualify for Fellowship; and the ACR Gold Medal, the highest honor awarded by the College. Other awards include the Distinguished Achievement Award, Global Humanitarian Award and State Chapter Recognition Awards. All these awards and honors recognize the recipients for their service to radiology, ACR and ultimately the patients we serve.

 

Fellow of the American College of Radiology
 

Fellowship is one of the highest ACR honors available to ACR members. Since its inception, ACR has granted Fellowship to individuals who have distinguished themselves with significant service to ACR and/or accomplishments in radiology service, research or teaching.
 

Fellowship symbolizes exceptional achievement in the fields of diagnostic radiology, interventional radiology, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology and/or medical physics. Only 15 percent of current ACR members have been awarded this honor, bestowed at the convocation ceremony of the ACR Annual Meeting.
 

The honor of Fellow of the American College of Radiology (FACR) is conferred on members who have been approved and elected by the ACR Board of Chancellors. Fellows must have at least 10 cumulative post-training ACR membership years as well as service to ACR or to the specialty nationally or in their healthcare communities. ACR members can improve their candidacy by maintaining their membership and by volunteering for ACR leadership positions at the local, state and national levels.
 

Honorary FACR
 

Honorary ACR Fellowship recognizes the contributions to the science or practice of radiology by individuals who are ineligible for ACR Fellowship through conventional means. These individuals are luminaries who have made significant contributions to the science or practice of radiology but who — by virtue of residence, education, profession or lack of board certification — are ineligible for admission as ACR members in any category other than international. Honorary ACR Fellows, like ACR Fellows, are elected by the Board of Chancellors. The first honorary ACR Fellow was inducted in 1947 and, since then, honorary Fellows have included individuals such as Harvey Picker (1979) and László Tabár (2003).

 

ACR Gold Medal
 

The ACR Gold Medal is the College’s highest honor, awarded by the Board of Chancellors to an individual for distinguished and extraordinary service to ACR or to the discipline of radiology.
 

The first ACR Gold Medal was awarded in 1927 to W.D. Coolidge, who, while director of the General Electric Research Laboratory, invented a revolutionary new hot cathode X-ray tube that led to a shorter exposure time. The second ACR Gold Medal was awarded in 1928 to H. Clyde Snook, an engineer and inventor who developed the mechanical rectifier that enabled X-ray tubes to be powered by alternating currents. The third was awarded to Marie Curie.

 

Any member or Fellow of ACR may nominate a gold medalist. Nominees’ professional contributions may be in teaching, basic research, clinical investigation or radiologic statesmanship, and they must include outstanding achievements in service to ACR or other medical societies, government agencies and organizations operating mostly independently but with some government funding.
 

Distinguished Achievement Award
 

One of ACR’s newest awards is the Distinguished Achievement Award, which recognizes notable service to ACR and to radiology, or other individual achievements within the field of radiology at the national level. Awardees include individuals in business management, legislators, philanthropists, authors and media representatives and have included ACR employees, radiologic technologists, nurses and statisticians.

 

Global Humanitarian Award
 

The ACR collaborates with volunteer radiologists, interested organizations and healthcare workers to improve access to vital radiological services. The ACR Foundation (ACRF) Global Humanitarian Award recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations and programs working to improve access to and delivery of quality radiological services in areas of need in the United States and abroad. The Global Humanitarian Award was first awarded in 2018.
 

Thorwarth Award for Radiology Leadership
 

The Thorwarth Award honors ACR members and staff who demonstrate excellence in economics and health policy. Established in 2004 by the ACR Board of Chancellors, it was presented to Bill Thorwarth, MD, FACR, former ACR CEO, as the inaugural recipient. This award is presented at the annual meeting but is not given every year.
 

State Chapter Recognition Awards
 

The ACR Chapter Recognition Program was created in 2003 to formally recognize chapter work, successes and innovative ideas and to facilitate the sharing of ideas among chapters. Chapters submit award forms for their activities and initiatives each year. There are four submission categories: Government Relations, Meetings & Education, Membership and Quality & Safety. To nominate your ACR State Chapter, visit the state chapters section on the ACR website to complete the required form. To earn additional points, up to four “Share a Successful Practice” forms may be submitted across multiple categories or all four in a single category.

 

Materials  in the above article explain how to apply for FACR and State Chapter Recognition Awards and how to nominate members for the Honorary FACR, the Gold Medal, the Distinguished Achievement Award and Global Humanitarian Awards.