News from the American College of Surgeons

American College of Surgeons: Press Releases

News from the American College of Surgeons
For Immediate Release

Contact:
Cory Petty (cpetty@facs.org) 312-202-5328
or Sally Garneski (sgarneski@facs.org) 312-202-5409

ACS BOARD OF REGENTS HONORS PAUL E. COLLICOTT, MD, FACS,
WITH 2008 DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

CHICAGO: The Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has named Paul E. Collicott, MD, FACS, of Chicago, IL, as recipient of its highest honor the College’s 2008 Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Collicott will receive the award on October 15, during the College’s 2008 Clinical Congress in San Francisco , CA .

The Board recognized Dr. Collicott with this award in appreciation of his staunch and devoted service as a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, including his role in developing the Advanced Trauma Life Support^® course, acting as a national and international ATLS^® course director, serving as a member of the General Surgery and Coding Reimbursement Committee, the Committee on Trauma, and as a Regent of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Collicott was further commended for his superb clinical activity as a peripheral vascular and trauma surgeon in Lincoln, NE, for nearly three decades, and as trauma director and chief of surgery at Lincoln General Hospital; in acknowledgement of his activity in organized medicine, currently as Director of the Division of Member Services of the American College of Surgeons, and previously as president of the Nebraska Medical Association and the Lancaster County Medical Society, as an eight-year member of the Nebraska Medical Association’s delegation to the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates, and as a special advisor to the AMA/Specialty Society Relative Value Update Committee; and in admiration of his leadership and service to the College as well as to the surgical profession.

Dr. Collicott is currently Director of the American College of Surgeons Division of Member Services, a position he has held since 2001. In that position, Dr. Collicott is responsible for numerous activities and areas: the Board of Governors activities and committees, chapter activities and committees, membership recruitment and retention, the Resident and Associate Society, 12 specialty Advisory Councils, the Central Judiciary Committee, Research Integrity Officer, Operation Giving Back, scholarships administration, seven other committees, the online Job Bank, and affinity programs offering direct benefits to members.

Dr. Collicott received his medical degree from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine (1966) and served as a general rotating intern (1966-1967) at Lincoln (NE) General Hospital before his training was interrupted by military service in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam conflict. He completed both his residency in general surgery (1969-1973) and a peripheral vascular surgery fellowship (1972) at University of Washington Hospitals, Seattle .

After completing postgraduate training, Dr. Collicott was a community surgeon in Nebraska for 28 years, specializing in peripheral vascular and trauma surgery. Additionally, he was the trauma director (1982-83, 1989-95, and 1998-99) and chief of surgery (1984-85) at Lincoln General Hospital and held clinical faculty appointments at both the University of Nebraska and Creighton University .

Since Dr. Collicott became a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons in 1977, he has made outstanding contributions to and on behalf of the College. Prior to joining the College’s staff, Dr. Collicott served on the College’s Board of Regents (1993-2002), the Board’s Executive Committee (1999-2001), Nominating Committee (1997-1998), Member Services Liaison Committee (1993-95), and Central Judiciary Committee (1995-98). He also served as a member of the Board of Governors (1992-94) and on the Governors’ Committee on Physician Health and Competence (2001-02). Furthermore, Dr. Collicott has been Chair of the Central Judiciary Committee (1998-2001), a member of the Advisory Council for Vascular Surgery (1993-96 and 1999-2002), and a member of the General Surgery and Coding Reimbursement Committee (2001-03). Additionally, he has been an active participant in the College’s trauma-related endeavors, serving as a member of the Committee on Trauma and its Executive Committee (1983-93), Chair of the ATLS subcommittee (1983-87), National and International ATLS Course Director, and was instrumental in introducing ATLSin 1980. He has received numerous awards for his trauma endeavors and is known as the “father of ATLS.^”

In addition to Dr. Collicott’s involvement with the College, he has also been a leader in numerous surgical and medical organizations, including the American Board of Surgery, American Surgical Association, Central Surgical Association, Western Surgical Association, Southwestern Surgical Congress, Society for Vascular Surgery, American Medical Association, American Association for Vascular Surgery, International Society of Surgery, Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery, and American Association for the Surgery of Trauma.

It is in recognition of his continued and dedicated service to and on behalf of the American College of Surgeons and the surgical community, that the Board of Regents is pleased to present Dr. Collicott with its highest honor, the 2008 Distinguished Service Award.

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 72,000 members and it is the largest organization of surgeons in the world.

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Online September 2 , 2008

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