CHICAGO (November 26, 2024) — Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS, Executive Director & CEO of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), began her 1-year term as president of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) at the CMSS annual meeting in Chicago on November 21.
As CMSS president, Dr. Turner will work with CMSS’ leaders to engage all medical specialties and advance patient care.
“I am honored to work closely with this broad-based group to bring together specialty societies in the service of our patients. The ACS, as the House of Surgery, amplifies the collective expertise and voice of all surgeons, and I look forward to working with CMSS to amplify the collective expertise and voice of our many organizations and physicians,” said Dr. Turner.
CMSS is a coalition of more than 50 organizations that represent more than 800,000 physicians, with the goal of elevating the role of medical specialty societies in healthcare by providing opportunities for collaboration, offering education and training for health professionals, advocating for shared priorities, and more. Helen Burstin, MD, MPH, MACP, is its chief executive officer.
“Given the critical role of specialty societies in driving improvements in education, quality, and equity, CMSS is so fortunate to have an innovative, big thinker like Dr. Turner as our new president,” Dr. Burstin said.
The ACS was a founding member of CMSS in 1965 and has worked closely with the Council in the interest of medical specialists for nearly 60 years.
Dr. Turner is a general surgeon with minimally invasive expertise. She is currently a clinical professor of surgery at the University of Chicago Medicine. Previously, she was in full-time academic practice on the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, where she was the surgery residency program director and medical director of the surgical acute care unit.
Prior to her role as Executive Director & CEO of the ACS, Dr. Turner was the Director of the ACS Division of Member Services, where she successfully grew the College’s membership every year by appealing to the diverse and evolving needs of surgeons across the country and around the world.
Dr. Turner has published and presented widely on minimally invasive surgical techniques, leadership, innovation, quality improvement, surgical outcomes, and graduate surgical education. She has received numerous awards, honors, and multiple grants for her research as a surgeon investigator throughout her career. She is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Medical (AOA) Honor Society.
Dr. Turner serves on the Board of Directors of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, Wake Forest University and OceanFirst Bank (OCFC). She is past-chair of the ACS Delegation to the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates, the AMA Council on Medical Education, the Surgical Section of the National Medical Association, and past-president of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons. She is also an active member in the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons, the American Surgical Association, Southern Surgical Association, Southeastern Surgical Congress, Society of University Surgeons, Association of Women Surgeons, Associación Colombiana De Cirugia (honorary member), the Excelsior Surgical Society (honorary member) and Latino Surgical Society.
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About CMSS
The Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) is a coalition of more than 50 specialty societies representing more than 800,000 physicians across the house of medicine. CMSS advances the expertise and collective voice of specialty societies and the patients they serve to drive meaningful change in the future of healthcare.
About the American College of Surgeons
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. The ACS 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 ACS has approximately 90,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. “FACS” designates that a surgeon is a Fellow of the ACS.
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