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How to Become a Member

A qualified physician, who is board certified (American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and American Osteopathic Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology), may be proposed for membership by an active member of the Society. A second member of the society must endorse the application. These two members must first provide written letters of proposal and endorsement to initiate the membership process. After the two letters are submitted, the proposed member will receive an invitation to complete the membership application.

SGS seeks to be inclusive of qualified international physicians. Distinguished physicians and surgeons who have equivalent credentialing to the American Boards listed above may be proposed for membership.

Acceptance for active membership in the Society occurs via a six–stage process:

  1. APPLICANT obtains a PROPOSER and ENDORSER, members of SGS in good standing.
  2. PROPOSER submits PROPOSER and ENDORSER letters of recommendation.
  3. APPLICANT submits new member application upon receipt of request and link from SGS. 
  4. Acceptance of APPLICANT to MEMBER CANDIDATE status following comprehensive review of the application/letters of recommendation by the Membership Committee.
  5. MEMBER CANDIDATE presents a scholarly work at an Annual Meeting of the Society (Oral Presentation, Oral Poster, Video Presentation, VideoFest - Video Cafe is not eligible). If the member applicant is not the first (presenting) author but takes the role of last (senior) author, the member applicant must attend the meeting in-person or virtually where the research is being presented.
  6. The SGS Board of Directors and the voting members of the Society affirm membership via a vote.

PROPOSER/ENDORSER

The PROPOSER instructs the APPLICANT to obtain the SGS membership instructions and the surgical case list spreadsheet from the SGS website, www.sgsonline.org. PROPOSER then submits his/her proposer letter and an ENDORSER letter from another Active Member of SGS in good standing for review by the SGS Membership Committee via the New Member Proposal Form here. These letters should include the APPLICANT teaching endeavors, surgical practice and research. Following receipt and approval of these letters, the APPLICANT will receive a link to a web application form to complete. The APPLICANT will need to submit a twelve month post fellowship case list (post residency if APPLICANT is not fellowship trained), a copy of a current CV and a recent professional picture through the application form. The PROPOSER should assist the APPLICANT as needed in completion and submission of the application form.

APPLICANT

  • Submit a current curriculum vitae.
  • Prepare a surgical case list (Click Here to view the Case List Form) - The case list should span one year’s activities and include all patients for whom the APPLICANT had primary operative responsibility. Minor surgeries (e.g., cone biopsy, dilation and curettage, diagnostic laparoscopy, diagnostic hysteroscopy) should not be included. The case list should not include patient identification information except date of surgery. The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology format (found on ABOG website) should be followed. The following information should be included: Date of Surgery, Preoperative Diagnosis, Surgical Procedure(s) performed, Pathologic Diagnoses, and Complications.
  • Complete the web application form.
  • If the APPLICANT has previously presented at an SGS Annual Scientific Meeting as First or Last Author, specific information regarding this presentation should be submitted via the application form (date, title of presentation).

MEMBER CANDIDATE

  • Upon receipt of the completed membership application form, the Chair of the Membership Committee forwards the application to the members of the SGS Membership Committee for review, comments and approval.
  • The Membership Committee serves as the primary reviewers of all submitted documents of the application. Review of the CV is focused on the applicant’s commitment to scholarly activity, education and leadership in the domain of surgical gynecology and women's health. The case list is reviewed to ensure quality, quantity and breadth of gynecologic surgical cases.
  • Based on the SGS Membership Committee approval the APPLICANT status is changed from APPLICANT to MEMBER CANDIDATE
  • If the Membership Committee does NOT approve the applicant, the SGS Membership Committee Chair communicates with the APPLICANT and PROPOSER, to discuss why the application was either deferred or denied.  In the case of deferral, the letter will list the recommendations of the Membership Committee, and request supplemental or explanatory information, which should be forwarded to the Chair of the Membership Committee. The application together with supplementary documentation will be reviewed by the Membership Committee. If the updated application is not approved by the Membership Committee, the application process will be terminated.
  • MEMBER CANDIDATE status is conferred for a period of three years from appointment, unless extended by the Membership Committee pursuant to a petition by the MEMBER CANDIDATE. Upon acceptance into MEMBER CANDIDATE status the MEMBER CANDIDATE will be required to present a scholarly work at the Society Annual Scientific Meeting within the next three years (if he/she has not already presented). The presentation must meet the criteria of the SGS Scientific Program Committee for inclusion in the “Peer Reviewed” portion of the Scientific Program and be deemed by the Board of Directors to be of a suitable quality for membership including being first or senior (last) author on an oral presentation, oral poster presentation (non-oral posters do NOT meet the criteria), or video presentation (video café does NOT meet the criteria) or to be the first author on a Systematic Review Group (SRG) or Pelvic Anatomy Group (PAG) published paper. The MEMBER CANDIDATE needs to be listed as the first or senior (last) author for the presentation. For senior authorship to qualify in lieu of presenting, the senior author must attend the meeting at which the research is being presented, either in person or virtually, and be an established surgeon with education/mentorship responsibilities over the course of at least 5 consecutive years, as demonstrated in their CV. If the MEMBER CANDIDATE has previously made a presentation at an Annual Meeting as a first or last author, either as a guest or as an associate member, the MEMBER CANDIDATE must include the date, authors and title of the presentation in the membership application. It is also encouraged that the MEMBER CANDIDATE includes a copy of the abstract in the application. Exceptions to this process (such as authorship issues) will be reviewed on an individual basis by the Board of Directors.
  • Following the MEMBER CANDIDATE'S presentation, the Membership Committee will review the presentation materials. If the presentation is deemed satisfactory by a majority of the Membership Committee members the MEMBER CANDIDATE will be submitted to the Board of Directors for approval. Should the Membership Committee not find the presentation of acceptable quality, the Membership Chair will be directed to write to the APPLICANT and PROPOSER noting the reason(s) for non-acceptance.
  • MEMBER CANDIDATES who have completed all the requirements of membership with approval from the Membership Committee are presented to the SGS Board of Directors for membership approval. Should the Board of Directors reject a MEMBER CANDIDATE, the Membership Chair will be directed to write to the APPLICANT and PROPOSER noting the reason(s) for non-acceptance.
  • MEMBER CANDIDATES accepted by the Board of Directors will be submitted to the Membership-at-Large for approval which will be obtained by a vote by active members of the Society.
    • Any negative vote requires a written comment or it will not be counted
    • MEMBER CANDIDATES receiving no negative votes will be invited to join the Society as Active Members
    • The application of any MEMBER CANDIDATE receiving between one and five negative votes will be reviewed by the Board of Directors for final decision regarding active membership
    • MEMBER CANDIDATE is provided an opportunity to respond in writing to the decision made by the board
    • MEMBER CANDIDATE can be reconsidered for membership, if requested within 12 months, without completing an additional application process
    • The application of any MEMBER CANDIDATE receiving five or more negative votes will be closed
  • MEMBER CANDIDATES will be notified by the Membership Committee Chair of the outcome of the membership vote prior to the next Annual Scientific Meeting, and need to submit the initiation fee in the amount of $500 to activate their membership for the year. The PROPOSER and ENDORSER will be notified by separate correspondence of the outcome.