From the Desk of the President Association of Colon and Rectal Surgeons of India
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: My dear ACRSI Members, Season’s greetings to you and family. I also bring to you, warm wishes from the headquarters of Association of Colon and Rectal Surgeons of India (ACRSI). I wish to keep you updated with how the ACRSI tree has grown over the years and at the same time all the recent developments with reference to the ACRSI. ACRSI, a section of our parent body ACRSI Association of Surgeons of India (ASI), was established way back in the year 1977, and is soon nearing five decades of its existence. It has grown substantially in its membership and activities alike. The importance of colorectal surgery as a speciality was realized long back in India at a time when the western and the affluent developed countries realized it. However, the Western world and the affluent countries after recognizing it, accepted it as a Super speciality, and started structured training in colorectal surgery after the core general surgery training, ranging from 1 to 2 years. Separate boards were established like the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgeons ASCRS in the USA, the European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP) in Europe, Australia, New Zealand Training Board in Colon and Rectal Surgery, though the Royal College of Surgeons and Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland look after the Colorectal Surgery training in the UK and the Ireland. However, for various reasons, this could not happen in India for many years in spite of continued efforts of the ACRSI. Hence, the ACRSI took an initiative to start its own fellowship program which culminated in offering the fellowship of the Association of Colon and Rectal Surgeons of India. A well-structured program was developed by a Fellowship Board established under the Chairmanship of Dr. Ashok Ladha, senior members Late Dr. P N Joshi, Late Dr. R B Singh, and others. The 1st Fellowship Course was held in Ajmer in 1997 at the J L N Medical College. Fellowships are conferred to those who appeared for an examination (held in Three parts) which comprised of all the aspects of evaluations such as multiple choice questions (MCQ’s), theory questions, table viva comprising surgical pathology, radiology, critical care, and surgical instruments. The practical experience was judged by assessing the Logbook of the surgical procedures performed by the candidate in the past 2 years. Clinical evaluation was done on the basis of examination of long and short cases related to colorectal diseases, very similar to any speciality MS, Mch, or DNB examination. I am proud to say that the fellowship courses have been going on uninterrupted all these years and the 28th Fellowship course was recently held at AIIMS Bhopal wherein a record no of surgeons from all over the country took the examination. Even the difficult COVID-19 times could not dampen the spirit of the fellowship board and the examination was held in an equal strict manner in an online manner during the pandemic. The standard of the examination has been maintained all these 28 years, and this has increased popularity with increasing no of surgeons taking up the examination. Honorary fellowships have been conferred on a few eminent national and international surgeons of academic repute in response to their contribution to the association and the growth of the specialty. The ACRSI office bearers have relentlessly pursued for a degree/diploma in colorectal surgery with the Medical Council of India and the National Board of Examination (NBE), which run the super specialty Mch and DNB courses in India. The concentrated efforts of the ACRSI finally bore fruits, with the NBE accepting our request and agreeing to start a 2-year Fellowship of National Board. High-volume centers have been identified, and the course would begin in the next academic year. The membership of the ACRSI has increased to nearly 2500 full members as colorectal surgery is becoming more popular and gaining its foothold in various parts of the country. The Executive Committee of the ACRSI has been running Zonal CMEs and Workshops in all the parts of the country wherein various new techniques are demonstrated to the surgeons. This is in addition to our flagship instructional program in the month of April every year, wherein all aspects of Colorectal Surgery are covered in online and offline modules. ACRSI holds its Annual National Conference, the ACRSICON, every September, which spans over 3 days, with a day of Workshops and Hands-on Courses to impart skills to our members. The ACRSICON is also becoming more and more popular, attracts reputed national as well as international faculties from the UK, the USA, Australia, NZ, Singapore, and various countries. For the benefit of our members and imparting one-to-one interaction, the ACRSI has also started International (to the USA, the UK, Singapore) and National traveling Fellowships at high-volume centers within the country, and candidates are chosen based on well-defined parameters. These fellowships are very successful as most of the candidates who have availed these fellowships take on the role of national faculties later in their career and mentor the younger generation of surgeons. The ACRSI recognized the need for standardization of the management of various colorectal diseases. Separate committees were set up which worked hard over many months and came out with the formulation of the practice parameters for the seven common colorectal pathologies such as hemorrhoids, fissure, fistula, constipation, pilonidal disease, colorectal cancers, and inflammatory bowel diseases. These practice parameters are freely available to both our members and nonmembers so that a standardized treatment is available to all our patients. The ACRSI also realized the lack of reading and study material for the practicing surgeons as well as those taking up the fellowship examination. They had to resort to the books by the Western authors, the protocols which would not be fully applicable in our circumstances. Hence, an Editorial Board, along with a panel of senior and experienced colorectal surgeons were entrusted with the job of preparing a comprehensive textbook which was sorely missing in our country. This mammoth task was taken up by the Editorial Board as a challenge in the year 2021 and the First Edition ACRSI Textbook of Colorectal Surgery was published in 2024, which has fast become popular amongall the practicing Surgeons. Recently, the ACRSI collaborated with reputed overseas associations. ACRSI has been accepted as a Global member of the ESCP and the American Society of Colorectal Surgeons. This brings a hoard of benefits to our members in terms of access to their online webinars, courses, teaching materials, journals, and videos as well as attending their annual conference at concessional rates. Our members are now able to be a part of the various clinical and research trials carried out by these associations. The Indian Journal of Colorectal Surgery has been the face of the Association and a well-experienced Editorial Board is overlooking the running of the journal. The journal has contribution from India as well as overseas in the form of well-researched articles and interesting case reports and Images. Active efforts are being made by the Editorial Board to make it an indexed journal, which I am sure that would happen in near future. In recognition of the academic contribution of the ACRSI in the field of colorectal surgery, the ASI, our parent body, has declared ACRSI to be the best section of the ASI. I feel proud to say that ACRSI has bagged this best section award for the last consecutive 5 years, which is indicative of our relentless and continued efforts in the upliftment of colorectal surgery in India. This has been possible not only because of the individual but collective efforts of every ACRSI member. I would like to end by quoting… “You cannot built a great building on a weak foundation…. You must have a solid foundation if you are going to have a superstructure” …Gordon B. Hinkley Jai Hind,
Author: Pradeep P. Sharma
Institution: Jehangir Hospital
Language: English
Topic: Global Health and Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4410836611