American College of Radiology

The American College of Radiology (ACR) was founded in 1923 by Albert Soiland, an American radiologist ². Its contemporary core purpose, according to its website, is "To serve patients and society by empowering members to advance the practice, science and professions of radiological care" ¹.

History

In 1923, a bill was passed by politicians in California allowing lay individuals to set-up and run x-ray centres. This development greatly alarmed Albert Soiland (1873-1946), a pioneering radiologist working in Los Angeles. He felt that the time had come for radiology to be recognised as a bona fide medical specialty in the United States. Thus on the morning of June 26^th 1923, he advanced a resolution at the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association (AMA) for radiology to be officially endorsed as a specialty and for a Section on Radiology to be established. The AMA duly promulgated radiology as a specialty, although it took until 1924 for the Section to be set-up ².

On the evening of the same day, Soiland had dinner with twenty leading radiology colleagues. He proposed that a College of Radiology be founded, something with which his radiology dinner companions concurred. The American College of Radiology was incorporated in 1924.

Leadership

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Organisation

The College is organised into 54 chapters (50 states, Washington DC, Canada, and the Council of Affiliated Regional Radiation Oncology Societies (CARROS)).

Journals

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Membership

Currently over 38,000, including radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians and medical physicists ¹.