Application for Companion Society Status

To apply for Companion Society status, the applicant society should already be established and have Bylaws, Officers, and members. If your group meets this requirement, please prepare the materials below.

An officer of the society should send a letter to the Academy expressing their intent to apply for Companion Society status. The letter should include:

    • Objective of the society’s proposed educational program
    • Outline of the benefits of collaboration with USCAP
    • Attachment A – List of current officers
    • Attachment B – A copy of the applicant society’s constitution and bylaws

Applications should be submitted to [email protected] by September 1 in order to be considered by the Education Committee and Executive Committee at their October/November meetings.

Review Process
Once the completed application is received, it will be reviewed by the USCAP Education and Executive Committees in October/November. If endorsed by these Committees, the application will be forwarded to the Board of Directors for consideration the following day. If approved by the Board of Directors, USCAP’s Executive Vice President will notify the Companion Society immediately, and the first symposium will be scheduled for the next Annual Meeting (e.g. if the application is received and approved in 2022, the first Companion Society meeting will be held at the 2023 USCAP Annual Meeting).

 

Symposium and Business Meeting Planning

The Companion Society meetings held in conjunction with the USCAP Annual Meeting should supplement and in no way compete with, or duplicate, the various aspects of the Academy’s programs. Each Companion Society can hold a scientific symposium and a business meeting.

Symposium
Companion Society symposium meetings will be held on the Sunday of the USCAP Annual Meeting. Each Companion Society meeting is typically 2 hours in length for traditional onsite meetings.  The symposium should be designed to meet relevant educational needs of pathologists and must be focused on anatomic pathology and geared towards physicians. The following are requirements of the education program.

  • Each symposium will provide AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ offered by USCAP. Companion Societies are required to submit a planning form each year that is reviewed and approved.
  • The Chair of the Education Committee (or designee) will review the Companion Society education proposals each year to ensure ACCME compliance and content that is acceptable to USCAP.
  • All agendas and proposed faculty must be reviewed by the Education Committee prior to inviting faculty. Faculty should not be invited until the educational program is approved.
  • USCAP will request societies with overlapping subspecialty content to communicate with each other to ensure there is no content overlap.
  • Faculty can only present in one Companion Society per year. Companion Society planners will be expected to notify their potential speakers of this limitation so they accept only one companion society invitation. If an individual is listed as a speaker for more than one companion society, the agendas of all involved societies will not be approved until the conflict is resolved.
  • Companion symposia presentations are evaluated by representative(s) of the USCAP Education Committee and attendees. Summaries of the evaluations will be provided to the Companion Society moderator 8 weeks following the activity. Societies that do not submit their planning material in a timely fashion, or whose programs are below par, will be notified of the problems. They will be informed by the Executive Vice President that they are being placed on probationary status for the coming year. If problems continue during the probationary period, a recommendation will be made to the Board of Directors that notice of termination be sent.
  • Details of the program will be posted online and in the meeting app. Details of the programs must be submitted to USCAP by the established deadlines.
  • The Academy is responsible for the administrative and logistical details. USCAP will provide:
    • One (1) screen
    • LCD projector in 16:9
    • Laptop
    • Podium with microphone
    • One (1) wireless handheld microphone

All other AV must be rented through the approved AV company. Contact details will be provided upon request.

Business Meeting
Each Companion Society can elect to hold a business meeting directly prior to or immediately following their symposium for traditional onsite meetings only. The Companion Society must indicate this on their annual planning form. USCAP will reserve the room for the designated time.

 

General Information

  • The Academy collects a registration fee which permits attendance at one or more of the Companion Meetings. To qualify for member rates at the USCAP Annual Meeting, members of a Companion Society must also be members of the Academy.
  • Companion Society Status can be discontinued by USCAP or by a Companion Society with one year’s notice.