FGS Designation
ISGS Fellowship Point System
Membership in ISGS is open to all interested individuals and parties, but ISGS Fellowship eligibility is limited to Board-certified ophthalmic surgeons of every nationality. The point system has been devised to afford private practitioners and career academics comparable standing by applying a wide range of merit options to amass the necessary qualifying point threshold. Fellowship (FGS) designation with its associated rights and privileges requires verified accumulation of ≥100 points by ISGS Advisory Committee, with approval by majority vote of the ISGS Executive Board. Official fellowship certificates will be provided to successful applicants either at the ISGS Congress or by mail. All confirmed ISGS Fellows will be listed with their year of accession in perpetuity in all Congress proceedings, on the ISGS website, and annually in the Society journal JOCGP. Glaucoma Surgeons achieving verified FGS status prior to or within the defined 3- month timeframe following the Church House ISGS 2020 Congress in London will be commemorated as Founding FGS Class Fellows. In order to maintain fairness and veracity, the process of verification of credentials and claimed accomplishments of fellowship candidates is painstaking, and a one-time €500 fee is required per fellowship submission. Maintenance of Fellowship status thereafter will require only maintenance of standard annual membership fee payment. It is prudent to ensure that the 100-point limit is comfortably exceeded in the event that any particular accomplishment claim is deemed inappropriate by the ISGS Advisory Committee Examiner. Application fees are nonrefundable regardless of the outcome, but repeat application is permitted for a fee of €300. Intentional falsification of credentials or accomplishments will result in permanent disqualification from extant or future ISGS Fellowship candidacy.
Provisional FGS status will be accorded to all applicants who have been in full-time glaucoma practice for 8 years or less and who have accumulated, submitted, and have had confirmed at least 75 points on the FGS merit scale. They will be accorded full rights and privileges as a Fellow in Glaucoma Surgery for two years. The application fee for provisional FGS status is only €250, and holders who successfully accumulate the 100-point minimum prior to the 2022 ICGS (and reaffirmed by the ISGS Advisory Committee before the close of that Congress) will not be required to pay any additional fees to maintain their lifetime FGS status. Those who fall short will be temporarily suspended from use of the FGS credential, but will be allowed the opportunity to restore their FGS status with a payment of €250 before completion of their 8th year of sub-specialty practice, or at the standard €500 rate thereafter. All individuals who qualify for provisional FGS status within 3 months of the Xth ICGS in London will be included among the ISGS Founding Fellows list in perpetuity, regardless of their status after the XIth Congress in 2022. All ISGS Fellowship candidates must be members in good standing of ISGS, having paid current applicable annual membership fee. All successful Fellowship applicants must remain ISGS members in good standing to retain their FGS status.
| Fellowship Category* | Glaucoma Surgeon | Glaucoma Surgeon |
|---|---|---|
|
(see FGS point system)
|
< 9 years post-residency
|
> 9 years post-residency
|
|
Provisional (≥75 pts) |
250 Euro (one-time fee) |
Not available |
|
Full (≥100 pts) |
250 Euro (No additional fee) |
500 Euro (one-time fee) |
|
Re-submission fees:
|
||
|
Provisional to Full FGS: |
Waived (if ≥100 points)
|
250 Euro per year lapsed
|
|
Lapsed Membership: |
250 Euro |
250 Euro per year lapsed |
|
Developing World Discount (only for Membership) |
Not available |
Not available |
*Please upload a single PDF document, inclusive of the Point System Form and all relevant credentials.
Please note that a one-time € 500,00 fee is required per fellowship submission, without it no application shall be taken into consideration.
FGS Merit Qualification Point System
A. Glaucoma Practice
All ISGS Fellows must be currently board-certified ophthalmic surgeons in their country of active practice and must be able to submit documentary evidence thereof. Verification of service for specified periods of glaucoma subspecialty practice must be accompanied by signed documentary confirmation from an appropriate surgical institutional administration official on official letterhead.
1 point per year of glaucoma subspecialty practice (including any relevant fellowship years).
3 points for documented completion of glaucoma fellowship at any recognized institution.
5 points for any period of confirmed service in a private or government health facility as the glaucoma surgical service director.
(Maximum 35 points)
B. Service to ISGS
1 point per year of confirmed membership in ISGS
1 point per paid or invited registration for any ISGS Congress or Masterclass
1 point per ISGS Congress presentation (oral or poster) and/or service as session moderator
3 points per year of service on any ISGS standing committee or organizational committee
2 points per authorship of a peer reviewed article or editorial in the society’s journal (JOCGP)
1 point per year as a member of the editorial staff of JOCGP
1 point per new paid ISGS member introduced as mentor/supervisor/advocate
0.5 point per peer review of prospective article submitted to JOCGP
(Maximum 60 points)
For reference purposes, prior ISGS membership should be considered to have been contiguous from the time of your first ICGS Congress registration. These were held in Lausanne 2002, Luxor 2004, Toronto 2006, Geneva 2009, New Delhi 2010, Glasgow 2012, Singapore 2014, Muscat 2016, Montreal 2018, London 2020.
C. Glaucoma Peer Reviewed Publications
1 point per co-authorship of any glaucoma-related publication listed in PubMed
1 additional point per first or corresponding authorship of PubMed indexed glaucoma article 1 point per published book chapter or review article relating specifically to glaucoma surgery Note: JOCGP publication also accorded
1 bonus point (see above).
(Maximum 60 points)
D. Honors
2 points for each documented honorary recognition of service, award or other public distinction related to the candidate’s glaucoma subspecialty practice record by a verified regional, national or international ophthalmic society or hospital system (each must be accompanied by documentary confirmation). Feature articles in periodicals or websites that focus on the candidate’s distinguished record, innovation, or other glaucoma-associated may also be submitted for consideration in this category.
(Maximum 30 points)
E. Public Education
0.5 point per invited lecture, website publication, educational video, or podcast related to glaucoma (verification with site, date and audience information required). Lectures may be directed toward the lay public or other medical professionals, and may include sponsored dinner lectures. Didactic lecture series as part of an academic training program are not included in this category (see below).
(Maximum 20 points)
F. Academic Service
3 points per year served as a didactic educational course instructor of medical students, eye residents, fellows or other health care professionals providing instruction specifically related to the proper management of glaucoma patients. Academic status not required, but students and trainees must be part of a certified training program. Minimum of at least five lectures and/or at least 3 clinical observer rotations each year to qualify.
(Maximum 40 points)
G. Public Service
3 points per compassionate medical/surgical mission (regional or international) with verifying photographic documentation thereof. The ISGS reserves the right to archive these photographs and honor the participants on their website and other ISGS promotional materials as seen fit.
(Maximum 20 points)
Fellowship Documentation, Conflicts of Interest, and use of Official FISGS Designation
Applicants must present valid documentation of the credentials and accomplishments for each category A-H above as separate appendices to their application (Appendix A, Appendix B, and so on). These may be submitted as PDF documents in accordance with instructions on the ISGS official website. The ISGS Advisory Committee reserves the right to request additional verification as it sees fit before officially awarding points in any category.
Declaration of Conflicts of Interest: Members of the ISGS Advisory Committee and the Executive Board must recuse themselves individually from the review of any Fellowship application that may be construed in any way, positively or negatively, to pose a potential conflict of interest. This would include reviewing the application of personal friends, colleagues in their own institution, family members, or professional adversaries.
While it is registered and protected by Swiss and International law, the designation ‘FGS’ does not constitute an official medical or surgical training qualification, but it is a manifest verification of professional excellence attained by validated peer review on the basis of relevant merit criteria that has been adjudicated and accredited by a respected professional association, the International Society of Glaucoma Surgery. The FGS designation may therefore be appended as part of the recipient’s professional title on their professional stationery, cards, advertising or website profile at their personal discretion, and may be put forward as a recognized credential to professional bodies. The International Society of Glaucoma Surgery reserves the right to withhold or withdraw the FGS title in the event of any disclosure of any malfeasance, malpractice, or any serious criminal indictment. Notwithstanding, the personal lifestyle of ISGS Fellowship applicants is not to be considered a qualifying or disqualifying factor in any way; nor is race, gender, religion, or nationality. All that is required to maintain active FGS status after successful qualification is to pay the annual ISGS standard membership fee. All fellows are encouraged to maintain an active profile in the ISGS, and to attend the biennial Congress, but there is no penalty for absence. Failure to maintain standard annual ISGS membership for more than 12 months, however, will result in lapse of FGS designation and will require re-submission fee of 300 Euro to be returned to the active FGS role. The International Society for Glaucoma Surgery reserves the right to publicly identify and/or prosecute individuals who falsely use the FGS designation on their professional stationery, cards, advertising or website profile.