Honorary status of “Fellow of International Orthopaedic Research” (FIOR)

A scholarly academy of Fellows is established within the International Combined Orthopaedic Research Societies (ICORS) union. The ICORS International College of Fellows is an independent, self-governing society with aims to establish itself both as a recognised international community of expert leaders within orthopaedic research learning, and as a source of authoritative, scholarly, and critical comment and advice in the field. The academy aims to demonstrate, celebrate and disseminate the excellence of orthopaedic research and scholarship. In future the academy will aim to provide a link between academia, industry and commerce, and policy-makers within the field.

  1. There is a need for encourage excellence through public recognition of individuals who have gained a status of excellent professional standing and high achievements in the field of orthopaedic research.
  2. Fellows should be accomplished members and role models in orthopaedic research.
  3. Fellows are expected, through word and deed, to foster the field of orthopaedics and to support its professional development as a practical and intellectual endeavour.
  4. Fellows should help promote the advancement of learning and the dissemination of knowledge from orthopaedic and musculoskeletal research, including the fields of engineering, biology, and clinical research.
  5. Fellows should act as an independent source of expert scholarly advice and commentary on matters affecting the field.
  6. New Fellows would be announced & recognised at the tri-annual ICORS meetings.
  7. The duly nominated, approved, confirmed, and installed fellow has the right to carry the letters FIOR after their name. These letters indicate the national recognition and international respect of his/her comprehension of professional issues and accomplishments in the field of orthopaedic research.
  8. The Fellow status is awarded for life. (Fellowship status can be revoked upon decision of the ICORS board for disreputable behaviour or criminal activities)
  9. A Fellow has all rights and obligations of a member of the individual ICORS member Society (including obligation of individual ICORS member Society membership fees).
  10. An emeritus Fellow*1 (no longer active in the field) is not obliged to continue individual ICORS Society membership (the onus is upon the Fellow to inform the ICORS board when he/she is no longer active and retired to be eligible for this status change).
  11. It is expected that Fellows shall foster professional interactions among each other and ICORS members, with research and medical practitioners, and possibly in future with regulatory and legislative offices, and promote public awareness of the profession of orthopaedic research, and promote and encourage professional and continuing education in orthopaedic research.
  12. It is expected that Fellows attend the year of their award of Fellowship (after nomination) and at least one ICORS meeting every 6 years thereafter, (ICORS currently meets every 3 years) emeritus Fellows are exempt from the ensuing meetings after their award). Failure to follow this obligation, may lead to the ICORS board revoking of the FIOR status.
  13. Governance of FIOR will be through the ICORS board.

Core Initiatives of ICORS International College of Fellows

  1. Promote the advancement of learning and scholarship and the dissemination of orthopaedic research, facilitating its internationalization, including public awareness of the successes and importance.
  2. Encourage excellence in orthopaedic research and provide independent expert scholarly advice, fostering of the knowledge and capabilities of its members.
  3. Provide role models and exemplars of professionalism through highest international standards in scholarship and research.
  4. Create a sense of community in the international arena of orthopaedic research.
  5. Support orthopaedic research in developing countries
  6. Convene scholarly debate sessions / symposia and activities*2 at ICORS meetings
  7. Convene scholarly symposia / workshops at relevant individual ICORS meetings.

*2(The purpose of the Fellows activities, together with the ICORS board president and FIOR chair but preferably with the ICORS board at the ICORS meeting will be to define/update core initiatives of the fellows and plan fellows initiatives such as ICORS fellows symposia)

Nominations to ICORS International College of Fellows

Each ICORS Member Society shall establish its own process for nomination of potential Fellows. These processes are based on the following guidelines: Attention is drawn to the constituent societies to nominate both male and female fellows.

  1. Candidates for Fellow status are to be nominated by the individual ICORS member society and evaluated by ICORS Board (with an obligation to consult existing Fellows).
  2. Candidates should have a minimum of 15 years of scientific or professional contributions to the field of orthopaedic research.
  3. Candidates should have 10 years of continuous active membership of an individual ICORS member society upon nomination. Alternatively, candidates may be considered if they have founding membership in a new ICORS Society or Associate Scientific member society (should be nominated from within the ICORS board this must have over a 2/3 majority vote in the ICORS board).
  4. Candidates should have appropriate professional training, competence, and good standing in a discipline appropriate for orthopaedic research.
  5. Candidates should have significant contributions to the field of orthopaedic research documented by a continuous productivity in orthopaedic research, development, education. The documents shall evidence an increasing leadership role.
  6. Candidates should have a continuing record of publication in refereed journals appropriate to the candidate’s contributions to the field.
  7. ICORS Member Societies shall have no more fellows than 5% of their active membership. Non active or retired members may not be nominated to be a fellow.
  8. Associate Scientific Member groups of ICORS are not eligible to nominate Fellows, though they may be nominated from a constituent society.
  9. For the founding of the Fellowship at the 1st ICORS meeting in 2016 (Xian), the initial intake will be up to approximately 1.5% of each societies membership, each ICORS meeting a further maximum of 1 % may be added (eventually leaving room for natural turnover, through retirement of the fellows career).
  10. For member Societies who have a combined membership for research and surgery i.e. do not have separate research societies, the society shall have no more fellows than 50% of the allotment for ORS, (unless clear justification is provided to the ICORS board).
  11. All nominations shall be kept confidential.

Approval and Fellow Management

  1. Confirmed on an international level by ICORS Board.
  2. Recommendations from the individual constituent societies of the ICORS are submitted to the ICORS Board for consideration and confirmation.
  3. The ICORS Board can grant or deny confirmation on grounds of insufficient qualification or professional or ethical misconduct. The ICORS Board retains the right to confirm or deny award of the fellowship.
  4. Approved candidates are installed on an international level at the tri-annual ICORS meetings.
  5. Certificates are signed by two officials, the ICORS president and the FIOR chair All certificates are produced in PDF format for the academy records and for the fellow (with electronic signatures) and in a paper format (electronic signatures are permissible) to hand over to the fellow tri-annual ICORS meeting.
  6. It is the duty of the nominating constituent society to provide the ICORS secretary with up to date contact details, including emails of all approved fellows they nominated for ICORS records. From the time that a fellow becomes inaugurated, the onus is then on the individual fellow to keep the ICORS secretary and their constituent society up to date.
  7. In the event of death of either an active or emeritus fellow, the constituent society who nominated the fellow should inform the ICORS secretary, so that the fellow can be listed in a deceased fellows list.

*1Emeritus Fellow

  1. Emeritus fellows are fellows who were either induced as fellows when active but have since retired and are no longer active or were induced in the inaugural ICORS meetings direct into this category in recognition of their past achievements.
  2. Emeritus fellows are not listed within the fellows list and are not included in the percentage calculations for entitlement of individual constituent societies for numbers of fellows.
  3. The onus on this lies with the individual fellow to inform the national society, who must request this change in status to the ICORS board.
  4. Emeritus fellows cannot be awarded the title post hummus.
  5. For the founding of the Fellowship at the 1st ICORS meeting in 2016 (Xian), the initial intake of emeritus fellows will be up to 5 per constituent society. It is not anticipated to have a third direct intake of emeritus fellows, though a second has been agreed for 2019 by the ICORS board to allow member societies to fill any of the 5 remaining places not already used.

FIOR Board

The International College of Fellows will be governed by the FIOR Board which currently consists of the members of the ICORS Board under the guidance of the ICORS president. Within this board the FIOR will have a dedicated chair. The dedicated chair must be a “Fellow of International Orthopaedic Research” (FIOR). The Chair of the International College of Fellows for Orthopaedic Research is nominated by the ICORS board for a period of three years. Re-election is possible for a second term if the ICORS board is in favour, but no third term is possible.