April 25, 2017

Thomas Cooney, M.D., M.A.C.P., professor of medicine, OHSU School of Medicine, has been named Chair of the Board of Governors of the American College of Physicians (ACP), the national organization of internists. His term began during Internal Medicine Meeting 2017, ACP's annual scientific meeting held in San Diego from March 30 to April 1. The Board of Governors is an advisory group to the Board of Regents – the main policy-making body of the ACP. 

Dr. Cooney has long been active in the ACP and, most recently, served as Governor of the Oregon Chapter. Governors are elected by local ACP members and serve four-year terms. Working with a local council, they supervise ACP chapter activities, appoint members to local committees and preside at regional meetings. He also previously served as Vice-Chair of ACP's Education and Publication Committee. 

He has been a Fellow of the ACP since 1983. F.A.C.P. is an honorary designation that recognizes ongoing individual service and contributions to the practice of medicine; in 2010, he was also named Master of ACP. Election to Mastership recognizes outstanding and extraordinary career accomplishments. Masters must have made a notable contribution to medicine. 

Dr. Cooney is vice chair of education in the Department of Medicine; he served as the department's residency program director from 1984 to 2010. His areas of professional interest are medical education, physician workforce, and other health policy issues, particularly health care financing. In addition to his OHSU roles, Dr. Cooney is a staff physician at the VA Portland Health Care Center.

The American College of Physicians is a national organization of internists, and with 148,000 members, including internists, internal medicine subspecialists, and medical students, residents, and fellows, ACP is the largest medical-specialty organization and second-largest physician group in the United States.