MEMBERSHIP
The ASCCP membership application must document medical education and prior training in colposcopy. Membership categories include:

Active		Physicians, nurse practitioners, PA’s, etc., who are interested in colposcopy or gynecologic pathology or those who demonstrate an active interest in lower genital tract disease by their professional involvement through pathology/cytology, nursing, public health policy, and/or research/basic science
Resident		Physicians who are currently enrolled in an accredited residency training program or have completed such a program in the past year. Fellows in post-residency fellowships are also eligible.

BENEFITS TO MEMBERS

• Members of the Society receive a subscription to the Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease, the quarterly journal of the Society, which contains original scientific articles, editorials, discussion, and other items of interest to the clinician.
• Members-only Pathology Consultation Service: We have pathologists available to review slides of cytology or biopsy material from patients under your care. As a member, you may use this service up to four times annually. To obtain your pathology consultation form, please access this ASCCP web page http://www.asccp.org/member.shtml and then select the "Pathology Consultation Service" link. You will be required to submit your username and password to access the form.
• Free PowerPoint slides to accompany talks on the Society's revised "Cervical Cytology Specimen Adequacy" guideline (published in the April 2008 issue of the Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease). The PowerPoint algorithms for use are: 1) Managing Women with Unsatisfactory Pap Tests; and, 2) Managing Women with Negative Pap Tests but Lacking Endocervical Cells OR Borderline Cellularity OR Obscuring Blood/Inflammation.
• Free access to the questions and Consensus Steering Committee panel responses from the 2008 Biennial Meeting "Consensus Guidelines" session. Patient scenario questions and their guidelines-based responses are posted according to Pap test category (e.g., ASC, LSIL/CIN1, HSIL/CIN2+, AGC/AIS), HPV questions, and an Other/Miscellaneous question category. These Q&As are posted on the ASCCP web page http://www.asccp.org/edu/faqs.shtml.
• Do you have a 2006 Consensus Guidelines or other practice question? All ASCCP members in good standing are welcome to pose questions to the Practice Committee using the form on the ASCCP web page http://www.asccp.org/edu/faqs.shtml. Answers will then also be posted on this website.
• Free members-only access to the online pathology atlas of some of the most commonly utilized pathology terms relating to the lower genital tract. A brief definition of each term is accompanied by a photomicrograph illustrating the finding.

GOALS
The Society seeks to improve clinician competence and performance and patient outcomes in the field of lower genital tract disorders through the education of health care professionals and others in colposcopy and related strategies. We intend to provide physicians and other licensed healthcare providers with the knowledge and skills necessary to fill gaps in practice.

Specifically, we intend to offer educational opportunities that will allow clinicians to:

1. achieve expertise in performing colposcopic examinations including an understanding of normal and abnormal cervical anatomy, cytology, histology, and colposcopic findings;
2. recognize, evaluate, and manage premalignant and malignant diseases of the cervix, vagina, vulva, and anus;
3. recognize, evaluate, and treat related diseases of the vulva and vagina including vulvodynia, nonneoplastic epithelial conditions, preinvasive vulvar conditions ,vulvar carcinomas and vaginitis;
4. understand the natural history of premalignant lower genital tract disease to allow more directed therapy;
5. describe the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the pathophysiology of lower genital tract neoplasia and use HPV DNA testing in its evaluation and management;
6. understand the risks and benefits of the HPV vaccine and know how to access new information on the use of the HPV vaccine; and,
7. become familiar with new diagnostic modalities for lower genital tract diseases.

CONTENT AREAS
ASCCP activities will educate the target audience in the clinical management of the spectrum of benign, premalignant, and malignant disorders of the female lower genital tract (i.e., cervix, vagina, and vulva) with an emphasis on disorders best imaged using colposcopy. Other disorders, including those of the male and of adjacent areas, including anal and perianal epithelium, will be addressed briefly as they relate to this primary content area.

To achieve these goals, the Society encourages resident and postgraduate training in colposcopy, sponsors seminars and continuing education programs, as well as a scientific meeting. ASCCP also publishes a journal, and offers CME-accredited CD-ROMs, online activities, a national mentorship training program, a residents' assessment of competency in colposcopy, and other materials designed to be helpful to the health care professional.

The Society has established standing committees of known experts who are available to members for consultation on difficult problems of management or pathology review.

MEETINGS

The American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology offers a general clinical meeting every two years. This meeting features lectures, debates, and paper presentation on new developments concerning all aspects of colposcopy and lower genital tract disease.

The Society also sponsors several postgraduate courses on basic and advanced colposcopy, as well as vulvar diseases. Members receive discounted rates on all registration fees. Locations and dates of courses may be obtained from the national office.