Honorary Membership

Honorary Members being exceptionally distinguished colleagues who shall be elected upon the recommendation of Council and entitled to vote at an Annual Members Meeting at which their election is proposed and who shall enjoy such privileges of membership as applies prior to election;
No subscription shall be payable by Honorary Members.

Summary of Nomination Procedure:
The status of Honorary Member of the Intensive Care Society may be awarded to a person who has made an outstanding and continued contribution to intensive care medicine. This could be as a result of clinical commitment, innovation, the instigation or completion of research, education or administrative endeavor. Other aspects of intensive care medicine would be considered.

The nomination may be submitted in writing to the Honorary Secretary of the Society using the pro-forma provided.
The nomination must be endorsed by two ordinary members of the Intensive Care Society.
The nomination must be accompanied by a citation setting out the reasons why this honor should be conferred. This must be signed by the above two ordinary members.
The nomination must be set before the Council of the Society and unanimously approved by signature of Council Members.

Distinguished Membership

Distinguished Members who shall be elected upon the recommendation of local peers and Council and the agreement of a majority of the members present and entitled to vote at the Annual Members Meeting at which their election is proposed and who shall enjoy such privileges of membership as applied prior to election;

No subscription shall be payable by Distinguished Members.

Summary of Distinguished Membership Nomination:
Each Year the Society is able to make five awards of Distinguished Membership. These are intended to acknowledge the contribution made by members of the Society to the development of intensive care services at a local or regional level. Examples of this achievement might include outstanding service in research, its development or in teaching, setting up a new service, onerous or continuing commitment over long periods of time.

Distinguished Members will receive a Certificate of Honor, and their names will be added to the Society's Role of Distinguished Members. The honor will be announced at one the Society's main Meetings, when certificates will be presented.

Nominations must be made by two Society members and agreed by the Regional Adviser in Intensive Care Medicine. The nomination will need to be accompanied by a citation of about 300 words. Nominations are not normally considered for members who have less than 15 years standing.
The closing date for nominations is the 31 December each year. If you would like to nominate someone for Distinguished Membership download the nomination form.

The Whitaker Award

Introduction
Tony Whitaker was a valued ICS member who was renowned for his legendary and often unpredictable questions or feedback comments at annual meetings, and which usually produced valued discussions for the speakers and audience participants.

Sadly Tony died of pancreatic cancer in 2006.  It was an unanticipated but welcome surprise when we subsequently learned that he had made a decision to provide a donation to the Society and included this in his will.  After discussion with Council members and Tony’s colleagues it was agreed that this should be used to create the Whitaker Award.   The recommendation from his family and friends was that because of Tony’s enthusiasm for diving the award should be representative of this.   Further details will be provided after the first Whitaker Award has been formally given.

Criteria / Eligibility for the Award
The consensus decision was that in order to be in accordance with Tony Whitaker’s established reputation for being slightly controversial and sometimes being prepared to take a different perspective, the Whitaker Award should be awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to the intensive care community – but with the recognition that these were either unpredicted, unusual, or different in a way that makes them genuinely extraordinary.  As a consequence the potential range of options could include many different areas of interest or expertise, including novel technical developments, academic achievements, impressive amendments to clinical care, or innovative changes in practice which increase patient safety or quality of care etc.  There are consequently no specifically set criteria – but for anyone nominated there should be convincing evidence that their achievements are exceptional and greatly appreciated.

How to Apply
Nominations are by letter to the Council of the Society, which must include the full name and contact details of the nominee, should explain the reasons for nomination and how they meet the expectations.  Please remember to include your own contact details.  Nominations will be treated in confidence until a decision is made.  Council will consider all nominations received and will select accordingly.  There will only be one award holder each year – and if appropriate nominations are not made there may be occasions when the Award is not given.

Deadline for Nominations
Nominations must be received by Council no later than 31s August each year.  The successful nominee will be notified in writing and invited to the State of the Art meeting to collect their award.

Whitaker Award Holder
The nominee will be the Whitaker Award Holder for one year.

Further Details / Application address
For further details or to submit a nomination, please either write to:

The President, The Intensive Care Society, Churchill House, 35 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4SG or email Pauline Kemp, Head of Secretariat via Pauline@ics.ac.uk