2 THE FOUNDING AND EARLY YEARS WHAT’S IN A NAME? Over its history, ACOFP has had three different names. When first founded, the organization was incorporated as the American College of General Practitioners in Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery (ACGPOMS). This was quickly, but unofficially, shortened to the American College of Osteopathic General Practitioners. Interestingly, this name was often abbreviated ACGP, omitting the “O” of osteopathic. In 1993, the college’s name was officially changed to the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians. Considerable debate took place regarding the prominence of the word “osteopathic” in the name. Ultimately, it was decided that as an organization of osteopathic family physicians, all forms of the college’s name, including its abbreviation, should fully reflect the osteopathic nature of its members. Thus, the word “osteopathic” was given equal status in both the college’s name and its abbreviation. For more information about the name change, see “A New Home Gets a New Name,” in Chapter 3, page 49. To avoid confusion in this book, the name American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, and the abbreviation ACOFP, will be used throughout, regardless of the name of the college at the time of the events being discussed. The one exception to this will be when quoting directly from official documents. Fellows of the College will be recognized by the designation FACOFP, regardless of the actual Fellow title awarded at the time it was earned.
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