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About the Association

Six decades of surgical fellowship, governed with care and rooted in tradition. 

– SINCE 1957

A fellowship named for a king who loved the surgical art

King James IV of Scotland granted the surgeons of Edinburgh their charter in 1506, and is remembered as a monarch who practised and championed surgery himself. 

The Association that bears his name was instituted in 1957 to foster the travelling fellowship, sending surgeons across the Atlantic and beyond to observe, to teach and to build the friendships that have come to define the James IV.

Today the Association draws its membership from Britain & Ireland, the United States and Canada, united by a shared commitment to surgical excellence and collegiality without frontier. 

James IV About the Association
– Through the Years

A timeline of fellowship

1506

James IV grants the Edinburgh surgeons their charter, an enduring emblem of royal patronage of surgery.

1957

The James IV Association of Surgeons is instituted to advance the travelling fellowship.

1960s-90s

The fellowship expands across Britain & Ireland, the United States and Canada.

Today

An international community of over four hundred surgeons, with three active regional chapters.
– Mission & Values

“To advance surgery through travel, the free exchange of knowledge, and enduring friendship.”

Scholarship

Funding travelling fellowships that place surgeons in the world’s leading centres.

Fellowship

Friendship without frontier — collegiality that spans careers and continents.

Stewardship

Governing the Association with integrity, transparency and care for its legacy.
– Leadership

Board of Directors

The association is led by its officers and a board drawn from all three regions
President

Name & Credentials

Britain & Ireland
VICE-PRESIDENT

Name & Credentials

United States
Honorary Secretary

Name & Credentials

Canada
Honorary Treasurer

Name & Credentials

United States
Council Member

Name & Credentials

Canada
Council Member

Name & Credentials

Britain & Ireland
Council Member

Name & Credentials

United States
Past President

Name & Credentials

Canada
– Leadership

Past Presidents

A roll of the surgeons who have led the Association since its founding.
  • 2024-2026
    United States
    President name, credentials
  • 2022-2024
    Canada
    President name, credentials
  • 2020-2022
    Britain & Ireland
    President name, credentials
  • 2018-2020
    United States
    President name, credentials
  • 2016-2018
    Canada
    President name, credentials
  • 2014-2016
    Britain & Ireland
    President name, credentials
  • 2012-2014
    United States
    President name, credentials
  • 2010-2012
    Canada
    President name, credentials