The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine
The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) is an organization that offers membership to physicians who treat sports-related injuries – something nearly all physicians likely will do at some point in their professional careers – and seeks to help them improve treatment and educate the public about preventing sports injuries. Most AMSSM members are primary care physicians and the organization was founded by five family care physicians who had a special interest and background in sports medicine.
The AMSSM has several goals, but the most important include:
- Presenting forums and conferences all around the country to foster sports medicine discussion among physicians and showcase new findings and studies
- Maintaining a sports medicine directory online so that professionals can access each other and network more effectively
- Publishing peer-reviewed articles and position statements to keep members up-to-date on state of the art developments in sports medicine
- Providing subscriptions of relevant medical journals to members, including the organization with which it has a formal partnership: the “Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine”
- Providing grants and awards to students, professors and researchers
Benefits of Joining the AMSSM
Professionals who become members of the AMSSM can attend conferences around the country. There are usually multiple conferences held each month for sports medicine physicians, though each conference serves a different function and features different speakers. Members are invited to present their research findings at these conferences, which gives them the chance to get feedback from other professionals. The AMSSM also offers research grants to members who are interested in conducting original sports medicine studies or who are creating campaigns to improve public awareness of sports related injuries. The organization also organizes an online database of case studies where members can post their research.
The AMSSM operates a fellowship program, and sports medicine professionals who are already members of the organization can apply to become fellows, though non-members can also join the fellowship for a hefty fee. These fellowships are among the only in the country that are geared specifically to sports medicine, and in order to apply for one of the AMSSM 's fellowships, one must complete one's residency in an area that will expose them to sports medicine injuries, such as family medicine, internal medicine, or emergency medicine
