The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) was formed in 1991 to fill a void that has existed in sports medicine from its earliest beginnings. The Founders, most recognized and expert sports medicine specialists, realized that while there were several physician organizations which supported sports medicine, there was not a forum specific for primary care non-surgical sports medicine physicians.
AMSSM provides a forum to foster professional relationships among sports medicine physicians to advance the discipline of sports medicine through education, research, advocacy and excellence in patient care.
AMSSM is committed to the following values:
- Service
- Honesty, Integrity and Respect
- Quality and Excellence
- Communication, Collaboration and Teamwork
- Read the Values Statement
AMSSM will be a worldwide leader in sports medicine.
- Education - Serve as the premier educational resource for sports medicine physicians
- Research - Advance sports medicine research and scholarship through funding support, collaboration and partnerships
- Advocacy - Uphold and promote priority issues in sports medicine affecting members, patients, and their communities
- Patient Care - Foster excellence in the care and safety of sports medicine patients
- Communications - Exchange information with members and the public effectively
- Infrastructure - Optimize resources to support the AMSSM mission, goals and objectives
- Collaboration - Develop and utilize mutual relationships to enhance the AMSSM mission, goals and objectives
In 1991, five family physicians with strong self-learned sports medicine training and experience, Drs. David Hough, John Lombardo, Doug McKeag, Jim Puffer and Lee Rice, sought to find a medical organization that would represent themselves and other like-minded physicians. After exploring options to integrate with other national organizations, it became clear the best option was to start a new specialized organization that would adequately represent and support their sports medicine interests. They each invested $7,000 of their personal savings into a seed fund for this new organization. The 20 Founders of AMSSM included:
- Randall Eichner, MD, Internal Medicine
- Elizabeth Gallup, MD, JD, Family Medicine (Deceased)
- Brian Halpern, MD, Family Medicine
- Jack Harvey, MD, Pediatrics
- John Henderson, DO, Family Medicine
- Stan Herring, MD, Physical Medicine and Rehab
- David Hough, MD, Family Medicine (Deceased)
- Robert Johnson, MD, Family Medicine
- Greg Landry, MD, Pediatrics
- John Lombardo, MD, Family Medicine
- Doug McKeag, MD, Family Medicine
- Larry McLain, MD, Pediatrics (Deceased)
- Robert Murphy, MD, Internal Medicine (Deceased)
- James Puffer, MD, Family Medicine
- Lee Rice, DO, Family Medicine
- Douglas Shaw, MD, Emergency Medicine
- Deborah Squire, MD, Pediatrics
- Mitch Storey, DO, Family Medicine
- Richard Strauss, MD, Internal and Preventive Medicine (Deceased)
- Jeffrey Tanji, MD, Family Medicine
AMSSM's 1st Annual Meeting was held in San Diego in July 1992, with Brian Halpern, MD as the guarantor, which held him personally responsible if the meeting failed monetarily. The rest of the Founders all verbally agreed to help cover any losses. However, this first meeting was a success! The approximately 120 physicians who attended, all trained in primary care specialties, had finally found an organization which supported their beliefs that they had a central role in providing high quality sports medicine care. By the 20th Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2011, over 1,000 physicians attended the conference, and the AMSSM membership had more than 2,000 members. Thanks to the early vision and strong commitment of the dedicated Founders, AMSSM has become a strong, vital, multi-disciplinary organization of physicians.
