The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) was founded from the idea that sports medicine surgery and being a team physician require a unique skillset and body of knowledge. This principle has guided our Society for over 50 years, with the core mission of education and research emphasizing and advancing the specialized skills and knowledge necessary to keep our patients "in the game."
The recognition of this unique skillset by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) through Subspecialty Certification (SSC) is a testament to the extra study and training that goes into being an expert in the field of orthopaedic sports medicine. This ABOS Subspecialty Certification codifies sports medicine as a robust, significant, and unique subset of knowledge and skills within the field of orthopaedics in particular and in medicine in general. This professional medical recognition instills confidence in players, coaches, parents, and administrators that these orthopaedists are qualified to coordinate care for the team as well as provide excellent care for individual athletes.
Increasingly, sports leagues and governing bodies are requiring subspecialty certification to be a team physician. It will likely be a topic of conversation when AOSSM hosts the second annual summit of professional team physician societies at our Annual Meeting in Nashville this July, bringing together physician leaders from the NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, MLS, and hopefully representatives from women’s leagues, the NCAA, and AMSSM.
This work will build on the position statement coordinated by AOSSM in May 2023 and later covered by ESPN, “Protecting Athletes and Team Physicians Who Care for Them Amid Rising Complexity and Liability Risk,” following major events that shifted the legal landscape for sports medicine practitioners. This is a concern that now reaches from the professional teams through high school athletes. The role and importance of Subspecialty Certification is a part of these discussions.
During my time on the AOSSM Board, I have been passionate about encouraging fellowship-trained sports medicine surgeons to pursue ABOS Subspecialty Certification. Over the last two years, I’ve helped lead a partnership with Dr. David Martin, Executive Medical Director of the ABOS and longtime member of our own Society. The two organizations collaborated to clear hurdles to obtaining the SSC with concrete results: historically, fellowship graduates had to wait several years after completing their fellowship to sit for the SSC exam, but beginning this August, candidates are eligible to take their subspecialty examination upon completion of an ACGME-accredited fellowship. This change allows candidates to be assessed at a more opportune time when their knowledge is at its peak and their practice demands are at their lowest.
Modifying the exam timeline has made it easier for candidates to pursue SSC, but there is no time limit on the value of this recognition when a candidate can take the exam. Any surgeon who has completed an ACGME accredited sports medicine fellowship at any point can sit for the exam. We strongly encourage all surgeons that have completed a fellowship, but for whatever reason did not take the SSC Exam in the past, to take the exam now and become subspecialty certified. Once a surgeon has their SSC, their subsequent Maintenance of Certification (MOC) can be sports medicine based (as opposed to general orthpaedics based).
In true AOSSM fashion, we’ve developed an outstanding resource to support the more than 300 individuals registered to take the exam this summer. The AOSSM Subspecialty Certification Exam Prep Course, developed by AOSSM Past President Mark Miller, MD and an expert faculty, will be held both in-person and virtually on Sunday, July 13 following the Annual Meeting. Led by legends in sports medicine, the course features expert-led lectures, case-based discussions, and invaluable insights into exam topics. The timing of this prep course is such that you can take the SSC Exam just a few weeks after completing the course. If you were not able to apply through the ABOS to sit for the SSC exam this summer, we encourage you to do so for next year.
We invite every orthopaedic sports medicine surgeon to explore the many ways AOSSM membership supports your continued growth and your recertification. Among other activities, this includes a rigorous, online Self-Assessment Exam developed by an expert committee for the express purpose of review and recertification. AOSSM also makes numerous articles from our flagship journal, The American Journal of Sports Medicine, available for the ABOS MOC.
Of course, we continue to offer a wide range of in-person, virtual, and on-demand education opportunities that provide Category 1 CME credit as well as the latest research, trends, best practices, and leadership insights to keep moving the field of sports medicine forward. I hope you’ll join me in Nashville this July for the largest and most exciting sports medicine event of the year, the AOSSM Annual Meeting.