International Team Physician Course

The 2018 American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) International Team Physician Course (ITPC) event was held in Accra, Ghana from 26-29 November 2018. This event was historic as it was the first time it was held in Ghana and the sub-Saharan West African region. The ACSM ITPC event coincided and enhanced the beginning of the postgraduate training program for Sports, Exercise and Rehabilitation in Ghana, the first of its kind in its format in Ghana and in the sub-Saharan West African Region.

The ACSM ITPC faculty members who visited the country included Dr Suzanne Hecht, Dr Sharon Hame, Dr David Olson and Dr John Hatzenbuehler. Dr Suzanne Hecht served as the chair of the ACSM ITPC faculty for the program in Accra, Ghana. Dr Anthony Annan, the ACSM ITPC course organiser for the event and a Sports and Exercise Medicine and Family Medicine Physician based in the UK and Professor Jacob Plange-Rhule, Rector of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS) in Accra, Ghana served as the co-hosts for the ACSM ITPC program in Accra. Dr. Deborah Cubagee, President of the Ghana Olympic Committee and international federation of sports medicine (FIMS) Ghana representative, helped with the initial liaising with the ACSM with a support letter for the event.

The local organising committee (LOC) members who helped run the course under the auspices of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons were Dr Martin Engmann (Chair), Prof Jacob Plange-Rhule, Dr Akwesi Adomakoh, Dr Prince Pambo, Dr Akye Essuman, Dr Jonathan Quartey and Dr Abena Tannor (Ghana’s first postgraduate student in sports, exercise and rehabilitation medicine). The faculty of family medicine of the GCPS members who also helped organise the course included Dr Kwesi Hanson (Chair of faculty of family medicine), Dr Akye Essuman and Dr Edwina Opare-Addo.

The event was busy and packed with lots of lectures and interactive teaching. The theme for the course itself was Exercise is Medicine (EIM) with parallel lectures on team administration, musculoskeletal and orthopaedic medicine, medical issues in athletes and as well as lectures on the female, senior and paediatric athlete. The ACSM/ITPC also included a workshop for musculoskeletal examinations.

Each ACSM ITPC faculty member gave an average of 9-10 lectures which was stellar and well received by the attendees. Local sports physicians in Ghana who were also LOC members Dr Martin Engmann (Chair), Dr Akwesi Adomakoh, Dr Prince Pambo, Dr Jonathan Quartey and Dr Abena Tannor gave sports specific lectures from Ghana. In between the sessions Mrs Philomena Annan (ACSM member), a senior physiotherapist in the UK, took all the attendees through 3-5 min of exercises in between sessions as per the EIM theme. The course and lectures were very interactive, enjoyable and interesting.

The event itself attracted on the average maximum of 50-60 attendees every day. The attendees came from across Ghana and sub-saharan countries including Nigeria. The attendees included sports physicians, physiotherapists, family and general physicians, post graduate medical students, sports scientists, physical educationists etc. The event was covered by the Ghana news agency and the ACSM/ITPC faculty were also interviewed by the Ghana Television sports plus (GTV Sports Plus) channel producer, where all the ACSM faculty members each gave a speech on the importance of exercise is medicine and its role in the management of chronic medical illnesses etc. This helped raise awareness of EIM in Ghana.

At the closing ceremony, Prof Plange-Rhule the rector of GCPS gave a motivational speech heralding the accreditation of the first postgraduate student in Sports, Exercise and Rehabilitation Medicine (SERM) for the first time in Ghana. He thanked Dr Anthony Annan and the faculty of family medicine for helping to create this SERM program for the first time in Ghana. He also thanked the ACSM ITPC faculty for their hard work and giving such excellent lectures over the three days. Dr Kwesi Hanson, the chair of the faculty of family medicine, thanked the ACSM ITPC faculty for their hard work and facilitating the work of the new SERM program through their lectures.   Dr Suzanne Hecht, the ACSM faculty chair, on behalf of the ACSM faculty members thanked all the participants for attending this historic event which has helped raise the awareness of sports medicine and EIM in Ghana and hoped that the collaboration between ACSM and Ghana will continue well into the future. All the ACSM faculty members were presented with awards for their hard work and stellar lectures which went down well with all participants. Dr Hecht, Dr Annan and Prof Plange-Rhule signed and presented CME certificates to the participants.

The sight-seeing was limited due to time constraints-but the ACSM faculty members toured important historic sites including the Dr Kwame Nkrumah (First Ghanaian President-Pan African Leader) Memorial Burial Park; the unknown Ghanaian soldier statue (World wars 1 and 2) at the Independence square, Accra; Houses of Parliament, Accra; Supreme High Court house building and memorial statues for the three high court judges (Martyrs of the rule of Law) in Accra; the Accra Arts Council; Ghana’s first premier university-The University of Ghana Legon, Accra; and the premises of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) Accra . The ACSM faculty also visited and toured the historic first ancient slave trade castle in Africa, Elmina castle, recognised by UNESCO as a world heritage site, also the site for a major filming location for Werner Herzog‘s 1987 drama film Cobra Verde. The ACSM faculty also enjoyed an evening of JAZZ music at Ghana’s premier +233 Jazz club in Accra.

The ACSM faculty members made new friends and interacted well with the participants and enjoyed the warm and friendly nature of the local people. The feedback from the participants at the ACSM/ITPC event was excellent and the ACSM/ITPC members hard work and great lectures was well appreciated.

The ACSM faculty’s interaction and collaboration with the GCPS has also helped facilitate the first sports, exercise and rehabilitation medicine program in Ghana. This program will provide enormous scientific research and provide educational and practical applications of sports medicine in Ghana and world-wide. This will benefit the health and medical care for Ghana’s exercising populations and introduce Ghana as a country with a sports and exercise medicine training program to the West African sub-Saharan region and the world.

Compiled by Dr AE Annan
7 February 2019

The 2017 ACSM International Team Physician Course was held from October 15 – 18, in Kakamega, Kenya, co-sponsored by the Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST). The US based faculty was led by Dr. Anastasia Fischer, and included Drs. Peter Gerbino, Nailah Coleman, and Kevin Vincent. Dr. Wayne Derman of Stellenbosch University in South Africa joined as a guest lecturer, and the team was hosted by Dr. Peter Bukhala.

Submitted by 2016 ITPC Faculty Chair
Francis G. O’Connor, MD, MPH, FACSM

The 2015 ACSM International Team Physician Course was held October 20-22, 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa in conjunction with the 16th Biennial Congress of SASMA (South African Sports Medicine Association). The faculty members representing ACSM were Drs. Aaron Baggish (USA), Karim Khan (Canada/Qatar), Lyle Micheli (USA) and Cindy Chang (USA). 

Each faculty member presented 4-6 lectures on a range of topics. Professor Khan gave the Exercise is Medicine® Keynote address titled “Smokadiabesity, 23.5 hours and other stories: How can we get populations to adopt physical activity behavior?” Dr. Micheli presented on various orthopedic topics concerning the young athlete and regaled the primarily South African attendees with his experience and research on rugby injuries.  The lectures by Dr. Baggish, a preeminent sports cardiologist who is director of the Boston Marathon, were extremely well-attended and included topics such as “Exercise recommendations in athletes with cardiac disorders” and “Cardiac imaging: distinguishing athlete’s heart from cardiomyopathy.”  

Dr. Chang presented on a diverse range of topics including “Evidence behind preparticipation evaluations: why do we do it?” and “Concussion in the young athlete: return to play and return to learn.”  Several faculty members participated in a lively panel discussion at the conclusion of the meeting titled “Pearls and pitfalls—advancing your career in sports and exercise medicine.” SASMA President Dr. Patricios and Dr. Phatho Zondi SASMA President-Elect, organized an excellent meeting.  In attendance were approximately 405 SASMA members representing various fields of sports medicine including physicians, physiotherapists, biokineticists, exercise physiologists, educators, and podiatrists. In total, 600 attendees participated in 3-day meeting with other faculty and attendees coming from Sweden, United Kingdom, Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya. 

The 2013 ACSM International Team Physician Course (ITPC) was held on December 4-5, 2013, in Santiago de Chilé.  The course was chaired by Erik Adams MD, PhD, FACSM, with faculty members Anastasia Fischer MD, FACSM and Ralph Bovard MD, MPH, FACSM.

The 2012 ACSM ITPC was held on October 24-26 in Cape Town, South Africa.  Dr. Bert Fields served as chair of the American faculty that included Dr. Fran O’Connor, Dr. Mary Lloyd Ireland, Dr. Craig Young and Dr. Sharon Busey.  The South African hosts were Dr. Jon Patricios and Dr. Martin Schwellnus.  They served as co-chairs for the CME program – entitled the International Advanced Team Medical Care course.

The ITPC course was run in conjunction with a simultaneous course entitled – Lifestyle interventions for Chronic Disease an Introductory Course.  The courses filled the registration limit with 200 attendees from every state within South Africa.  By running parallel courses and incorporating both medical and injury topics into the ITPC lectures, the course directors provided a program that attracted a mixture of sports physicians, general physicians, sports scientists, nutritionists and physiotherapists.  Each of the American faculty taught 3 to 4 general lectures and also presented two workshops. The workshops were focused to provide more advanced teaching to the sports physicians in attendance.

The faculty received extremely positive feedback from the hosts and from the many attendees.  The course design allowed a lot of time for participants to have one on one discussion with faculty as well as having a number of general question and answer sessions.  This gave the attendees good exposure to the level of teaching at ACSM sponsored courses and hopefully encouraged them to attend one of the ACSM annual meetings.

The South African Sports Medicine Society designated this as their annual meeting so most of the leading sports physicians from the major universities and urban areas in South Africa attended.  Dr. Renate Frankovich who is the current president of the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine and Dr. Paul Dijkstra who is the head physician for Athletics in the UK were additional international speakers who contributed to the program. 

The 2010 International Team Physician Course was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh from December 3-5, 2010.  Dr. Mohammad Zubayer and the Bangladesh Institute of Sports Sciences served as the host, and Balu Natarajan MD served as ITPC course chair.  Faculty included David C. Dome MD, Suzanne Hecht MD, and Neeru Jayanthi MD.  The course attracted nearly 40 participants, comprised primarily by physicians and physical therapists.  Most attendees were from the Dhaka area, but a few traveled from their homes in the United States and the United Kingdom to be a part of the course in their native country.

While the focus of the talks was on sport and sports medicine, workshops and discussion included pragmatic issues including treatment of arthritic conditions, exercise prescriptions for individuals with diabetes, and overall public health.  The ITPC faculty were inspired by the level of interest among participants, and are looking forward to sustained growth in sports medicine in Bangladesh.

The 2009 meeting was hosted by Johannesburg, South Africa at the Sandton Convention Centre from 12-15 February.  532 delegates from 14 different countries attended. The meeting, superbly hosted by Dr. Jon Patricios, was well supported by the pharmaceutical industry and sports medicine fraternity who complemented the outstanding presentations with a wonderful trade exhibition. The event was opened with an excellent address by Dr. Tim Noakes who then presented the ACSM faculty with Bafana Bafana (South Africa’s National Soccer Team) shirts in commemoration of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup to be hosted in South Africa.

The overseas faculty from the ACSM was lead by Dr. PZ Pearce and included Dr. Mark Hutchinson, Dr. Joel Press, and Dr. Doug McKeag. In total, this experienced panel covered 28 topics ranging from fieldside care and sports traumatology to care of specific sporting populations. Dr. Susan Carter also presented an excellent workshop on the Female Athletic Triad.  The ACSM contingent was joined by Dr. Dalius Barkauskas, a Lithuanian sports physician with experience from 6 Olympic Games, who presented a series of workshops and lectures integrating orthodox sports medicine with naturopathic therapies.  A number of prominent local speakers presented lectures of equivalent quality to their overseas colleagues, including Dr. Mark Ferguson, Dr. Ralph Posner, Dr. Demitri Constantinou, Dr. Glen Hagemann, Dr. Sello Motaung, Ron Veenis, Simon Lawson, Sean Pincus, Janine Hugo, and Estelle Watson.

An exciting feature of the event was the participation of elite athletes in the program. National cricketer Neil McKenzie partook in an excellent breakfast seminar detailing his knee injuries with experienced orthopaedic surgeon Dr Ponky Firer. Bryan Habana opened the cocktail function with an address on the influence of sports science on his career whilst Oscar Pistorius had 500 medical professionals spellbound for 45 minutes during his keynote address “Birth to Bladerunner to Beijing- the influence of sports medicine & science on my career.” The William Webb Ellis Trophy won by South Africa at the 2007 Rugby World Cup was on display on the Thursday evening and was probably photographed more during the ITPC than during the World Cup!

Feedback from local and overseas delegates has been overwhelmingly favorable. The 2009 ITPC was an excellent example of collaboration between international and local expertise and a wonderful learning experience for all, hopefully to be repeated.     

Pictured: ACSM Faculty with Dr. Jon Patricios (Host) & the Rugy World Cup: L to R – Dr. Mark Hutchinson, Dr. Doug McKeag, Dr. Jon Patricios, Dr. PZ Pearce, Dr. Joel Press and Dr. Susan Carter.

The 2008 Team Physician Course Part II was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil in October. The event was attended by more than 100 orthopedic surgeons and other sports medicine physicians. This is especially noteworthy because, in Brazil, only medical doctors can attend medical conferences and to get 100 physicians to a highly specialized conference is unusual.

Our Brazilian hosts were Andre Pedrinelli, MD, FASCM and Andrea Arruda, MD. Drs Pedrinelli and Arruda worked tirelessly to ensure a successful program and to make our trip enjoyable. This year, more of the program was taught by Brazilian doctors as Brazil develops its sports medicine teaching network. Our goals are to establish the ACSM Team Physician Course as an international experience that can be taught around the world.

The 6 physicians from North America representing ACSM were Pierre d’Hemecourt, MD, FASCM, Mary Lloyd Ireland, MD, FASCM, Anthony Luke, MD, FASCM, Steven Simons, MD, FASCM, Merrilee Zetaruk,MDand Peter Gerbino, MD, FACSM (Chair).

Drs. Pedrinelli and Arruda plan on repeating Part I in 2010.  The goal is to establish a 2-year cycle as popularity grows and eventually give Team Physician Courses annually.

Pictured: ACSM Faculty with Dr. Andrea Arruda

The 2008 ITPC was held on July 23-25 in Santiago, Chile.  ACSM faculty included Margot Putukian, M.D., FACSM (serving as chair) along with Cindy Chang, M.D., FACSM, Bert Fields, MD, and Lisa Lattanza, M.D. Host organizers included:  Fernando Gonzalez, M.D., Alejandro Opazo and Marcella Torres.  The hosts were very gracious to the faculty, taking them on tours of their clinic, the city, and local markets.  Dr. Putukian stated, “the generosity and absolute hospitality of our hosts is hard to acknowledge in words as it was well above and beyond all expectations.”    The conference was very well organized and ran concurrently with another set of sessions for allied health providers.  There were approximately 250 participants, the majority of these (75%) were orthopedic surgeons, with the remainder being cardiologists, neurologists, primary care physicians, nutritionists, physical education teachers, and physiotherapists.  The breakout sessions were exciting and interactive, and all sessions were well attended with lively discussions following each session.

The host lecture given by Dr. Fernando Gonzalez; “The Role of Growth Factors in Musculoskeletal Injury,” was a high quality presentation which provided some cutting edge information and was one of the highlights of the conference.

The success of 2008 International Team Physician Course was in part due to a very committed faculty that worked especially hard at delivering a high level course, but also in part due to the tremendous hosts.  The facilities were beautiful, the participants were involved and invested and the feedback faculty received throughout the course was very positive.  The ACSM faculty made many new friends and colleagues, and represented ACSM well in this international initiative.  

Pictured: 2008 ITPC Faculty & Organizers

The 9th International Team Physician Course was held in Bogota, Colombia on September 29-October 1, 2007.  The Istituto Distrital Recreacion y Deporte (The District Institute of Recreation and Sport) and Dr. Juan Carlos hosted the course.  Faculty members included:  Mark Bouchard, MD, FACSM (Course Chair), Erik Adams, MD, Ralph Bovard, MD, FACSM.  The conference was attended by nearly all of the sports medicine physicians in Colombia.  There were approximately 80 attendees.  Most were graduates of the country’s several Sports Medicine residency programs.  Topics including sideline preparedness, management of acute on-field injuries and general medical topics were covered during the three day course.  Hands-on workshops on joint examination were also given.  Dr. Carlos and his staff were very generous hosts and helped put on a very well-organized course.  The sports facilities in Bogota are very impressive.  Bogota is currently bidding to be the host city for the 2015 Pan American Games.

The 8th International Team Physician Course was held in Monterrey, Mexico on November 20- 22, 2006.  The Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon and Dr. Pedro Morales hosted the course.  Faculty members included: Sandra Hoffmann, MD, FACSM (Course Chair); Mark Bouchard, MD, FACSM; Peter Gerbino, MD, FACSM; and Margot Putukian, MD, FACSM.  A small but enthusiastic group of students, residents, and practicing physicians listened intently during the three day course, which was followed by a special post course on soccer.  The first day of the course focused on the role of the team physician as well as being prepared for possible catastrophic sports emergencies such as head or cervical spine injuries.  The second day was spent primarily on joint specific problems such as the knee and shoulder.  Hands-on workshops led by the faculty allowed the students to focus on their physical exam skills.  The remainder of the course was spent on medical issues in sports, the role of exercise in treatment and prevention of chronic illnesses, and special populations.  In addition, a special presentation was given by Dr Jorge Gama Aguilar of the Instituto Politecnico Nacional on Doping Control in Mexico.

Pictured (left to right):  Peter Gerbino, MD, FACSM (Faculty); Sandra Hoffmann, MD, FACSM (Course Chair); Dr. Pedro Morales (Course Host); Margot Putukian, MD, FACSM (Faculty); and Mark Bouchard, MD, FACSM (Faculty)

The International Team Physician Course was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on September 23-25. The course allowed for teaching and fellowship among the ACSM faculty and the local attendees and drew approximately 50 attendees, mostly from Malaysia and Singapore.  The course was jointly sponsored by the Malaysian Association of Sports Science, the Football Association of Malaysia, the Olympic Council of Malaysia, and ACSM. The venue for the meeting was the beautiful National Sports Council Complex in Kuala Lumpur.  ACSM faculty included Robert Sallis, MD, FACSM (Course Chair), Robert Dimeff, MD, PZ Pearce, MD, and Marc Safran, MD, FACSM. Local faculty/organizers included Dr.Ramian Abdul Aziz, the newly appointed head of the Malaysian Sports Council,Dr John George, University of Malaya, Associate Radiologist of the National Sports Council, and Dato Dr. Amerit S. Gill, chairman of the Sports Medicine Society of Malaysian. Dr. Wye Mun Low, chair of the ITPC sub-committee, also attended and was instrumental in making the course a success.

Pictured (left to right):  Mohd Ghazali Mohd Isa (course secretary); Marc Safran, MD (faculty); Associate Professor John George (Convenor); Dato’ Dr. Amarjit Singh Gill (chairman); Bob Sallis, MD; (course chair); PZ Pearce, MD (faculty); Bob Dimeff, MD (faculty); Dr. Wye Mun Low (ITPC sub-committee chair), and Marilyn Chang (assistant).

The Sociedade Paulista de Medicina do Esporte (SPAMDE), which represents the regional chapter of the Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina do Esporte (SBME), hosted the first international Team Physician Course-Part I in Sao Paulo Brazil on May 11-14, 2005. The host organizers for this course were Andre Pedrinelli, M.D. and Andrea Arruda, M.D.  ACSM is pleased to be a part of sharing sports medicine knowledge with international colleagues. Offering this course outside the U.S. provides a learning opportunity for all involved.  The ACSM Medical Education Committee was called upon to consult with this group.  Faculty from ACSM invited to participate included: William W. Dexter, M.D., FACSM (Chair); Mark R. Hutchinson, M.D., FACSM; Mary Lloyd Ireland, M.D., FACSM; Elizabeth A. Joy, M.D., FACSM; William O. Roberts, M.D., FACSM: and L. Tyler Wadsworth, M.D. The Sociedade Paulista de Medicine do Esporte will look for an opportunity to offer Part II of the course in the very near future

Pictured left to right): L. Tyler Wadsworth M.D., Elizabeth Joy, M.D., William Roberts, M.D., Andrea Arruda, M.D., Andre Pedrinelli, M.D., William Dexter, M.D., Mary Lloyd Ireland, M.D., Mark Hutchinson, M.D., and Jim Macintyre, M.D.

The 2005 ITPC was held in Mysore, India on March 4-6, 2005. Dr. Bogadi Prashanth served as the host with Rob Johnson, M.D. serving as the course chair. Faculty included: Anne Allen, M.D., Balakrishnan Natarajan, M.D. and Angela Smith, M.D.  The course attracted 110 participants, 37 physicians (primarily orthopaedists, a few family physicians and internists) and 69 sports physiotherapists. Most attendees were from the Mysore and Bangalore area of the state of Karnataka with a few representing neighboring states of Karela and Hyderabad. There were a few delegates from north India, three representatives from the Karnataka State Cricket Board and a physician representing the National Cricket Board of Pakistan from Lahore, Pakistan.