AMSUS – Society of Federal Health Professionals
The AMSUS Association was founded in 1891, and in 1903 was chartered by the U.S. Congress. This charter defined the organization’s purpose: “to advance the knowledge of military surgery, medicine and hygiene in the medical departments of the army, navy, naval hospital service and militia of the several states, and to increase the efficiency of the several services by mutual association and examination of matters pertaining to the medical-military service of the United States in time of peace and war”. Since its inception, AMSUS has sponsored annual training and networking meetings, brought together industry and government leaders, and provided a forum for federal healthcare agencies to communicate with each other. AMSUS was originally the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, but was later renamed the Society of Federal Health Care Professionals, although the AMSUS acronym still stands. From the organization’s earliest years, international military medical personnel were invited to participate.
In fact, it was at the 28th meeting of AMSUS after the First World War (1920) that U.S. Navy Captain William S. Bainbridge, MD, and Belgian physician Commandant Jules Voncken
suggested the creation of an international organization of armed forces medical services, which eventually led to the formation of the Comité International de Médecine Militaire (CIMM) on July 21, 1921, with Belgium, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the USA as founding members. Since then, the two organizations have flourished independently of each other, but have always remained closely linked in spirit and purpose, with AMSUS having a greater presence in the United States due to its support of the U.S. Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security. AMSUS sponsors Military Medicine, a journal devoted to research and articles of importance to the military medical community, as well as several continuing education events throughout the year. Each year, the AMSUS meeting attracts senior officials and attendees from all U.S. federal health agencies, as well as an international audience often including chief medical officers or their deputies from several nations, to discuss current topics and exchange ideas and lessons learned. Membership is open to members of all military health services, whether active, reserve or retired. See www.amsus.org for more information.
