Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians
The Australasian College of Sport & Exercise Physicians is a not-for-profit professional organisation responsible for training, educating, and representing over 350 doctors in Australia and New Zealand. These doctors practise medicine in the specialty of Sport & Exercise Medicine. The ACSEP is the smallest of the 15 recognised specialist medical Colleges in Australia.
Sport & Exercise Medicine practice in Australia and New Zealand
is a specialty area of medicine, although the structure of SEM training varies substantially from country to country. In some countries it is an area of vocational interest only, with no formal recognition or qualifications. In other countries – such as the USA - it is a subspecialty of other primary specialties. The model in the UK is that SEM is a stand-alone specialty, with the administration being a Faculty within a bigger College that houses the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine UK.In Australia and New Zealand the status of SEM is of a stand-alone specialty with ACSEP being the specialist College administering training and education. Doctors wishing to specialize in sport & exercise medicine must complete a medical degree, a minimum of 3 years of pre-specialty general medical training and then a minimum of 4 years of specialty training with the ACSEP. Both acceptance onto the advanced training program and graduation from it requires passing examinations. As part of advanced training, all registrars must publish a research paper in the field of SEM. Once graduated as Fellows, practitioners must undertake annual continuous medical education to stay active. The ACSEP is one of the few specialist medical colleges in Australia and NZ that conducts training in primarily in private practice. The others are Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine.
Although sports physicians can prescribe drugs, perform minor surgical procedures, use Diagnostic ultrasound and order other radiological imaging and blood tests, the signature treatment of SEM practice is exercise prescription.
Careers within SEM in Australia and NZ include:
• Clinical sports medicine practice, treating musculoskeletal injuries in athletes, but also treating illness and working in areas such as Sports Cardiology, managing concussion and exercise-induced asthma.
• Clinical exercise medicine practice assisting with non-athletic patients who are trying to exercise move for general health. Exercise is known to treat and/or prevent cancer, cardiovascular disease, mental health disorders, arthritis and back pain, diabetes and osteoporosis, which are many of Australia’s health priorities.
• Working in professional and elite sport as a team doctor
• Working in professional and elite sport as an administrator. The majority of major sports in Australia have Chief Medical Officers who oversee medical and health policy within the sport
• Working in research/academic publication
Some of the major conditions typically treated by SEM include Osteoarthritis, Tendinopathy, Back pain, Muscle strain, Concussions in sport, Sprained ankle, Anterior cruciate ligament injury, Dislocated shoulder.
Sports and Exercise Medicine physicians working in specialist SEM practice and the ACSEP are differentiated from the more broad bodies Sports Medicine Australia and Sports Medicine New Zealand which represents not only doctors but also Allied Health practitioners working in the Sports medicine field, including occupations such as Physiotherapist, Exercise Physiologist, Podiatrist and other branches of Sports science. The worldwide parent body for these more broad sports medicine associations is FIMS.
Funding of Sport & Exercise Medicine in Australia and New Zealand
Sport & Exercise Medicine in New Zealand is essentially funded by the Accident Compensation Corporation, which is a no-fault government insurer covering all injuries which occur in NZ, including sports injuries. Professional sports also directly employ some SEM physicians.In Australia, limited funding is provided by Medicare for patients of SEM physicians. However, Medicare rebates for SEM physicians were lowered in 2010, and have not subsequently been increased, so that much of the expense in consulting a SEM physician is borne by the patient. A recent review of Medicare has recommended that SEM consultation rebates for SEM physicians increase to achieve parity with other specialist physicians , but this recommendation has not yet been actioned.
History
The ACSEP was originally formed as the Australian College of Sports Physicians in 1985 by a group of doctors with vocational interest in sports medicine. Some of the original sports physicians in Australia were GPs who took an interest in sport and eventually chose to practise full-time in this area. In the late 1980s, a decision was made to pursue a stand-alone medical specialty with a formal structure of entry and Fellowship exams and multi-year training program. The ACSP granted honorary Fellowship to ten Fellows of other recognized specialty colleges in Australia who acted as examiners. All applicants for the inaugural FACSP qualification had to show the equivalent of current practice in sports medicine and pass an exam, which first took place in 1991. This examination continued to become the Part 2 ACSP examination.In 1992, the first registrars were admitted onto the ACSP training program, which was conducted in private practice initially in Melbourne and Sydney. The ACSP first part examination was developed.
In 1993, the first training position at a government institution was created at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.
In 1993 New Zealand Fellows were admitted for the first time.
In 1998, sports medicine was recognized as a vocational specialty in New Zealand.
In 2000, ACSEP Fellows were instrumental in providing athlete care services for all sports in the Sydney Olympic Games. The training program was well established with 17 training posts in the year 2000.
In 2000, sports physicians were first recognized by Medicare in Australia and awarded consultation item numbers equivalent to vocationally-registered General Practitioners.
In 2006, the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine UK was established with many of the structures and training programs established using the existing structures of the ACSP.
In 2006, ACSP established that sport and exercise medicine should be considered a medical specialty in Australia.
In 2008, the ACSP was successfully assessed by the Australian Medical Council as having fulfilled all the criteria for establishment as a specialist medical College in Australia. This has been successfully reviewed in 2013 and 2019.
In 2010, Medicare recognized sports physicians as specialists in Australia.
In 2014, the National Office, which was initially established in Sydney, moved to Collins St in the Melbourne CBD.
In 2016, the ACSP changed its name to include Exercise in the title alongside sport with the College abbreviation becoming ACSEP. Exercise medicine is thought to be an emerging branch of SEM aimed at keeping the population healthy by assisting with Exercise Prescription.
By 2020, the ACSEP had over 50 training positions with over 200 specialist doctors in total in Australia and New Zealand, and other affiliated members.
Notable Sports Physicians in Australasia
Notable sports physicians in Australia and New Zealand include Peter Larkins, Nathan Gibbs, Rachel Harris, Martin Raftery, Peter Fricker, Lesley Rumball and Dave Gerrard. Dr Geoff Thompson FACSEP was named the Northern Territory Australian of the Year in 2020.Office Bearers
The key office bearers at the ACSEP are:| Position | Office Holder |
| President | Dr Louise Tulloh |
| Immediate Past-President | Dr Adam Castricum |
| Chairman of the Board | David Brennan |
| Chief Executive Officer | Kate Simkovic |
Sport & Exercise Medicine Physicians are generally appointed as the Chief Medical Officers for the major sporting competitions in Australian and New Zealand. Current sport CMOs are:
| Organisation | Chief Medical Officer |
| Australian Football League | Dr Peter Harcourt, OAM |
| Australian Institute of Sport | Dr David Hughes |
| Cricket Australia | Dr John Orchard, AM |
| Football Federation Australia | Dr Mark Jones |
| National Rugby League | Dr Paul Bloomfield |
| NSW Institute of Sport | Dr Corey Cunningham |
| Netball Australia | Dr Susan White, AM |
| New Zealand Rugby | Dr Ian Murphy |
| Rugby Australia | Dr Warren McDonald |
| SASI | Dr Geoff Verrall |
| Tennis Australia | Dr Carolyn Broderick |
| Victorian Institute of Sport | Dr Greg Hickey |
Controversies in Australasian sports medicine
Sports medicine is one of the most visible medical specialties in Australia and New Zealand because of the prominence of professional sport in these countries. Issues that have had very high public profile that have involved sports medicine include Concussions in Australian sport, the Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, the Essendon Football Club supplements saga, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks supplements saga, Drugs in sport in Australia, and serious injuries to high profile players, such as Phillip Hughes. A criticism/controversy of doctors who work in professional sport is that generally they are paid by their team which creates a potential conflict of interest between the best interests of the team and the best interests of the long-term health of the player.Partners
Key partners/sponsors of the ACSEP include the Australian Institute of Sport, the Australian Olympic Committee, the National Rugby League, the Australian Football League, Sports Medicine Australia, Sports Medicine New Zealand, Australian Indigenous Doctors Association and Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.The ACSEP partnered with the National Rugby League to create the Dr Ken Crichton Fellowship
The ACSEP works with the Accident Compensation Corporation to work to reduce injuries in New Zealand.
The ACSEP partnered with the University of Washington to produce a module for training physicians in the interpretation of Electrocardiography in Athletes.
The ACSEP is a partner in Australia's National Osteoarthritis Strategy.
The ACSEP is also a partner, with the Australian Institute of Sport, the Australian Medical Association and Sports Medicine Australia in the Concussion in Sport Australia Position statement.
Journals
The ACSEP subscribes to many Sport & Exercise Medicine journals but has a particular relationship as a member society with the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine and the British Journal of Sports Medicine.Qualifications
FellowAn ACSEP Fellow is a registered medical practitioner who has applied for and been admitted to Fellowship by the ACSEP Board of Directors. The usual pathway to Fellowship involves completion of basic training, passing the Part 1 entrance exam, application for the Fellowship Training Program, completion of all training requirements and passing the Fellowship examinations. Fellowship is awarded by the Examination and Assessment Committee and Board of Directors.
The qualification of "Fellow of the Australasian College of Sport & Exercise Physicians", abbreviated as the post-nominal initials FACSEP, is a recognition of the completion of the prescribed postgraduate specialist training program in sport and exercise medicine in Australia or New Zealand.