The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM) is an organization of rehabilitation professionals dedicated to serving people with disabling conditions by supporting research that:

• promotes health, independence, productivity, and quality of life, and
• meets the needs of rehabilitation clinicians and people with disabilities.

In order to enhance current and future research and knowledge translation, ACRM:

• assists researchers in improving their investigations and dissemination of findings
• educates providers to deliver best practices, and
• advocates for funding of future rehabilitation research.

The ACRM is a global community of both researchers and consumers of research, in the field of rehabilitation. ACRM is the only professional association representing all members of the interdisciplinary rehabilitation team, including: physicians, psychologists, rehabilitation nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech therapists, recreation specialists, case managers, rehabilitation counselors

Rehabilitation counseling

Rehabilitation Counseling is focused on helping people who have disabilities achieve their personal, career, and independent living goals through a counseling process...

, vocational counselors, and disability management specialists.

Leadership Role

As rehabilitation science continues to evolve, ACRM’s goal is to keep the community connected by creating opportunities to exchange and share information among clinical practitioners, rehabilitation researchers, knowledge brokers, research funders, provider organizations, healthcare payers, and industry regulators.

The ACRM encourages leaders in rehabilitation to identify current best practices and best providers at all levels of care, and share this information via education meetings and the journal, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

The ACRM aims to support multidisciplinary leadership and practice innovation to ensure that people living with chronic disease or disability have access to effective rehabilitation services throughout their lives.

The ACRM serves as a forum for creating and discussing new treatment paradigms that take into account the composition of the rehabilitation team, the duration of care, and the venues required to achieve optimal functional outcomes for people with chronic disease and disabilities.

The ACRM is dedicated to:

• serving as an advocate for public policy and legislative issues that support individuals with disabilities and providers of rehabilitation services,
• helping develop innovative and cost-effective models of collaborative care and comprehensive rehabilitation management,
• leading research efforts that examine and develop the most effective clinical technology and treatment paradigms, and
• initiating dialogue with payers and regulators to communicate the collaborative care models that produce positive rehabilitation outcomes.

Organization

The ACRM is led by elected members organized into the Board of Governors. Supporting the Board of Governors are volunteer standing committees as well as a business team led by the Chief Executive Officer.

Executive Committee	2011-2012
President	Tamara Bushnik, PhD FACRM
President Elect	Sue Ann Sisto, PT MA PhD
Vice President	Douglas Katz, MD PhD FACRM
Treasurer	Wayne A. Gordon, PhD ABPP-CN FACRM
Secretary	Cindy Harrison-Felix, PhD
Past President	Gary R. Ulicny, PhD
Member-at-Large	Jennifer Bogner, PhD ABPP
Member-at-Large	Joshua Cantor, PhD
Member-at-Large	Anne Deutsch, PhD CRRN RN
Member-at-Large	Christine MacDonell
Member-at-Large	James Malec, PhD FACRM
Member-at-Large	Gale Whiteneck, PhD FACRM
CEO	Jon W. Lindberg, MBA

Special Interest and Networking Groups

Participation in ACRM is organized around specialties in rehabilitation. The ACRM has the following special interest and networking groups:

• Brain Injury Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group (BI-ISIG)
• Spinal Cord Injury Special Interest Group (SCI-SIG)
• Outcome Measurement Networking Group
• Stroke Networking Group

Membership

The ACRM welcomes as members all stakeholders in the field of rehabilitation, including clinicians, researchers, administrators, consultants, consumers, educators, research funders, insurers, and policymakers. Students and new entrants to the field are especially encouraged to join; a “young investigators” course offered each year as part of the annual meeting helps them to become productive rehabilitation researchers and ACRM members.

Members meet colleagues from around the world, engage with experts and mentors, learn new research strategies, access the latest clinical guidelines, advance academic and research careers, and gain opportunities to shape and lead the field of rehabilitation.

Members represent various disciplines, including:

• Audiology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Biostatistics
• Case Manager
• Clinical Epidemiology
• Clinical Research
• Counseling, Pastoral
• Counseling, Rehabilitation
• Counseling, Vocational
• Dietetics | Nutrition
• Health Services Research
• Neurology | Neurosurgery
• Neuropsychology
• Occupational Therapy
• Pediatrics
• Psychology
• Physiatrist
• Physical Therapy
• Psychiatry
• Recreation Therapy
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Rehabilitation Nursing
• Rehabilitation Psychology
• Social Work
• Speech | Language Pathology

Awards

The ACRM annually honors individuals who make significant contributions to the field of rehabilitation and research in this area. These six prestigious awards are presented at the Henry B. Betts Awards Gala during the annual conference.

Coulter Lecturer Award

This distinguished lectureship honors John Stanley Coulter, MD, a past president and treasurer of the ACRM, and editor-in-chief of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Award winners are recognized for achievements that significantly advance the field of rehabilitation.

Distinguished Member Award

Established in 1988, this award honors ACRM members who have significantly contributed to the development of the ACRM, demonstrating leadership skills, organizational abilities, and public service.

Gold Key Award

This award was established in 1932 as a certificate of merit for members of the medical and allied professions who have rendered extraordinary service to the cause of rehabilitation. It is the highest honor given by the ACRM.

Licht Award

The Elizabeth and Sidney Licht award recognizes excellence in scientific writing in rehabilitation. The award is given for the best scientific article published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the previous year.

Lowman Award

This award was established in 1989 in honor of Edward Lowman, MD, who recognized the importance of multidisciplinary teams in rehabilitation. ACRM members whose careers reflect an energetic promotion of the spirit of interdisciplinary rehabilitation are eligible for this award.

Wilkerson Early Career Award

The ACRM established the Deborah L. Wilkerson Memorial Fund in honor of this beloved member, past president, and ACRM Fellow. Deborah was devoted to improving the quality of rehabilitation and independent living services and was an advocate for individuals with disabilities. The Deborah L. Wilkerson Early Career Award is given each year during the ACRM-ASNR annual conference to the most promising member in his/her early rehabilitation research career.

History

Content for this timeline was obtained from historical records, conference proceedings, and other documents of the ACRM. This is in no way intended to reflect the comprehensive history, and therefore, it is highly likely that many significant events are not included. It is a summary of those events and markers that reflect the evolution of ACRM.

• 1923: The Congress was founded as the American College of Radiology and Physiotherapy, a professional association of physicians who used physical agents, and particularly electricity and x-rays, to diagnose and treat illness and disability. The first president was Samuel B. Childs, MD.
• 1925: The trend toward specialization in medicine resulted in a separation of radiology from physical therapy and a change in name to the American Congress of Physical Therapy.
• 1926: The Journal of Radiology, which began publication in 1920, changed its name to the Archives of Physical Therapy, X-ray, Radium and was declared the official journal of the American Congress of Physical Therapy.
• 1930: Albert F. Tyler, MD, the owner of the journal, presented the Archives to the Congress as a debt-free, unencumbered gift.
• 1932: The first Gold Key Awards were given to a total of seven people, including William L. Clark, F. Howard Humphris, and Albert F. Tyler.
• 1933: In a change reflecting the times, the American Congress of Physical Therapy assimilated the American Physical Therapy Association, and Albert F. Tyler, MD, was elected as president of the newly configured association.
• 1938: The journal name was shortened to Archives of Physical Therapy due to the decreased emphasis on X ray and radium.
• 1939: A specialty society was founded called the Society of Physical Therapy Physicians, which became the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) in 1956. The society was restricted to physicians who devoted themselves exclusively to the practice of physical therapy. The Archives was designated as its official journal.
• 1944: The Congress again changed names, to the American Congress of Physical Medicine.
• 1945: The 24th Annual Meeting was canceled at the request of the National War Committee on Conventions. This was the first and only time since the Congress was founded that an annual meeting was not held. The name of the journal became the Archives of Physical Medicine. The term “physical medicine” represented a change of emphasis from the purely clinical to the scientific and diagnostic basis of the medical use of physical agents. It also served to clarify the distinction between physicians and technicians of physical therapy, a stance the American Medical Association
  American Medical Association
  The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
  
   (AMA) had recently adopted.
• 1949: During the annual meeting the membership voted to collaborate with the British Association of Physical Medicine in the formation of an International Federation of Physical Medicine.
• 1951: The first John Stanley Coulter Memorial Lecture was presented by Kristian G. Hansson, MD, and highlighted the many contributions of John S. Coulter, MD, the third association president.
• 1952: Increasing recognition of the relationship between physical medicine and the rapidly growing field of rehabilitation resulted in a change in name to the American Congress of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
• 1953: The official name of the journal changed to its present name, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
  Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
  The is the official journal of the ', an organization focused on the creation and use of knowledge in the rehabilitation process. The Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation publishes original, peer-reviewed research and clinical reports on important trends and developments in medical...
  
  .
• 1965: A thorough study of the Congress and its functions was begun with the formation of the Professional Development Committee (PDC) under the chairmanship of John W. Goldschmidt, MD. Notable accomplishments of the PDC included a study of the objectives, constitution, and structure of the Congress, sponsorship of interdisciplinary forums, and a broadening of the membership.
• 1966: A group of forward-looking physicians in the Congress recognized the need for a forum in which members of various rehabilitation disciplines could share their professional, scientific, and technical talents. An amendment to the Congress constitution extended membership privileges to persons "holding an earned doctoral degree and active in and contributing to the advancement of the field of rehabilitation medicine." This allowed membership to be extended to psychologists, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, social workers, vocational counselors, and others. The name was officially changed once again, to the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM).
• 1968: The first Interdisciplinary Forum was held, supported by a training grant from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare's Rehabilitation Services Administration. Some of the topics included Stroke, Intellectual-Perceptual Deficits and Implications for Team Management, and Operant Conditioning.
• 1970: Another constitutional amendment opened the membership to rehabilitation professionals with earned Master's degrees.
• 1972: The PDC published the landmark report "Development of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine into a Multidisciplinary Professional Society". As noted in the introduction of the report, "this report reviews the methodology by which reorganization [of the association] was accomplished and records the progress made in restructuring membership, program, publications, and governance."
• 1973: ACRM formed the ad hoc Committee on Rehabilitation of Children to address the unique needs of this population. The committee was active for over a decade and included Dennis Mathews, Michael Alexander, Gabriella Molnar, Bruce Gans, and other noted pediatric physiatrists. One of the most notable achievements of this committee was the allotment of more time in ACRM meetings to pediatric issues.
• 1973: A major exhibition tracing the development of physical medicine in the United States in the past 200 years opened at the Smithsonian Institution
  Smithsonian Institution
  The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
  
  in Washington, DC, under sponsorship of the ACRM. Entitled Triumph Over Disability, the exhibit was planned as part of the observance of the 50th anniversary of the founding of ACRM.
• 1975: ACRM's Social and Environmental Aspects of Rehabilitation (SEAR) Committee was formed to work in collaboration with the Legislative Committee in making legislative recommendations and in developing model architectural barrier legislation. During the Carter administration, under the direction of Chair Nancy Crewe, PhD, SEAR was asked to examine some of the issues involved in independent living and to prepare a position paper that could be used in testimony. SEAR's involvement in the independent living movement led to the 1978 Amendments of the Rehabilitation Acts of 1973.
• 1976: The first prize in the scientific exhibit competition was awarded to the Sexuality and Disability exhibit presented by Sandra and Ted Cole. This exhibit led to the establishment of the Sexuality and Disability Task Force. The Task Force changed its name to the Sexuality Interdisciplinary Interest Group, which in turn led to the creation of ACRM's first Special Interest Group (SIG). This was the genesis of today's Interdisciplinary SIGs.
• 1977: The first non-physician ACRM president, June Rothberg, PhD RN, took office. In her presidential address entitled "...And It Came to Pass," she focused on the evolution of ACRM from uni-dimensional to multi-professional in scope and interest.
• 1979: The first official meeting of the ACRM Head Injury Task Force, chaired by Sheldon Berrol, MD, took place at the annual meeting. Now known as the Brain Injury ISIG, this group has been very influential in the development of standards and guidelines in the brain injury rehabilitation field over the past 20 years.
• 1979: The article "Independent Living: From Social Movement to Analytic Paradigm" by Gerben DeJong, PhD, was printed in the October issue of the Archives. This landmark article was reprinted sixteen times in various rehabilitation-related books and journals, and translated into seven languages.
• 1980: The first Elizabeth and Sidney Licht Award for Excellence in Scientific Writing was presented to Carl Granger, Gary Albrecht, and Byron Hamilton for their article "Outcomes of Comprehensive Medical Rehabilitation: Measurement by PULSES Profile and the Barthel Index".
• 1986: Rehabilitation professionals with Bachelor's degrees were admitted into membership. In financial trouble, ACRM sells a half-ownership in Archives to AAPM&R for the “sum of $10 and other good and valuable considerations”. The sale agreement stipulates that the journal can only be sold to ACRM, for $1.
• 1989: The first Distinguished Member Award was presented to Mary Romano, MSW (posthumously). The first Edward W. Lowman Award was presented to Wilbert Fordyce, PhD.
• 1990: ACRM was prominently involved in support for the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law on July 26, 1990. The ACRM separated operationally from the shared offices and management of the AAPM&R.
• 1991: At the annual meeting in Washington, DC, organizational politics focused on the changes resulting from the decision to separate from shared offices and management with AAPM&R. Revisions to the constitution and bylaws were debated during the annual business meeting. Substantive changes included a restructuring of the Board of Governors to eliminate the succession through multiple offices to the presidency. An executive committee was established and provisions requiring submission of an annual budget were included.
• 1993: The first independent annual meeting of ACRM was held in Denver, CO. This was the first meeting held independently from the AAPM&R since 1938.
• 1995: Continuing with the transition of the organizational structure, a total of six members-at-large were seated on the Board of Governors. Thomas P. Dixon, PhD, who was the last individual to be elected as fifth vice president, ascended to the presidency. Under Dixon's direction, the corporate membership program began to expand substantially.
• 1996: The Board of Governors began articulating a new vision for ACRM. This new vision was developed in response to the changing dynamics within healthcare and changing demographics within the membership of ACRM, specifically the loss of many physician members who previously had belonged to both ACRM and the AAPM&R.
• 1997: Continuing the evolution, the Board of Governors conducted an extensive study of the field of medical rehabilitation associations and professionals to determine the need and focus for ACRM in the future. Based on the findings and the coincidental release of the Institute of Medicine Report, Enabling America, the Board committed to an organizational focus devoted exclusively to rehabilitation research, as a home for those who generate, utilize, or fund rehabilitation research.
• 1998: Theodore M. Cole, MD is the second to serve two terms as president of ACRM (1993 and 1998). Evidence of the changing focus on relevant rehabilitation research is reflected in articles published in the ACRM newsletter, Rehabilitation Outlook, and in the content of the annual educational conference. ACRM celebrates its 75th Anniversary during the annual meeting held in Seattle, WA, November 8–10, 1998.

Upcoming Meetings

Date	Title	Location
April/May 2012	Mid-Year Meeting	To be announced in Fall 2011
October 9-13, 2012	Annual Meeting - Progress in Rehabilitation Research	Vancouver, BC, Canada

External links

• ACRM official website
• Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation website
• American Medical Association
• Institute of Medicine
• Smithsonian Institution