ASEAN Society for Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy (ASSA)

About
The idea for ASSA came about during a gathering of orthopedic surgeons from the ASEAN region in Melbourne to honor their mentor, Dr. John Bartlett.
A specific need for a sports and arthroscopy group in these southeast Asian countries was identified. This group, namely John Bartlett, Enrique “Rich” Pasion, Charanjeet Singh, and Andre Pontoh agreed upon the following...
• To have their own Sports and Arthroscopy group within the Southeast Asia region
• To have a close-knit relation among the Orthopedic Sports surgeons in the ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam)
• To have a better understanding of the different cultures and practices in the respective countries
• To see the similarities and differences in how we do and deal with things
• To have an ASEAN database of our Sports and Arthroscopy registries in the future
• To further improve the quality of our Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy knowledge and keep everybody updated with the never-ending changes and developments in our fields thru meetings, lectures, and workshops, outreach programs

Mission
• To provide a forum for professional exchange among orthopaedics surgeons within the ASEAN region;
• To promote social contact and foster friendship among its members;
• To uphold good professional practice, and promote the advancement of sports medicine & arthroscopy;
• To upgrade orthopaedic, sports medicine & arthroscopy education and training programs within the region; and
• To complement the efforts of the ASEAN governments in promoting regional cooperation and solidarity, specifically in the areas of medical education and healthcare, and the exercise whatever functions as may be entrusted to the Society.