A Proud History
Congress of Clinical Rheumatology, previously Rheumatology on the Beach, originated in 1983 as a Rheumatology Update course in Birmingham, Alabama developed by David McLain, M.D. under the guidance of Charles Porter, M.D, Director of Medical Education and Research at Brookwood. There were two excellent meetings in Birmingham. However, there was very little physician interest outside of Alabama. As a result, in 1985, the meeting was moved to Destin, Florida and renamed “Rheumatology on the Beach”. The meeting was changed to half day sessions so that there woul be time to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. A “Gordon conference” type atmosphere was envisioned for Clinical Rheumatology. Since then, the meeting has grown significantly. Many participants consider it to be the best meeting that they attend all year. Physicians have attended from throughout the U.S., Canada, the Cariibbean, Europe, South America, New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific. In 2016, 599 physicians (mostly rheumatologists) attended from 45 states, 6 provinces of Canada, and 11 countries. It now appears to be the second largest U.S. rheumatology meeting after the ACR.
