As an international vascular specialist, one references the American Venous Forum (AVF) as a beacon for academic excellence in the field of venous and lymphatic diseases. Established in 1987, the AVF continues its mission to improve lives by reducing venous and lymphatic disease through education, innovative research, and advocacy while observing and promoting the highest standards of ethical conduct in its professional affairs.

A fair and reasonable question is: Why would an international physician be interested in joining the AVF?

Being part of the AVF brings year-round value benefits whether you are an established investigator, postdoctoral researcher, student, or international member. AVF membership is a mark of professional distinction among peers and denotes a dedication to understanding and treating the entire spectrum of venous and lymphatic disorders. Membership allows one to create a network and collaborate with key opinion leaders, facilitating professional growth; a bonus of prestige comes with using the AVF member logo, enhancing patient confidence. The AVF embraces the challenges of the digital world and offers members continuous access to an ever-growing library of digital content, including the Journal of Vascular Surgery: Venous and Lymphatic Disorders, the AVF Exchange community chat that provides an opportunity to comment on difficult cases, various webinars on venous topics, the Journal Club, updated clinical guidelines, and other interesting resources.

Until recently, international AVF members had fewer benefits than US members; however, AVF has gradually validated the importance of international outreach and increased the input that international members can generate to broaden academic knowledge through heterogeneity of opinions. AVF is an inclusive organization that values, promotes, and seeks out a diverse membership pool to broaden knowledge, enrich perspectives, improve performance, and foster respect and a sense of belonging among members. The AVF acknowledges different countries’ economic range and worldwide inequality, offering discounted membership and annual meeting registration fees to support physicians and trainees who live in low income or lower-middle income international countries. This program allows such individuals to disseminate their quality research on an international platform, which benefits them and may inspire future research.

The AVF is committed to investing in future generations, capturing and stimulating young physicians interested in the venous and lymphatic fields worldwide through mentorship programs to provide interactive and hands-on education, knowledge support in research and protocol development, awards for best research, and annual meeting travel and registration funding, including international travel fellowships. Additionally, numerous opportunities are provided through grants supporting innovative venous and lymphatic research that are now open to international members.

We encourage becoming part of this vibrant community of investigators, colleagues, mentors, and friends. Becoming an AVF member allows you to collaborate and express your opinion on basic, translational, and clinical vascular studies and get involved with a team of professionals focused on reshaping our understanding of venous and lymphatic diseases to improve patient outcomes.

The American Venous Forum (AVF) is a global leader in research, education, and clinical practice guidelines in the field of venous and lymphatic disease. Our society’s members live and work all over the world. To address financial inequities that some physicians in certain parts of the world face, the AVF is offering a discount on its international physician membership fees and annual meeting registration fees to physicians living and working in countries classified by the World Bank as low and lower-middle income countries.