How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. -Winnie the Pooh
Oh, how to put my feelings into words.
I guess I can start with my initial hesitation with even joining the American Medical Association, given its history of staunchly conservative views on healthcare. Moreover, after witnessing the 2016 elections through a lens of financial corruption – or money in politics as a whole – I struggled to reconcile the fact that I would be joining of the largest lobbying organizations on the Hill in order to advocate for my future patients. Is there room in the AMA for me, as a future physician, to pursue progressive health policies, or am I deluding myself into thinking I can make a difference?
Now, three national conferences, over ten resolutions,and 4 leadership positions later, I cannot express the love I have for this organization – or more specifically, for its Medical Student Section. Reuniting with students from all over the nation who share a desire to advocate for our patients and profession, pushing the boundaries of AMA policy to take stances on pressing national issues, and learning from the breadth of perspectives has been invaluable. The passionate conversations I engage in with other students here are unlike any other I’ve had, and my experiences within the AMA continue to enrich my medical education in ways that are difficult to articulate. Moreover, the MSS provides me with a set of tools with which to respond to the rapid news cycle around me and public health crises.
I am so incredibly proud to partake in a historic AMA Meeting where the MSS, in collaboration with other sections and councils, voted to:
- encourage raising the minimum age of purchasing guns from 18 to 21
- recognize feminine hygiene products as medical necessities
- oppose the routine separation of immigrant families at the border
- study the loopholes of the Orphan Drug Act
- oppose the arming of teachers as a way to address gun violence
- support the closing of loopholes that allow people with a legal history of domestic abuse to buy or own guns
- support measures that allow courts, upon a relative’s request, to remove guns from homes in which a person is imminently violent or suicidal
- study targeted unhealthy food advertising toward vulnerable populations, including black and Latino youth
- emphasize that the HPV vaccination is an anti-cancer vaccination
- support the treatment of opioid use disorders in hospitals
- study the use of single payer systems, with the possibility of removing the organization’s staunch anti-single payer policy in order to entertain all health payer models in future discussions
- protect the rights of LGBTQIA+ physicians and patients
- among so much more
And I am so incredibly proud to return from the meeting and read tweets online from physicians who have decided to rejoin the organization because they feel that the AMA finally represents them. Words cannot describe how I feel knowing that I’ve contributed, in some small way, to making the the largest physician-based lobbying organization more inclusive and progressive in order to better advocate for our patients. I cannot express the absolute joy (and, admittedly, exhaustion) I feel when I attend these meetings, knowing that I’m surrounding myself with fiery young professionals who are willing to write and review resolutions between classes or clinic days in order to care for the patient population at large.
And I fully acknowledge the irony as someone who, despite wanting to get money out politics, has gotten deeply involved with one of the largest, if not the largest, medical lobbying organization in the country. So I will say this:
Me wanting to get money out of politics has not changed. If there is a bill calling for public campaign financing or a case to overturn Citizens United, I will be the first to support it and draw attention to it.
However.
To my knowledge, the American Medical Association is one of the easiest ways for me to help influence the health policy sphere given our current political system. Moreover, this past meeting in particular demonstrated that the organization is capable of evolving on its policies and take bold positions to help guide national discourse on heavy topics.If my involvement in the AMA will help the organization take stances that will benefit my future patients – because the other dozens of lobbying organizations on the Hill won’t – then so be it. I accept this temporary solution.
But truly, thank you for the AMA-MSS for giving me hope for what the future of organized medicine looks like. Thank you for allowing and encouraging me to grow as a person and a young professional. And thank you for continually inspiring me to be the best physician I can be. Thank for reminding me that, indeed, #MembersMoveMedicine.
