American Medical Association (AMA)

The Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) student chapter of the American Medical Association (AMA) serves as a patient and medical student advocate, supports volunteer work in the St. Louis community and sponsors educational events to foster creative discussion among medical students. We enjoy exploring ethical and political issues in medicine and public health, and we use the forum of the AMA to voice our beliefs.

  • Interactive Conferences — At the state, regional and national levels, members attend educational lectures, meet medical students from other schools, and sponsor and debate ideas for improvement of public health and health care delivery. A resolution on domestic violence by one of our students was adopted by the AMA House of Delegates and is now printed in the AMA Policy Handbook. These policy recommendations often guide physician practice and the approach to new or difficult issues.
  • Students are sponsored by the school to travel to conferences in Honolulu, HI, New Orleans, LA, and Chicago, IL. Several students have visited Jefferson City and Washington DC, to acquaint themselves with the political process at the state level. This included meeting with AMA representatives as well as congressional representatives and the governor of Missouri.
  • Leadership Opportunities — Our school’s AMA members traditionally play a major leadership role at all levels of the medical student section of the AMA.
  • Committee on Legislative Affairs — For those interested in health policy and ethics, an interactive online Facebook forum is provided for members to discuss the latest issues related to public health, health policy and ethics. Resolutions to be submitted before AMA conferences are often hatched and developed in these discussions, as are initiatives to organize and encourage medical students to contact their state and congressional lawmakers when they feel strongly in support of or in opposition to any policy regarding medical issues.
  • Community Service and Education — We are committed to community health and education and sponsor a number of activities toward those ends. In particular, the AMA at Wash U sponsors the annual blood drive, and hosts a Dash for Diabetes rally to raise funds for research
  • Enrichment Seminars — AMA members spearhead a series of lectures to enhance the curriculum with topics that interest us. Recent topics have included speakers on:
    • Private and Academic Malpractice
    • Medical School Economics
    • Legislative issues pertaining to Washington University in St. Louis
    • Legislative issues pertaining to St. Louis and the State of Missouri
    • How to run a private practice
    • Development of the match system.
  • Networking — We are committed to bringing the Washington University community together. Whether it is students from other years or students from other programs, the AMA believes we grow stronger through knowing others. Events include:
    • Lunch seminars getting advice from upper classmen
    • First- and fourth-year dinner to facilitate greater communication between classes
    • Mixers with various other graduate student groups to encourage students to get know each other
  • Learning How To Teach — WUSM Medical Students have been historically interested in leading and learning how to teach. The AMA Chapter has been actively working to bring didactic teaching workshops usually reserved for graduate students to the medical school.

Contact

Kendall Jackson:  j.kendall@wustl.edu
Evaline Xie: evaline.xie@wustl.edu