American Medical Association

The American Medical Association (AMA) is a membership association of physicians, resident physicians, and medical students, limited to those who reside and practice in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands (physicians), who are completing an accredited residency or fellowship program in one of those locations (resident physicians), or who are enrolled in a Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA) program (students). The AMA was founded in 1847 by Nathan S. Davis, who was also the first editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), a scholarly journal founded in 1883.

The mission of the AMA is “to promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health.” The AMA is guided by two bodies: the 21-member Board of Trustees is charged with keeping the AMA focused on the promotion of medicine and the betterment of public health, while the House of Delegates is the policy-making body of the AMA and conducts most of the business of the Association. The AMA Alliance, founded in 1922 as the Women's Auxiliary to the AMA, is the volunteer arm of the AMA; membership is reserved for physicians and the spouses of physicians and medical students. The AMA Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the AMA; it develops and supports programs in medical education, public health, and research.

A number of special-interest groups exist within the AMA. The Medical Student Section provides medical students with a forum to discuss and have an impact on issues in medicine and health policy. The Resident and Fellow section educates residents about issues in medicine, provides career development resources, and represents and advocates for residents. The Young Physicians Section, for members under age 40 or in their first eight years of practice, provides information, resources and representation for physicians in the early stages of their career. The Organized Medical Staff Section offers education, information, advocacy, and networking opportunities for physicians working in hospitals and other healthcare delivery systems. The Group Practice Physician Section provides information about trends and patterns in group practices. The Women Physicians Congress helps develop women as leaders within medicine and advocates for women's health issues. The Minority Affairs Consortium helps develop minority leadership within the AMA and advocates for issues such as reducing health disparities. The International Medical Graduates section advocates for the concerns of international medical graduates within AMA and the larger medical community. The Senior Physician Group is for AMA members aged 65 or older who are retired or semi-retired. The Section on Medical Schools provides a forum for all medical schools within the United States to discuss and develop policy on medical education and national healthcare issues. The Advisory Committee on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Issues provides a mentoring and networking forum for GLBT physicians and students and represents their interests concerning AMA policy, advocacy, and education issues.

The AMA is involved in several advocacy efforts related to issues affecting healthcare and the practice of medicine; these include medical liability reform, Medicare physician payment reform, expanding insurance coverage for the uninsured, improving public health, funding for graduate medical education, and reforming managed care. The Advocacy Resource Center (ARC) was created in 1997 in order to conduct advocacy with state legislatures. The ARC is a partnership between the AMA and state medical associations and is governed by 14 Executive Committee members from the state medical associations.

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