AMA connects with doctors at each stage of their careers

This month at the AMA Annual Meeting, President Obama said he needs America's physicians to help him reform the nation's health care system. He commended our work to help reduce health care costs, offered his support to reform the untenable Medicare reimbursement system and rightfully acknowledged the trust our patients place in our hands.

As our nation continues to debate how best to achieve national health system reform, there are other efforts within the AMA to achieve gains of a different sort -- namely, to create meaningful experiences for individual medical students and physicians throughout their careers.

Membership in the AMA must be seen as an invaluable resource or medical students and physicians will not join. From medical student debt to keeping up to date with the ever-growing body of medical knowledge to the increasing demands on physicians' time and energy -- caring for our patients has challenges that must be met with compelling, tangible resources aimed at supporting members at every stage of their professional lives.

To that end, the AMA offers programs aimed at increasing AMA visibility and relevance, and providing opportunities for physicians to stay involved and engaged throughout their lives. Let me share just a few.

Our medical student members become involved right from the start. The AMA Medical Student Section Outreach Program helps sponsor local membership, service and community events at more than 150 schools.

Last year alone, the AMA sponsored some 200 grants at schools around the country for programs, including panel discussions about succeeding in medical school as well as efforts literally to reach out to communities through efforts such as signing up local families for State Children's Health Insurance Programs.

After medical school, the AMA strives to connect to residents and fellows through the Resident Outreach Program. This year, the AMA will have a presence at more than 50 residency and fellowship orientations across the country.

We understand that the pressures on residents are different than those on medical students, which is why we provide resources such as board review materials and the "Succeeding from Medical School to Practice" guide.

We offer tangible resources to them, such as the Introduction to the Practice of Medicine -- an interactive, Web-based educational series that helps residents and their institutions develop the competencies required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and include modules on such topics as sleep deprivation, patient safety, health care quality and physician employment contracts.

Through the Resident Outreach Program, not only can residents find the resources they need, but they also can make valuable connections, ensure that the AMA understands their concerns and continue to engage in meaningful ways with other residents throughout their residency years.

In 2009, AMA membership initiatives will take on new and exciting ways to reach out to members and promote the value of AMA membership to nonmembers.

We're reaching out with personalized e-mail and streamlining the join-renewal process. Physicians told us that they don't "know" the AMA, so we're using member testimonials and viral marketing techniques to speak directly to nonmembers. Priority one is engaging and communicating with physician members and providing value to them.

Beginning this July, all first-year medical students will be able to sign up for membership via the Web. More robust tools and resources also have been developed to support peer-to-peer recruiting efforts.

We're bringing members and students together in new ways such as our AMA Specialty Speed Dating event. We held the event at our Chicago headquarters so medical students and physicians from Chicago-area hospitals and residency programs could talk with each other.

More than 70 medical students had the opportunity to hear from physicians from 11 diverse specialties. It was fun and energetic, and the advice and information the students took away was invaluable. The physicians enjoyed their interaction with the students, and this type of experience is just one example of what we're doing to continuously improve the member experience.

Along with an enhanced member experience, we continue to improve resources and the value provided to members. Our focus is to position the AMA as the "go-to" place from medical school through residency and throughout the physician's career.

Whether you're a medical student, resident, practicing or academic physician, or somewhere in between, we know your life has never been more exciting. Our work gets only more demanding, which is why the AMA is becoming more responsive. I encourage you to take a look.