Speaking for Addiction in the AMA

ASAM has delegate positions in both the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates and the AMA Young Physician Section (YPS) that offer opportunities to help develop AMA policy and shape the direction of the medical field. This past June, I was ASAM’s YPS representative to the AMA and had the opportunity to educate our colleagues about addiction.

The AMA annual meeting and the AMA Interim meeting, held June in Chicago and November in rotating sites, respectively, both serve as forums for a national dialogue that identifies and offers solutions to challenges faced by physicians and patients. The annual meeting, in particular, allows for submissions and testimony on resolutions, participation in policy development and engagement in governance. Regional and specialty society events at the annual meeting include leadership conferences, policy debates and CME opportunities that provide further opportunity for engagement.

My involvement in the AMA YPS committee activity and the resulting collaboration with other early career physicians across disciplines has been rewarding and sustaining. Furthermore, the ability to also share what is going on at the AMA back in my local community provides a greater sense of involvement and pertinence to the AMA’s work at its headquarters in Chicago and in Washington, DC.

This year’s meeting provided a very special opportunity to actively support the successful campaign of a personal mentor and former ASAM President: Michael Miller, MD, FASAM. Congratulations to Dr. Miller for winning a seat on the AMA Council on Science and Public Health!

Thank you ASAM for the opportunity to serve as your YPS delegate to the AMA in 2014!