Psychiatric News August 20, 2004
Volume 39 Number 16
© 2004 American Psychiatric Association
p. 16
A Time in Medicine to Start Your Journey Of Advocacy and Empowerment
Manisha Punwani, M.D., APA resident fellow delegate
AMA and a fellow in child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of
Massachusetts Medical School.
The influence of politics in
health care has altered the practice of medicine over the years. Physicians
struggle to keep the reins of medicine in their hands. I have heard many
physicians who have practiced medicine for decades talk with nostalgia about
the simplicity that once surrounded the provision of patient care in this
country.
To ensure that patients have access to the services they need and that
these services are high quality, residents should begin their involvement in
advocacy and related professional activities early. Organizations such as APA
and the AMA provide education and opportunities to residents to become
advocates for their profession and train them to be leaders. To be successful
as advocates of our profession and patients, we need to understand issues
concerning graduate medical education and national health policies. The AMA
Resident and Fellow Section (AMA-RFS) has been successful at advocating for
change in areas such as resident work hours, collective negotiations, resident
contracts, working conditions, public health and safety, and resident
representation within hospitals and on residency review committees.
In my last article (Psychiatric News, February 6), I introduced
the AMA-RFS to readers and described briefly some of the important actions of
the AMA House of Delegates at its interim meeting in December 2003.
The AMA held its annual meeting in June in Chicago (Psychiatric
News, July 16). The AMA-RFS met two days prior to the meeting and
discussed resolutions submitted by resident members; the resolutions then went
on to the House of Delegates for adoption, amendment, or referral. These are
some of the resolutions that might be of interest to you:
- Fellowship application reform: The AMA voted to support, in
cooperation with other specialty societies, the development of a standardized
application and selection process for subspecialty training fellowships.
- Obesity epidemic: The AMA approved a resolution recognizing that
obesity is a health problem of epidemic proportions and that education
regarding identification and prevention of obesity is appropriate.
- Protection of patient privacy against federal judicial intrusion:
The AMA voted to oppose intrusions on the physician-patient relationship and
any requests by outside bodies for confidential patient medical records
without a valid legal justification or without appropriate patient
authorization.
- Resident and fellow colleague intimidation: This resolution called
on the AMA to conduct a confidential computerized survey of residents and
fellows to determine the kinds of behaviors they find intimidating, levels of
intimidation occurring, ways in which they handle intimidation, and overall
prevalence of intimidation. The AMA was also asked to establish a central
reporting venue for resident and colleague intimidation, encourage
confidential reporting, establish a conflict-resolution process, and work with
the ACGME to investigate residency programs with more than five reported
incidences of intimidation by one attending or more than 20 total reported
incidences of intimidation by all attendings. This resolution was referred to
the AMA-RFS Governing Council.
- Simplification of the state medical licensure process: The AMA voted
to assign one or more appropriate individuals from within the AMA to work with
the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and keep the AMA membership
apprised of the FSMB's actions on developing a standardized medical licensure
application.
Education was another important topic at the meeting. There were two
breakout sessions on education at the June meeting: "Refining the
Message and the Messenger" gave participants an opportunity to develop
and enhance public speaking and communication skills. "The ABC's of
Finding the Right Job for You and Negotiating Critical Terms in Your Physician
Employment Agreement" provided participants with strategies and legal
information on contract negotiation after residency.
During its meeting, the AMA-RFS announced several educational initiatives
and projects, including the First Annual AMA-RFS Research Poster Symposium to
be held at the 2004 interim meeting. The goal of the symposium is to encourage
the sharing of professional research and knowledge at RFS meetings. More
information is available by contacting the AMA's Department of Resident and
Fellow Services at (800) 262-3211, ext. 4751.
The AMA-RFS has also worked with the Medical Student Section to develop an
online catalog of international electives and foreign residency opportunities,
now found at
<www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/12557.html>.
These are some of the topics on which you can find information on the Web
site of the AMA-RFS:
- Five Things Residents Need to Know Now
- Tips to Survive Residency
- International Health Opportunities/Foreign Residency Rotations
- Leadership Opportunities
The AMA-RFS interim meeting will be held in December in Atlanta, and all
residents are encouraged to attend. More information will be posted on the
AMA's Web site at
<www.ama-assn.org/go/rfs>
when it becomes available.
Detailed descriptions of the resolutions noted above and other
information about the June meeting of the Resident and Fellow Section is
posted online at
<www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/15.html>.
More information on the AMA-RFS's activities or involvement in the
section or organized medicine is available by calling (312) 464-4751 or
e-mailing
rfs{at}ama-assn.org.
You are welcome to contact me at
Manisha.Punwani{at}umassmed.edu
if you would like to bring forth suggestions for resolutions or learn more
about the role of the AMA-RFS in advocacy and education for
residents. 
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