Fall Update from the American Medical Association

Matthew J. Christensen, MSIII, Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University
EMRA MSC AMA-MSS Alternate, 2019-20

November has come and gone, which means the American Medical Association has completed another annual Interim Assembly. More than 2,500 medical students, residents, and physicians gathered in San Diego, CA, from November 14-19 to propose, debate, and pass hundreds of policy resolutions between the AMA Medical Student Section (MSS) and AMA House of Delegates. Dozens of educational sessions, networking events, and socials were included in the schedule. Read on for a list of summary of key policy actions, with links to more comprehensive updates.

AMA Medical Student Section
The Interim Assembly began with the MSS hosting more than 700 students from across the nation. While there was little policy discussion related to emergency medicine during the MSS assemblies, a number of important topics were discussed and elections were held. The incoming Chair of the MSS was elected, along with a new Student Trustee elected to serve on the AMA Board of Trustees beginning in June 2020. Our EMRA Medical Student Council co-authored a resolution with students from Chicago Medical School to support the recommendations published earlier this year in the InCUS Report regarding USMLE scoring and our resolution was adopted with minor amendments. Policy was reaffirmed supporting Stop The Bleed training for high school students, multiple reaffirmations were made related to firearm safety and training, the opioid crisis and naloxone availability, as well as an emergency resolution immediately forwarded to the House of Delegates opposing DNA collection from migrants and refugees. For further discussion, see the AMA-MSS I-19 Assembly review and look for the Summary of Policy Actions to be published by the AMA in the coming weeks.

AMA House of Delegates
Physician delegates from all 50 states and more than 115 specialty societies gathered to pass 74 resolutions in the AMA House of Delegates. Most notably, the AMA called for a ban on all vaping products that do not have an evidence-based use for smoking cessation, a policy stance that comes on the heels of the nationwide epidemic of vaping-associated lung injury. Additional policy about drug pricing, veterans affairs, and further strategies to address the opioid crisis were also debated. See this list of highlights from the AMA House of Delegates for further details.

Questions and comments related to the AMA Medical Student Section may be sent to EMRA’s Primary and Alternate AMA-MSS Delegates at MSCAMA1@emra.org and MSCAMA2@emra.org.