The American Medical Student Association (AMSA), founded in 1950 and based in Washington, D.C., is the oldest and largest independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. AMSA is a student-governed, national organization that represents the concerns of physicians-in-training. They have a membership of 65,000 medical students, premedical students, interns, medical residents and practicing physicians from across the country. Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Doctor. ... Medical school generally refers to a tertiary educational institution (or part of such an institution) which is involved in the education of future medical practitioners (medical doctors). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with residency (medicine). ...

AMSA's action committees and interest groups help expose medical students to information on subjects not generally covered in traditional curricula, and is the only major national medical organization in the US that accepts no sponsorship or funding from any pharmaceutical company.^{[citation needed]} A pharmaceutical company, or drug company, is a commercial business whose focus is to research, develop, market and/or distribute drugs, most commonly in the context of healthcare. ...

Strategic priorities

In 2003, AMSA leaders selected four strategic priorities: Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• Fighting for Universal Health Care and advocacy for health care reform and a single-payer universal health care system
• Eliminating Health Disparities through education about domestic and global health disparities
• Advocating for Diversity in Medicine and improvement of recruitment and retention into medicine of under-reperesented minorities, while increasing the diversity of its own leadership
• Transforming the Culture of Medical Education to create a humane and cooperative learning environment, one that will develop physicians worthy of the public trust, through work hour reform, revitalization of professionalism in the medical field, and through AMSA's PharmFree campaign

Universal health care is a situation in which all residents of a geographic or political region have access to most types of health care. ... (This article is about political movements affecting the delivery of health care and health care systems. ... The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of both cultural and ethnic diversity within the demographics of a particular social space. ... PharmFree is an ongoing campaign begun in 2002 by the American Medical Student Association in collaboration with No Free Lunch to organize political activism challenging the practice of pharmaceutical gifting to students and physicians. ...

Action Committees

• Medical Education Action Committee (MedEd)
• Community and Public Health Action Committee (CPH)
• Health Policy Action Committee (HPAC)
• Humanistic Medicine Action Committee (HuMed)
• Global Health Action Committee (GHAC)
• Women's Health Action Committee
• Minority Health Action Committee
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Health

History

The American Medical Student Association (AMSA) was founded in 1950, as the Student American Medical Association (SAMA), under the auspices of the American Medical Association (AMA). The main purpose of the organization was to provide medical students a chance to participate in organized medicine. Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The American Medical Association (AMA) is the largest association of medical doctors in the United States. ...

The late 1960s saw dramatic changes in the organization's objectives and philosophy. In 1967, AMSA established its independence from the AMA, became student-governed, and began to raise its own voice on a variety of socio-medical issues, including civil rights, universal health care and Vietnam.[1] Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... Universal health care is a situation in which all residents of a geographic or political region have access to most types of health care. ...

In a collaboration with medical educators that began in 1968, AMSA proposed numerous reforms and model curricula, to transform medical education in order to make the profession more responsive to community needs. AMSA was also instrumental in the introduction of the original Family Practice Act of 1970, and supported legislation establishing the National Health Service Corps. The National Health Service Corps is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, division of Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions. ...

AMSA has led a campaign to reform medical resident work hours, long a controversial issue in the field. In 2001 AMSA joined the Committee of Interns & Residents and Public Citizen in filing a petition with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration asking for federal oversight of resident work hours as a matter of workplace safety. AMSA authored the Patient and Physician Safety and Protection Act of 2005, introduced by Senator Jon Corzine (S. 1297) and Representative John Conyers (H.R.1228). AMSA and the Committee of Interns & Residents also jointly maintain a website advocating for work hours reform called Hours Watch that presents the latest scientific research on the topic. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into residency (medicine). ... The Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) is the largest housestaff union in the country, representing more than 12,000 residents in California, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. ... Public Citizen is a U.S. non-governmental organization, founded by Ralph Nader in 1971 and based in Washington, DC. Its activities span across a diverse range of issues, including energy policy, trade policy, campaign finance reform and accountability, consumer protection, medical malpractice, and public health. ... OSHA logo The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. ... Jon Stevens Corzine (born January 1, 1947) is the Governor of New Jersey. ... John Conyers, Jr. ... The Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) is the largest housestaff union in the country, representing more than 12,000 residents in California, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. ...

In addition to sponsoring events highlighting prospects for universal health care, medical technology and HIV/AIDS, AMSA also has organized the PharmFree Campaign to educate and train its members to interact professionally and ethically with the pharmaceutical industry. Species Human immunodeficiency virus 1 Human immunodeficiency virus 2 Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS, a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections). ... For other uses, see AIDS (disambiguation). ... PharmFree is an ongoing campaign begun in 2002 by the American Medical Student Association in collaboration with No Free Lunch to organize political activism challenging the practice of pharmaceutical gifting to students and physicians. ... This is a list of pharmaceutical and biotech companies that are major manufacturers on global or national markets : Abbott Laboratories Able Laboratories Akzo Nobel Allergan Almirall Prodesfarma Alphapharm Altana (previously Byk Gulden) ALZA, part of Johnson & Johnson Amgen AstraZeneca, formed from the merger of Astra AB and Zeneca Group PLC...

In September, 2005, AMSA led the National Conference on the Financing of Undergraduate Medical Education, an event that brought together legislators, medical organizations, medical students and others to address skyrocketing medical debt. Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

A modest rebellion

A growing contingent of medical students, who believe the medical profession needs more detachment from big pharmaceutical firms, has resulted in a 'modest rebellion' known as the PharmFree project, established by the AMSA in 2002.[2] Spending on marketing to physicians, which includes gifts to med students, rose from $12.1 billion in 1999 to $22 billion in 2003. Based on the premise that taking gifts from pharmaceutical companies creates a conflict of interest for doctors, the AMSA now urges both students and practicing physicians to 'just say no' to all personal gifts from drugmakers. Also see: 2002 (number). ... This article is about the year. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon is drug, and logos is science) is the study of how chemical substances interfere with living systems. ... A conflict of interest is a situation in which someone in a position of trust, such as a lawyer, a politician, or an executive or director of a corporation, has competing professional or personal interests. ... A pharmaceutical company is a licensed drug company, licensed to discover, develop, markets and distribute drugs. ...

Other PharmFree activism has included a march on Pfizer offices in New York, where med students assembled at the firm's front doors and dumped thousands of pens marked with the company's logo on the doorstep. AMSA also started the Counterdetailing Campaign in 2005 to encourage physicians-in-training to educate practicing physicians about alternative sources of information regarding pharmaceuticals. Since "detailing" is the concept of drug representatives selling biased information to physicians, AMSA came up with the concept of "counterdetailing" as the opposite concept, to bring physicians evidence-based sources of information. Thousands of medical students have since participated in the Counterdetailing Campaign. This article is about the state. ...

Campaign for Children's Health Care

AMSA is a partner in the Campaign for Children's Health Care, a multi-year campaign to raise awareness about the problem of uninsured children in America. The Campaign for Childrens Health Care is an American issue advocacy campaign dedicated to making high-quality, affordable health insurance coverage for all of Americas children a top national priority. ...

References

External links

• AMSA.org - American Medical Student Association homepage
• AMSA.org - 'Marketing versus Research and Development'
• Hours Watch -- Web site advocating for an evidence-based resident work hours standard in the US maintained by AMSA and the Committee of Interns & Residents
• BMJJournals.com - 'The ethics of pharmaceutical industry relationships with medical students', Wendy A. Rogers, Peter R. Mansfield, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer and Jon N. Jureidini, British Medical Journal (2004)
• CSMonitor.com - 'A pill they won't swallow', G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Christian Science Monitor (December 29, 2005)
• StudentBMJ.com - 'First Pharmfree Day launched', Raghav Chawla, Student British Medical Journal