AMA-MSS Resolutions and Policy Actions
Thank you for your interest in Medical Student Section(MSS) Policy and resolutions! Resolutions are essentially proposals for new policy positions that you think the MSS and/or the AMA House of Delegates should support.
In order to create dynamic policy, MSS members can submit resolutions on important topics in medicine that existing AMA policy and MSS policy do not currently address. Alternatively, students wishing to have the MSS or AMA act on existing policies should submit an MSS GC Action Item, which asks the leadership of the MSS use policy to initiate change.
To take part in this process, students need to know some general information and become familiar with specific procedures. To help in these steps, the following is a list of important resources, deadlines, and other information that authors should review before authoring a resolution:
The MSS Virtual Reference Committee is now open. Whether attending the AMA-MSS Annual Meeting or not, all AMA-MSS members are highly encouraged to submit online commentary on AMA-MSS resolutions in advance of the traditional reference committee hearing at the meeting. This testimony will be used by the MSS Reference Committee in order to draft the Preliminary Reference Committee Report.
The Virtual Reference Committee will remain open from May 15th -June 5th.
Effective policy is focused, flexible, and forward-looking. Take some time to learn what makes a strong resolution by reviewing the AMA-MSS Resolution Writing Guide.
Advocacy Only: Please take note that, pursuant to MSS Internal Operating Procedures, the 2013 Annual Meeting business will be advocacy-only focused. As a result, all resolutions considered at the meeting must meet the HOD criteria for advocacy. Please see the MSS Advocacy Resolution Guide for additional information.
DEADLINES
April 19, 2013:
- Deadline to submit resolution drafts to Terrence Cunnningham, MSS Staff Policy Analyst. Your resolution will subsequently be posted to a forum that will allow MSS Delegates, MSS-HCC members, and MSS delegates to offer suggestions related to your resolution.
- Deadline to complete all tasks and submit the MSS Resolution Checklist.
May 4, 2013:
- Deadline to submit background documents for inclusion in MSS Reference Committee background book (optional but highly recommended).
- Deadline to submit final draft of resolution to Terrence Cunnningham, MSS Staff Policy Analyst.
On March 25, 2012, the MSS Delegate and Alternate Delegate hosted a Resolution Writing Webinar in which they provided a step-by-step overview of MSS policy-making, some helpful tips on how to write a high-quality resolution, and a description of the recently updated MSS resolution submission process.
Please note that all AMA-MSS resolutions must be written and submitted on the AMA-MSS resolution template.
Any resolutions received that do not follow this template will be returned to their author and not accepted until properly formatted.
Before you write a resolution:
Writing a resolution can be an excellent way to accomplish a wide range of goals, from asking the AMA-MSS or AMA to support a broad idea to asking the AMA-MSS or AMA to take a specific action. However, writing a resolution is not always the most effective way to accomplish your goal. Before writing your resolution, please take a few minutes to learn more about some resolution alternatives that might better address your ultimate goal.
While writing and editing your resolution, it is imperative that you share your work with your fellow medical students and other AMA members. Revision of your resolution based on this peer review will improve the quality and relevance of your resolution and could ultimately improve its chances of being adopted and successfully implemented.
The AMA-MSS Resolution Checklist outlines a series of tasks, including seeking peer review, that resolution authors must complete prior to submission of their resolutions. Specifically:
- All resolution authors are required to send drafts of their resolutions to AMA-MSS Staff two weeks before the final resolution deadline. The resolutions will be posted to an online collection so that other medical students can review and comment. We highly recommend that you take these comments under consideration and work with AMA-MSS leaders and subject-matter experts to improve your resolution.
- In addition to peer review, resolution authors are required to contact AMA-MSS school, state, or region leaders about their resolutions. If your resolution will eventually be forwarded to the AMA House of Delegates (i.e. if it asks the AMA as a whole, not just the AMA Medical Student Section to do something), you are also required to contact the physicians who represent your state in the HOD as well as the physcians who represent relevant medical specialty societies.
In accordance with the resolution checklist, authors are required to contact their regional delegates about their resolutions. Please see the Regional Delegate List for contact information.
Questions? We're here to help!
Please contact any of the following with questions about any aspect of the MSS resolution or policy-making process:
- AMA-MSS Delegate - Eugene Cone
- AMA-MSS Alternate Delegate - Abby Daniel
- AMA-MSS Staff
