Advocacy & Policy

Residents make an impact through the AMA policymaking process and advocacy efforts on issues that matter:

Learn about the RFS Assembly and the AMA policymaking process here.

Resident Life and GME

• ACGME Duty Hours and FAQs
• AMA Public Letter to ACGME on New Duty Hour Regulations and AMA Letter Opposing the Regulation of Duty Hours by OSHA based on AMA-RFS and HOD Policy.
• Benefit Waiting Periods for residency benefits eliminated with AMA-RFS help. Policy passed in the AMA-RFS and HOD urged the ACGME to eliminate waiting periods for resident and fellow physicians and their families so they could immediately receive health and disability insurance benefits.
• A Residents and Fellows Bill of Rights, was created by the AMA Resident and Fellow Section and was passed as AMA Policy by the AMA House of Delegates in 2011. This Bill of Rights highlights AMA policy related to graduate medical education and also includes language from the ACGME program requirements. However, the AMA is not an accrediting or regulating body for GME and the provisions within the Residents and Fellows' bill of rights should not be construed as residency program requirements (CME Report 8, A-11).
• Problems with unsolicited recruiter paging? Read letters from AMA Chief Executive and the American Medical News article on this issue.

Medical Student Debt

• Issue Brief on Income-Based Repayment
• Utilize the AAMC Medloans program at www.aamc.org and search the comprehensive list of loan repayment/forgiveness programs.

Student exemption to FICA tax

• FICA Briefing Document: prepared by the AMA-RFS and AMA Office of General Counsel showing that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that medical residents are subject to FICA tax.

Equality for GLBT physicians and patients

• IOM Report Published The AMA is cited in the final IOM report on LGBT health, which was published on March 31, 2011. The report is based on IOM hearings that were held in February 2010. At the hearings, the AMA provided testimony on LGBT health issues, research gaps, and opportunities, which can be found here.
• In 2010, the American Medical Association sent letters to Congress and spoke with the Pentagon urging the repeal of the U.S. Military's policy known as "Don't Ask Don't Tell." Subsequently, a Bill was passed that repealed this controversial policy. This successful effort stemmed from the passage of new policy by the AMA-RFS Assembly and HOD in November of 2009. Also, based on this policy, the AMA called for the repeal of this policy in its testimony to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in February, 2010.

Issue briefs on topics of interest to residents and fellows

• Income Based Repayment
• Electronic Medical Records
• The Impending Physician Shortage
• Medical Liability Reform
• Independent Payment Advisory Board
• State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
• Comparative Effectiveness Research 
• Resident Work Hours

Join the AMA-RFS today! For additional information, contact your Resident and Fellow Section at (800) 262-3211x4978 or email rfs@ama-assn.org.