The Ethics Group recruits undergraduate and graduate student interns to work at the AMA Headquarters in Chicago on an ongoing basis for summer, fall, and winter/spring semesters. Internships are unpaid but participants will receive course credit for their work in accordance with the requirements of their academic program. Past interns have typically been law students, medical students, and undergraduates with an interest in bioethics, philosophy, religion, biology, or other life sciences.
Interns provide support for ongoing projects and initiatives in the Ethics Group. Interns are asked to conduct research on a wide variety of medical ethics issues which contribute to the formation of AMA ethics policy and other research projects related to the Code of Medical Ethics. Work may include researching legal, medical, or ethics literature and other resources; organizing and summarizing research material; and handling telephone inquiries or written correspondence. Interns also have the opportunity to attend faculty seminars and interact with a diverse range of professionals working in bioethics at a professional medical association.
Past interns have obtained positions in private health law firms, health care consulting firms, and health related graduate programs.
To apply, candidates should submit the following items to Thomas Wagner: a resume; a cover letter; and a short writing sample illustrative of ethics or health-related work or a 500-word explanation of your interest in bioethics and your desire to work at the American Medical Association.
Applicants will be contacted only if they are qualified for an interview.
Deadlines and start dates:
Fall internship
- Applications due: Mid July
- Start date: Early September
Winter/Spring internship
- Applications due: Early November
- Start date: Early January
Summer internship
- Applications due: February
- Start date: Early June
Fall 2007 - Winter/Spring 2008 intern:
Swathi Reddy is a fourth-year undergraduate at the University of Chicago double-majoring in Political Science and Biological Sciences and hoping to attend medical school in the future. As an intern for the Council on Ethics and Judicial Affairs (CEJA), she helps carry out background research for council reports and maintain literary search results for CEJA staff. Swathi's research interests are primarily concerned with the interaction between socio-economic variables and disease and global health policy, and ultimately, she would like to pursue a career ininternational public policy.
Summer 2007 interns:
David Boren is a student at University of Illinois medical school. Before entering medical school, David completed a Fulbright in Iceland in bioethics and subsequently earned a Master's in ethics. Since beginning the Fulbright, David has been interested in issues pertaining to confidentiality and informed consent in medicine. At the AMA, David's main work concerns ethics in industry-sponsored research. At the AMA, he is also giving feedback and helping develop pilot software for medical students. Among David's most celebrated accomplishments is passing the Icelandic government's language proficiency exam in Icelandic.
Abigail Van Kempen is the fifth DePaul-AMA Law and Medical Ethics Scholar. Abigail recently completed her first year at DePaul University College of Law, where she is a Health Law Fellow and member of the Health Law Institute Student Board of Directors. She is interested in the legal and ethical issues surrounding end-of-life care. Abigail graduated from Hope College in 2006 with a BA in political science and psychology.
Daniel Zank recently completed his first year of medical school at Loyola University 's Stritch School of Medicine where he is also enrolled in the honors program in bioethics. His interests include health policy, especially at the interface of medicine and public health, and health care economics as applied to issues of rationing. In the future, he would like to integrate the study of medical ethics into his practice through service on a hospital ethics committee. Daniel graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a BS in biology in 2002 and again in 2006 with a MS in population health sciences.
Summer 2006 interns:
Preeti Mehrotra just completed her first year of medical school at the George Washington University School of Medicine, where she also participates in the Health Policy Track program. Her areas of interests include health and human rights, medical humanities, and complementary and alternative medicine. She has previously done work on “neuroethics” at the Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Preeti graduated with honors from the George Washington University in May 2005 with a BA in Religion focusing on Comparative Eastern Philosophy.
Olubukunola Mary Tawose is a fourth year undergraduate at the University of Chicago, majoring in the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine. Her interests include issues that arise between the complex interaction between governing laws and the delivery of health care and medical ethics. Mary is currently working with former Robert Wood Johnson Clincal Scholars on a study entitled, "Medical Students as Witness to Justice and Injustice in Patient Care: Essays from the Ob/Gyn Clerkship." She recently helped present this project at the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities’ National Meeting. In the future she hopes to study both law and medicine through a joint MD/JD program. With this unique training she has the long term goal of pursuing work in the field of medical ethics policy.
Matt Stonecipher is the fourth DePaul-AMA Law and Medical Ethics Scholar. Matt recently completed his first year at DePaul University College of Law, where he is a Health Law Fellow, a staff writer for the Journal of Health Care Law, and a member of the Health Law Institute’s Student Board of Directors. Matt is interested in role of evolutionary thought in American society and the politicization of science. Matt graduated from George Washington University in 2005 with a BA in History.
Content provided by: Institute for Ethics