A Message from the MAC Chair

Dear Minority Affairs Consortium (MAC) Members:

The coming of spring brings so many opportunities for growth and change.  We encourage you to take advantage of the following AMA and MAC events that provide great opportunities for you to be involved: 

2008 National Advocacy Conference
Hundreds of physicians, medical students, and their spouses will gather in the nation's capital Tuesday, April 1, 2008,  for the AMA National Advocacy Conference, where they will learn about the political climate surrounding the country's pressing health care issues and prepare to lobby the 110th Congress.  Find out more about the AMA National Advocacy Conference.

National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF)
The National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) Annual Summit will bring together physicians, policy/legislation makers, and other national civic and community leaders to focus increased attention on the elimination of racial and ethnic health care disparities, an initiative which is also a key issue for the AMA. It will be held in Washington DC, April 14-15, 2008, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. By participating in this activity, the AMA will be promoting involvement opportunities to minority physicians.  The first 50 AMA-MAC members to register for the conference will receive a complimentary hotel stay. Look for a letter in the mail with more information towards the beginning of March. For questions relating to the Summit, please e-mail michael.kutnick@ama-assn.org.

National Hispanic Medical Association NHMA
The AMA will be exhibiting at the 12th Annual NHMA Conference.  It will be held in Washington, DC, April 17-20, 2008, at the Washington Hilton.  Your very own MAC Chair will be one of the moderators for an educational session entitled, “Healthcare Reform & Health Disparities: A Priority for Hispanic Communities.”

Elections
Elections for the 2008-2009 Governing Council this spring will be conducted through online polling.  Keep watching the Web site for specific dates.  Also, please make sure that we have your current contact information, including your e-mail address.  You can send your contact information to mac@ama-assn.org.

2008 Annual Meeting
The House of Delegates (HOD) will be convening June 14-18, 2008, in Chicago.  The AMA-MAC will be hosting a caucus on June 13, 2008, on issues important to minority health and professional issues. Please view the AMA HOD Web site  at  for more information. 

Doctors Back to School (DBTS)- Schedule your School Visit Now
The MAC is continuing to promote and encourage physicians to take part in its Doctors Back to School Program (DBTS).  DBTS is a program that aims to raise awareness of the need for more minority physicians and to encourage children from underrepresented minority groups to look at medicine as a career option. Through Doctors Back to School, physicians and medical students across the country visit schools and community organizations to help young minority children realize they, too, can follow the same path. 

With involvement from the Commission to End Health Care Disparities, the program has been expanded to develop a national infrastructure by with regional contacts in identified states. To meet the objective of reaching 5000 kids month, visits will also include other avenues such the YMCA, Salvation army camps, and after school programs.

A successful DBTS visit was conducted at the Mililani Middle School in conjunction with the AMA Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Members of the AMA spoke to approximately 400 students to encourage them to pursue a career in medicine. 

Please consider conducting a DBTS visit in your community.  More information on how to conduct a visit, including a downloadable DBTS kit is available on our DBTS Web site.

Thanks to all of our MAC members who continue to make their voice heard by being AMA members, voting in our elections and polls, and taking part in our activities and programs. 

Best regards,

Diana E. Ramos, MD, MPH
Chair, AMA-MAC Governing Council