AMA eVoice Weekly Newsletter

August is National Immunization Awareness Month

"It is worthy of comment that three of the greatest benefits conferred on mankind—beside which it would be hard to name three of equal importance—have been in connection with the fevers: The introduction of cinchona, the discovery of vaccination and the announcement of the principle of asepsis."

Sir William Osler, MD, wrote this excerpt in 1896 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In the 21^st century, we continue to struggle with 100 percent compliance with two of the three benefits Sir Dr. Osler spoke of: vaccination and asepsis.

As August is the month devoted to awareness of immunizations, I wanted to update you on the recent happenings during the this year's National Influenza Vaccine Summit, which was held June 29-July 1 in Dallas. The summit, co-sponsored by the AMA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since 2001, was one of the largest ever, bringing in representatives from more than 30 states, three foreign countries and more than 150 diverse organizations.

Summit participants, including health care and public health professionals, vaccine manufacturers and distributors, consumers and others interested in preventing vaccine-preventable diseases, convened to assemble an array of recommendations and findings. Among them, participants found an increasing likelihood that pandemic swine influenza A, or H1N1, will circulate along with seasonal influenza in the fall, necessitating overlapping influenza immunization campaigns, as well as the need for early focus on seasonal influenza immunization, acknowledging the uncertainty of the pandemic H1N1 disease and vaccine.

Participants also concluded that while influenza immunization vaccinations are still below the targeted rates, there should be ample supply of seasonal vaccine—more than 51 million doses by the end of August and 119 million doses by the end of October. Seasonal influenza vaccination should begin as soon as the vaccine is available and continue through the fall and early winter.

Vaccinating as many patients as possible early in the season will facilitate the vaccination of target populations with the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available later in the fall. Health care workers especially are encouraged to get their seasonal influenza and H1N1 vaccines to protect themselves and their patients.

Litjen (L.J.) Tan, the AMA's director of medicine and public health, was appointed to serve on the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) for a four-year term that will conclude Aug. 1, 2013. The NVAC is a federal advisory committee to the Department of Health and Human Services that recommends ways to have an adequate supply of safe and effective vaccination products in the United States. L.J. will be able to bring his expertise to a crucial need for physicians, especially those in solo practice, so they can receive needed vaccinations for their patients in a timely fashion. Congratulations to L.J.!

—J. James Rohack, MD

1) AMA clarifies facts on recent examples highlighting amputation and tonsillectomies
The AMA contacted White House staff Aug. 11 to again express strong concerns with some recent medical treatment examples used by President Obama. The AMA made it clear that physicians are extremely dedicated and focused—first, foremost and always—on providing care that best serves their patients.

The AMA agrees with President Obama on the importance of prevention. However, a recent example used to illustrate his important point was misleading. Surgeons are not paid $30,000 to $50,000 to amputate a diabetic's foot. Medicare pays a surgeon, on average, from $541.72 to $708.71 for one of two procedures involving a foot amputation. It is possible that the total bill, hospital stay, rehabilitation, prosthesis, etc. may approach the larger amount mentioned.

In the case of tonsillectomies, a patient is referred to a surgeon after medication therapy has proven to be ineffective. Actually, the medical profession itself recognized questions about utilization and appropriateness of tonsillectomies and took action by developing clinical guidelines, which has resulted in a sharp decline in the rate of tonsillectomies.

These types of examples create the impression that physicians are motivated by payment levels rather than what is best for patients. The AMA will continue to stress to our elected leaders that physicians are dedicated to putting patients first and optimizing health care quality.

2) Column by AMA president highlights next steps in health system reform
AMA President J. James Rohack, MD, writes in a column posted this week on physician blog KevinMD.com, "As members of Congress return to their districts this month, it should be a time for thoughtful dialogue on health system reform so that when lawmakers return to Washington they can complete their work. Physicians nationwide are engaged and passionate about the health reform debate." In addition, Dr. Rohack proposes some questions for consideration in his column, part of an ongoing monthly collaboration between the AMA and KevinMD.com, as physicians work on health system reform.

KevinMD.com is the Web's most-read physician blog and is authored by Kevin Pho, MD, a primary care specialist in New Hampshire. Dr. Pho's insights into the practice of medicine and his thoughts on health system reform have been featured in major media, including the Wall Street Journal and CNN, and he is a contributing editorial writer at USA Today.

3) In the news: AMA leaders discuss health system reform
AMA President J. James Rohack, MD, will participate in a panel discussion on Fox News Sunday regarding the myths and mischaracterization in the health system reform debate. The program, which will air at 9 a.m. EST Aug. 16, will include a panel discussion hosted by Chris Wallace that includes Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, and John Rother, executive vice president for policy and strategy at AARP. In case you miss the program, visit the Fox News Web site to view Dr. Rohack's segment on demand.

In addition, Dr. Rohack appeared on CNN's Larry King Live on Aug. 12 to discuss "Myths vs. Facts" in the current health system reform debate. Other panelists included former Sen. Bill Frist, MD, and Michael Roizen, MD, from the Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Rohack also joined AMA Board of Trustees member Jeremy Lazarus, MD, recently in discussing the AMA's stance on health system reform, including the need to cut down on the haggling between doctors and insurance companies and preserve the physician-patient relationship, with the Denver Post.

Meantime, AMA Board Chair-elect Ardis Hoven, MD, answered questions from the Lexington Herald-Leader about the key points the AMA is focusing on as it talks about reform, parts of the current health care system that work well, and the chances that significant legislation will be passed this year.

4) AMA webinar to highlight current, emerging trends in health care work force
A July 2009 report by the President's Council of Economic Advisors estimates that 3.5 million new jobs will exist across the health care sector by 2016. What will these new health care career opportunities be, and what impact has the recent economic downturn had on current and projected shortages?

An AMA-sponsored webinar, "Emerging trends in health care workforce development," will delve deeper into these questions and more during an hour-long live presentation at 1 p.m. CST Sept. 9. Presenters will discuss innovative ways to bring providers, educators and professional associations together to collaborate for maximum effectiveness.

Registration is $79 per site for AMA members and $99 for nonmembers. Visit the AMA Web site to learn more and register.

View an executive summary of the President's Council of Economic Advisors report, "Preparing the workers of today for the jobs of tomorrow."

In addition, the AMA's 2009–2010 Health Care Careers Directory is now available. This newly expanded edition includes more than 8,000 educational programs in 81 different health care fields. Visit the AMA Bookstore to learn more or to order a copy.

) How does your system stack up?
ePrescribing Vendor Review, just one of the many new features launched in June as part of the AMA's online electronic prescribing (ePrescribing) learning center, enables physicians to rate their own vendors.

This recently updated feature facilitates side-by-side comparisons of up to three ePrescribing vendors at one time; the ability to read vendor feedback and ratings from other users; and automated contact-a-vendor capability for when a decision is reached.

Visit the ePrescribing Web site to rate your vendor and to help other physicians with their technology decisions.

Access the learning center. The site is open to all physician practices.

6) Prepare for your next political endeavor
Are you considering a run for public office? Do you have the necessary skills to build your own campaign or to participate in one? The AMA Political Action Committee (AMPAC) will be hosting two jam-packed political education programs in 2010 to help answer these questions.

AMPAC's annual candidate workshop, Feb. 19–21, in Pentagon City, Va., is designed for AMA member physicians and their spouses who are considering a run for public office. The program includes training on campaign strategy and media advertising as well as hands-on sessions in public speaking and fundraising.

The AMPAC Campaign School, April 21–25, also in Pentagon City, is conducted for AMA members who wish to become involved in the political process as advocates and volunteers for medicine-friendly candidates. The school is organized around a simulated congressional campaign, where participants are put on campaign "staff" teams and attend daily lectures on campaign strategy, media advertising and political fundraising. Each team participates in nightly exercises such as creating a campaign strategy, taping a radio commercial and writing a political fundraising letter.

AMPAC will cover all costs for both programs for AMA member physicians and their spouses only, excluding transportation to the Washington, D.C.-metro area.

Past graduates of these programs include U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, MD, R-Wyo., and U.S. Reps. Tom Price, MD, R-Ga., and Phil Roe, MD, R-Tenn.

Contact Jim Wilson, the AMA's political education programs manager, at (202) 789-7465 or jim.wilson@ama-assn.org, or visit the AMPAC Web site, for more information on these programs or for an application.

7) Discounts at the AMA Bookstore: just one benefit of being an AMA member
Is your practice up to speed? Is it running as well as it could? If you think that general operations are less than perfect, an AMA resource can help lubricate the gears and tighten the screws.

AMA members receive a discount on "The Physician's Guide to Survival and Success in the Medical Practice," an invaluable reference guide available through the AMA Bookstore that details the day-to-day operation of a medical practice and offers tools and techniques for managing personnel, finance and operations, marketing and promotion, and risk. The guide also includes up-to-date coverage of electronic health records and other technologies. A user-friendly three-ring binder format offers many forms, evaluation and assessment tools, and other aids, all of which also can be found in a CD-ROM.

AMA members can visit the AMA Bookstore to take advantage of their member discount on this and other titles offered.

If you're an AMA member, don't lose valuable benefits such as this. Renew your membership. If you're not a member, join the AMA today and begin receiving them.

8) In JAMA: High adherence to Mediterranean-type diet, increased physical activity associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease
Elderly individuals who had a diet that included higher consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereal and fish and was low in red meat and poultry, and who were physically active, had an associated lower risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to a study in the Aug. 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

In a second study in the same issue, higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with slower cognitive decline, but was not associated with a decreased risk of dementia. And in an accompanying editorial, the author comments on these studies on diet, physical activity and risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

View the first study, "Physical Activity, Diet, and Risk of Alzheimer Disease."

View the second study, "Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet, Cognitive Decline, and Risk of Dementia," and view the JAMA Report video about this study.

View the editorial, "Mediterranean Diet and Late-Life Cognitive Impairment: A Taste of Benefit."

1) American Psychological Association rejects “reparative therapy” for gay clients
Mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments, the American Psychological Association (APA) declared last week.

In a resolution adopted by the association’s governing council, and in an accompanying report, the APA issued its most comprehensive repudiation of so-called “reparative therapy,” a concept espoused by a small but persistent group of therapists, often allied with religious conservatives, who maintain that gay men and lesbians can change. The report breaks ground in its detailed and nuanced assessment of how therapists should deal with gay clients struggling to remain loyal to a religious faith that disapproves of homosexuality.

2) Study: One in five LGBT Minnesotans lacks health insurance
More than 20 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Minnesotans lack health insurance, according to a report released last month by the PFund Foundation, a Minneapolis-based foundation committed to strengthening Minnesota’s LGBT community. The report provides an overview of common health challenges Minnesota’s LGBT community members face and recommended changes needed to facilitate improved health and wellness.

3) Idaho settles transgender suit, changes inmate policy
The Idaho Department of Correction has settled lawsuits with two transgender inmates who castrated themselves after they were denied feminizing hormone therapy, according to an Aug. 7 article in the Spokesman-Review.

The department has changed its policy for identifying and treating transgender inmates. The new policy says inmates must be given information about available treatment for gender identity disorder; inmates can’t be harassed by staffers for having been evaluated for the disorder; and inmates must be moved to appropriate housing units while they are evaluated.

The new policy also spells out that outside consultants may assist in the diagnosis, and a recommendation for treatment must be completed within two months of a gender identity disorder diagnosis. And if an inmate is taking cross-sex hormones when entering prison, the inmate will be allowed to continue to do so unless another medical condition makes it unsafe or inadvisable to continue.

1) Next AMA-IMG Section meeting set for Nov. 6–9
The next AMA-IMG Section Congress meeting will take place Nov. 6–9 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. Visit the AMA-IMG Web site later this summer for more details about the meeting and to download a registration form. All AMA-IMG Section meetings are free to attend, and guests are welcome. If you have any questions, send an e-mail to img@ama-assn.org or call J. Mori Johnson, director of the AMA-IMG Section, at (312) 464-5678.

2) Resolutions for Interim Meeting due Sept. 1
If you would like to submit a resolution to the AMA-IMG Section’s Virtual Congress, please e-mail it to img@ama-assn.org by Sept. 1.

This year’s Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates will focus only on advocacy issues, so all resolutions submitted from the AMA-IMG Section for the meeting must fit the following definition of advocacy: Active use of communication and influence with public and private sector entities responsible for making decisions that directly affect physician practice, payment for physician services, funding and regulation of education and research, and access to and delivery of medical care.

View guidelines for writing a resolution.

If your resolution does not fit the aforementioned advocacy definition, it will be held over until the AMA-IMG Section’s June 2010 meeting.

If you have any questions or would like to submit a draft resolution for comments, e-mail it to img@ama-assn.org or call Carolyn Carter-Ellis of the AMA-IMG Section at (312) 464-5397.

Brought to you by the AMA Section on Medical Schools

1) AMA-SMS meeting set for Nov. 6
The next AMA-SMS meeting will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Marriott Copley Place in Boston in conjunction with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Annual Meeting.

The meeting will be held at the same time as the Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates in Houston. The AMA-SMS Governing Council decided to hold its section meeting in Boston rather than in Houston because of the large number of AMA-SMS members who regularly attend the AAMC meeting.

During the meeting, featured speaker Todd Dorman, MD, associate dean and director of continuing medical education at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, will discuss the future of continuing medical education.

Visit the AMA-SMS Web site later this month to view meeting details.

2) White paper on geriatric competencies available online
A white paper promoting the implementation of the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) recommendation on the need for geriatric competencies can be viewed online.

The paper stems from a recent conference—the National Conference on Advancing Physician Competence in Care of Older Adults, which was convened by the AMA, the American Geriatrics Society and the Council of Medical Specialty Societies—regarding competencies in caring for older adults. A group of 53 medical educators representing many U.S. certification boards, residency review committees and medical societies reviewed and approved the paper.

3) Plan to attend upcoming conference for CME professionals
The 20th annual Conference on Continuing Medical Education (CME) Provider/Industry Collaboration, “Learning from the past; planning for the future,” will be held Oct. 14–16 in Baltimore. Featured experts will speak on topics including future options for commercial support funding and the report from the Institute of Medicine’s Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education and Practice Committee.

Visit the CME Web site to view online registration information and other details about the conference.

4) Medical students’ views sought for LGBT education assessment
A survey from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Medical Education Research Group is asking U.S. and Canadian medical students what they have learned and what they think they should learn about LGBT health and medical care.

This medical education assessment is a partnership of faculty and student researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School. All students’ opinions are being collected anonymously, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, personal beliefs and subject knowledge.

1) Register for the next AMA-MSS Interim Assembly Meeting
Registration is ongoing for the AMA-MSS Interim Assembly Meeting, which will take place Nov. 5–7 in Houston. The deadline to register is Oct. 1.

Upcoming due dates for meeting ideas, convention committee applications, Research Poster Symposium abstracts, final resolutions and leadership position applications, as well as other meeting details, are posted on the AMA-MSS Interim Meeting Web page.

2) Chapter of the Week: Medical College of Georgia holds Succeeding in Medical School program
Medical students of the AMA-MSS chapter at the Medical College of Georgia held a luncheon today, Aug. 14, during which they hosted a “do-it-yourself” Succeeding in Medical School (SIMS) program as part of the school’s orientation. The SIMS program included a panel discussion led by third- and fourth-year medical students and focused on local and chapter involvement opportunities, career tips and how to manage life during medical school. Funding is available for this program.

To request funding for a “do-it-yourself” event, submit a chapter involvement grant (CIG) using the online form and name the title of your event “do-it-yourself SIMS event.” When choosing an event date, select one as close to your orientation club fair as possible. To qualify for a CIG, events must occur before Sept. 30.

Funding approved for a “do-it-yourself” SIMS event will not count toward a chapter’s grant allotment of $1,000 per academic year.

E-mail Krissy Tinney of the AMA at mssop@ama-assn.org with questions about this program.

3) AMA-MSS chair’s column covers what it means to be a good student leader
AMA-MSS Chair Hans Arora, a student at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, discusses the skills needed to be a good student leader and how these skills can be used in the nation’s ongoing health system reform debate.

Read Arora’s August column.

4) Want to be a theme issue editor for Virtual Mentor?
Virtual Mentor, the AMA’s online ethics journal, is looking for students and residents to serve as theme issue editors in conjunction with the journal’s staff editors. Theme issue editors are responsible for choosing themes, generating case narratives, working with other contributors and editing.

Each theme issue editor will receive a $1,000 stipend. Virtual Mentor aims to promote the ethical and professional development of tomorrow’s physicians; its primary audience is medical students, residents, physicians and medical educators.

Visit the Virtual Mentor Web site to learn more and apply. Applications are due by midnight CST Nov. 13.

5) AMA Foundation accepting applications for grants to physician-led free clinics
The AMA Foundation is accepting applications for its 2010 Healthy Communities/Healthy America program. This program will award 10 free clinics with grants of $10,000 to implement diabetes management and education projects for the uninsured and is supported by an educational grant from Lilly USA, LLC. Projects must focus on helping uninsured diabetics successfully achieve or maintain recommended A1C levels and improve their self-management skills. Federally qualified health centers and referral networks that coordinate care but do not provide direct care themselves are ineligible to apply.

Letters of inquiry are due by Aug. 31.

Visit the AMA Foundation Web site to view eligibility criteria and download an application.

6) Physicians-in-Training Host Program: just one benefit of being an AMA member
Are you digging in your pockets to pay for hotel after hotel while on the residency interview trail? Are you feeling anxious about that looming expense? If so, and if you’re an AMA member, you can take advantage of the AMA Alliance’s Physicians-in-Training Host Program, which provides housing for fourth-year medical students as they interview for residencies. AMA Alliance volunteers will host you in their home. And at a time when you need to save every dollar, that’s a pretty good deal.

Don’t lose valuable AMA resources such as this. Renew your AMA membership, or join the AMA and have access to such resources.

Brought to you by the AMA Minority Affairs Consortium

1) AMA delegate takes helm of National Medical Association
The AMA-MAC congratulates AMA member Willarda Edwards, MD—who last month was installed as the 110th president of the National Medical Association (NMA)—and looks forward to monitoring the NMA’s accomplishments during the next year. An internist in private practice since 1984, Dr. Edwards is an AMA delegate from Maryland, a member of the AMA Council on Constitution and Bylaws and a past chair of the AMA Women Physicians Congress Governing Council.

2) Study shows disparities in vaccination rates among adults
Ethnic and racial disparities exist among those who receive vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) most recent National Health Interview Survey. The survey revealed that 60 percent of adults older than 65 received a pneumococcal vaccination last year, but only 36 percent of Hispanic people older than 65 did. For influenza, 67 percent of all people older than 65 were vaccinated, but the percentage fell to 50 percent among blacks and Hispanics.

View an American Medical News story about the study.

3) Wanted: El Paso area physicians for AMA Doctors Back to School event
The AMA-MAC, in conjunction with the Commission to End Health Care Disparities, is planning a Doctors Back to School (DBTS) visit Sept. 2 in El Paso, Texas. Send an e-mail to mac@ama-assn.org if you live or work in the El Paso area and are interested in participating in this event.

Through the DBTS program, the AMA encourages physicians to visit schools in their community and speak to minority students about the importance of considering a career in medicine and all health professions. The goal of the program is to increase the amount of underrepresented minorities entering the health professions.

1) MS.1.20 task force reaches consensus on revised standard
The MS.1.20 Implementation Task Force reached consensus earlier this year to revise the Joint Commission’s Medical Staff Standard 1.20 (MS.1.20)—a standard created in 2004.

The 18-member task force was convened in January 2008 by the Joint Commission to analyze the potential impact of implementing such a standard. After more than a dozen discussions, the group concluded that a revised standard was needed to resolve several concerns, such as the cost and burden associated with changing bylaws and the potential for disrupting relationships between medical staffs and governing bodies.

The task force—which includes representatives from the AMA, American College of Physicians, American College of Surgeons, American Dental Association, American Hospital Association, Federation of American Hospitals and National Association of Medical Staff Services, among others—disseminated a working draft standard, MS.01.01.01, to its constituents in an effort to gather feedback.

The results of this feedback will be communicated to the Joint Commission by Oct. 15. If the feedback supports the proposed standard, the Joint Commission will consider giving all interested parties an opportunity to comment on the proposal. But until further notice, the current standard will remain in effect.

Hospitals are expected to be compliant with MS.01.01.01 as stated in the 2009 Hospital Accreditation Manual. E-mail Joe Ann Jackson of the AMA at hospital.accreditation@ama-assn.org with questions.

2) AMA-OMSS Assembly meeting set for this fall
The next AMA-OMSS Assembly meeting will take place Nov. 5–7 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, preceding the Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates.

More information about the meeting will be posted later this month on the AMA-OMSS Web site. In the meantime, details of the section’s June assembly meeting are available for viewing.

3) FTC sets Nov. 1 as new enforcement date for “red flags” rule
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has delayed the enforcement date of the “red flags” rule until Nov. 1. Enforcement of the “red flags” rule, which requires certain businesses to develop identity theft prevention and detection programs, originally was set for Nov. 1, 2008. But following advocacy efforts from the AMA and other associations, compliance was extended twice—first to May 1, and then to Aug. 1.

The new compliance date of Nov. 1 is a result of continued advocacy by the AMA and others who continue to object to the applicability of this rule to health care providers and other professionals.

View guidance materials that can help you prepare for the new Nov. 1 deadline.

4) AMA-OMSS webcasts offer CME credit
The AMA-OMSS offers several 90-minute educational webcasts, some for purchase and others free of charge. All programs for purchase provide AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.

The American Medical Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education (CME) for physicians.

The American Medical Association designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

1) Mark your calendar for next Research Poster Symposium
The sixth annual Research Poster Symposium will be held in November during the AMA-RFS Interim Assembly Meeting in Houston. Abstract submissions must be of original work by current residents and fellows and should fall into one of four categories: basic science, clinical medicine, health policy and medical education, or a clinical vignette. Top abstracts will be selected for presentation at the symposium.

Submissions are due by 5 p.m. CST Aug. 31.

Visit the AMA-RFS Web site for more information.

2) Florida’s Nova Southeastern University to add 40 residency slots
Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) College of Osteopathic Medicine will expand its physician residency programs to four hospitals and two medical offices in South Florida, adding 40 residency slots to train recent medical school graduates during the next three years, according to an Aug. 7 article in the South Florida Business Journal.

3) AMA Morning Rounds: just one benefit of being an AMA member
Have you been getting your daily dose of government and medicine, public health and pharmaceutical news? If this doesn’t ring a bell, then you haven’t been reading AMA Morning Rounds.

The authoritative news briefing written exclusively for AMA members, AMA Morning Rounds provides concise summaries of the day’s most important developments in health care as well as news and studies affecting physicians and their patients. Have the latest stories waiting for you in your e-mail inbox every weekday morning.

Subscribe to AMA Morning Rounds.

Renew your AMA membership or join the AMA and have access to valuable benefits such as this.

1) In JAMA: Elder abuse, self-neglect make early death far more likely
A study published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that elder self-neglect and abuse reported to social services agencies was associated with increased risk of mortality.

2) Study shows link between higher cholesterol at midlife, Alzheimer’s
A study published in the journal Dementia & Geriatric Cognitive Disorders found that adults who had slightly elevated blood cholesterol when they were in their early 40s were at greater risk of developing dementia decades later, compared with those whose cholesterol was at optimal levels.

Brought to you by the AMA Women Physicians Congress

1) AMWA accepting nominations for positions on its board of directors
The American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) is accepting nominations for several available leadership positions on its board of directors for the 2010–11 term, including president-elect, treasurer and three director seats. The AMWA has a slotted seat on the AMA-WPC Governing Council and explores collaborations with the AMA-WPC on issues of mutual concern.

If you’re interested in getting more involved with the AMWA, and if you’re an AMWA member, send an e-mail to associatedirector@amwa-doc.org to make a nomination or for information about eligibility requirements.

2) In American Medical News: Adult vaccination rates low
New surveys show that rates of adult vaccination are low and that young adults are unaware of the dangers of vaccine-preventable diseases, according to a story published Aug. 3 by American Medical News. The story notes the benefit of alerting women to the need for vaccines, as they often are the gatekeepers for their families’ health care and can convey the immunization message.

3) Past AMA-WPC leader takes helm of National Medical Association
AMA member Willarda Edwards, MD, a former chair of the AMA-WPC Governing Council, recently was installed as the 110th president of the National Medical Association (NMA). An internist in private practice since 1984, Dr. Edwards is an AMA delegate from Maryland, a member of the AMA Council on Constitution and Bylaws and a past chair of the AMA Women Physicians Congress.

The AMA-WPC congratulates Dr. Edwards and looks forward to monitoring the NMA’s accomplishments during the next year.

1) Share your insight on physician re-entry issues
The AMA-YPS is collaborating with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Physician Re-entry into the Workforce Project to learn more about information and resources that will assist physicians who leave and then later desire to re-enter clinical practice.

The AMA-YPS is aware that re-entry issues are a consideration for young physicians and would like your input through a short survey. Even if you have not left or re-entered the work force, or do not have immediate plans to do so, your opinion is valued.

Complete the survey by Aug. 21. This is not an AMA survey, there are no personal identifiers, and responses will be collated and reported in the aggregate.

Learn more about the AAP’s Physician Re-entry into the Workforce Project.

2) AMA-YPS Assembly meeting set for this fall
The next AMA-YPS Assembly meeting will take place Nov. 5–7 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, preceding the Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates.

More information about the meeting will be posted later this month on the AMA-YPS Web site. In the meantime, details of the section’s June assembly meeting are available for viewing.

3) In Virtual Mentor: clinical responsibility in the age of patient autonomy
According to the August issue of Virtual Mentor, the autonomy principle reminds us that every individual person has values, reasons and standards of his or her own, as well as an interest in self-determination. Medicine must be practiced so that an individual’s self-determination is protected and, therefore, he or she is empowered to make medical decisions according to his or her standards.

In this month’s Virtual Mentor, the AMA’s online ethics journal, authors examine ethical values and virtues that supplement respect for patient autonomy in providing adequate protection for patients and research subjects.