Ethics Group Internship Program
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.
Program specifications reguire candidates be enrolled in academic course work, receiving academic credit, at the time they serve as an intern.
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 term dates:
Fall Internship
- Applications Due: Early July
- Term Dates: Early September thru mid December
Winter/Spring Internship
- Applications Due: Early November
- Term Dates: Early January thru mid April
Summer Internship
- Applications Due: Late February
- Term Dates: Early May thru mid August
Fall 2011 Intern:
Natalie Achamallah is a graduate student in the MA Medical Humanities and Bioethics program at Northwestern University. Her primary research focus is ethical issues in mood disorders. Prior to graduate school, Natalie received a BS in Neuroscience from UCLA and worked as a clinical research coordinator for Alzheimer's pharmaceutical trials. Her interest in bioethics was piqued by the ethical questions she encountered in the care of her research patients. Natalie plans to attend medical school, and believes that her time at the AMA will help her continue to contribute to the bioethics dialog as a medical student and physician.
Summer 2011 Interns:
Grace Chapin recently graduated with honors from the University of Chicago with an AB in Psychology and Germanic Studies. As a psychology major, Grace focused specifically on decision-making, negotiation, neuroscience, and neurological disorders, and found in medicine a very important cross-section of all of these particular interests. Grace also completed significant coursework in medical ethics through the History, Philosophy, and Social Sciences of Science and Medicine (HIPS) program at UChicago. She has previously worked as the Jeff Metcalf Research Assistant for Dr. Mark Siegler at UChicago’s MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, where she gained exposure to current topics in medical ethics, health law, and health policy, and has developed particular topical interests in both the patient and physician sides of healthcare decision-making and end of life care. Grace plans to attend a premedical post-baccalaureate program before applying to medical school in the coming years.
Lizz Esfeld is the 2011 DePaul Scholar and has just completed her first year of law school at DePaul University. She received a BS in Biology from Truman State University where she focused on genetics as well as bioethics. Prior to law school she participated in research on plant genetics at both Truman State and the University of California Riverside. At DePaul she is a Health Law Fellow planning to pursue a certificate in health law. Upon graduating law school she hopes to combine her interest in genetics, ethics and the law.
Jon Lee is a third-year undergraduate at the University of Chicago. He developed an interest in bioethics and its implications for public policy while taking courses in the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine program. He hopes that his experiences at the AMA will provide him with a deeper understanding of and appreciation for bioethics and help him to shape his future plans.
Allan Loup is a law student at Washington University in St. Louis. He has many interests along the interfaces of bioethics and law. Prior to law school, he received his undergraduate degree in philosophy from the University of Michigan and worked at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago, where he helped explore ethical issues in Community-Engaged Research.
