AMA Annual Meeting: A guide to the House of Delegates

Board of Trustees

The 21-member board is responsible for transacting all business for and on behalf of the Association, including managing the Association's assets.

Key AMA officers

• President
• President-elect
• Immediate past president
• Speaker and vice speaker
• Chair of the Board of Trustees
• Executive vice president

Back to top.

Reference committees

Resolutions and reports are funneled through one of 11 committees, making committee meetings home of some of the biggest debates. Any AMA member physician may speak on an item. All AMA members, guests, official observers, interested outsiders and the media can sit in on the hearings. Committees J, K and L meet only at the Interim Meeting.

Back to top.

AMA councils

Council on Constitution and Bylaws Fact-finds and advises on issues related to the AMA Constitution and Bylaws.

Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs Interprets the Principles of Medical Ethics and the AMA's Constitution and Bylaws, serving as the AMA's judicial authority.

Council on Legislation Looks at all AMA legislative issues, which are channeled through the committee before the Board of Trustees' final consideration.

Council on Long-Range Planning and Development Makes recommendations on the AMA's long-range objectives, studies and reports on anticipated changes in the medical practice environment, and identifies ways to enhance the AMA's policymaking processes.

Council on Medical Education Studies, evaluates and makes recommendations concerning medical and allied health education.

Council on Medical Service Studies and evaluates the social and economic aspects influencing the practice of medicine and suggests means for developing services in a changing socioeconomic environment.

Council on Science and Public Health Advises on developments in the scientific aspects of medicine and biomedical research and assists in developing policy positions on scientific and biomedical research issues.

Back to top.

House of Delegates

Composed of 555 voting delegates and a corresponding number of alternate delegates. Membership in the House of Delegates includes:

• State and territory delegates, allocated on a proportional basis with one delegate for every 1,000 active AMA members.
• At least one delegate from each of the national specialty organizations represented in the house. Each AMA member has the opportunity once a year to designate a specialty organization seated in the house to represent him or her. A specialty organization is allotted one delegate for each 1,000 AMA members, or fraction thereof, who selected that specialty organization.
• One delegate from each of these national medical societies: American Medical Women's Assn., American Osteopathic Assn. and National Medical Assn.
• One delegate from each of the five federal services: Army, Navy, Air Force, Dept. of Veterans' Affairs and Public Health Service.
• One delegate from each of the six AMA sections: Medical Student; Resident and Fellow; Young Physicians; Organized Medical Staff; Medical Schools and International Medical Graduates.
• One delegate from the AMA Minority Affairs Consortium
• Medical student regional delegates, allocated on a proportional basis,with one delegate for every 2,000 active student AMA members within each of seven regions in the country.

Back to top.

Some roles and responsibilities of delegates and alternates

• Regularly communicate AMA policy, information, activities and programs to constituents.
• Relate constituent views -- especially those related to the implementation of AMA policy positions -- to the appropriate AMA leadership, governing body or executive staff.
• Attend House of Delegates meetings and communicate the highlights to constituents at places such as hospital staff meetings or county, state or specialty society meetings.
• Serve as an advocate for patients to improve the health care system and the public's health.
• Cultivate promising leaders for all organized medicine levels and help them gain leadership positions.
• Actively recruit new AMA members and help retain existing ones.

Source: American Medical Association's Guide to House of Delegates Meetings.

Back to top.