Medical Student Section (MSS) guide to writing a resolution

AMA Medical Student Section (MSS) members may submit resolutions on important topics in medicine that existing AMA policy and MSS policy do not address.

Read how the AMA develops policies, the categories of AMA policy and how AMA policies support patient health and physician well being.

Download the MSS Digest of Policy Actions (PDF, members only) for the most recent MSS policy actions.

The MSS Open Forum opens in advance of each national meeting. Post your resolutions ideas on the MSS Open Forum to get feedback from student leadership, collaborate with others interested in your topic and further improve upon your resolution idea.

Effective policy is focused, flexible and forward-looking. Learn what makes a strong resolution by reviewing the MSS resolution author guide (PDF, members only).

Familiarize yourself with the parliamentary procedure (PDF, members only) the MSS uses during its assembly meetings. Please also read the resolution alternatives (PDF, members only) to broaden your understanding of other ways to further MSS policy.

If you are new to the resolution writing process and would like to work with an experienced member of the MSS to help craft your resolution, please contact Raj Reddy at [email protected] or Laurie Lapp at [email protected].

Students who wish to have the MSS or AMA act on existing policies should submit a MSS Governing Council Action Item Request, to ask the leadership of the MSS to consider a policy change.

Resolutions must be submitted using the MSS resolution template (Word document, members only). Any resolutions received that do not follow this template will be returned to their author and not accepted until properly formatted.

The MSS policy analyst has created comments on the MSS resolution template to help new authors understand proper formatting protocol.

Access, review, and comment or “testify” on resolutions in advance of the assembly through the Virtual Reference Committee.

Please sign all comments with your full name and position. In your testimony, note whether you are testifying in an individual capacity or on behalf of a group. Only list your school section, region or state if you have approval to speak on behalf of that group.

Visit the MSS Virtual Reference Committee for reports, resolutions and the latest discussion topics.

The following issues have been identified as internal policy objectives by your delegates due to their significance, timeliness and relevance to medical student advocacy. If you are considering writing a resolution but have not yet settled on a subject, please consider addressing one of the following topics:

• Pursuing innovative mechanisms to improve medical student wellness and mitigate burnout
• Cultivating the delivery of equitable health care to diverse patient populations in a dynamic environment, including via promotion of diversity within the medical profession
• Addressing emergent public health threats with impactful and evidence-based solutions

• Jan. 5, 2024: Open forum opens
• Feb. 11, 2024: Open forum closes
• March 3, 2024: Draft resolution deadline
• March 31, 2024: Final resolution deadline
• April 8, 2024: Virtual Reference Committee opens
• April 21, 2024: Virtual Reference Committee closes
• May 20, 2024: MSS Reference Committee report released
• May 30, 2024: Virtual extraction deadline
• June 6-7, 2024: MSS Annual Meeting in Chicago