The AMA “Members Move Medicine” series profiles a wide variety of doctors, offering a glimpse into the passions of women and men navigating new courses in American medicine.
On the move with: Louis Weinstein, MD, former chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Thomas Jefferson University’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia.
AMA member since: 2010.
What inspired me to pursue a career in medicine: I desired to become a physician from the age of 5 and have no explanation for this as I had no role models.
How I move medicine: My total academic career has been to teach students, residents, fellows, colleagues and patients how better to care for others and themselves.
Career highlights: Discovering, naming and first publication about the HELLP syndrome, a form of severe pre-eclamspia that is extremely dangerous to the pregnant patient and is recognized throughout the world.
Advice I’d give to those interested in pursuing a career in medicine: Find your passion and give it everything you have. Medicine is truly the most rewarding of careers.
How I give back to the community: I perform numerous volunteer activities, including caring for patients at the free clinic. But the most impact one can have is to become politically active and this is why I have run for political office three times.
Aspect of my work that means the most: The ability to impart knowledge and act as a role model for so many physicians has an exponential effect on the numbers of patients who have been impacted in some way by my efforts.
My hope for the future of medicine: That society appreciates that medical care, food and housing are a right for all people irrespective of financial standing.
Visit MembershipMovesMedicine.com to learn more about other AMA members who are relentlessly moving medicine through advocacy, education, patient care and practice innovation, and join or renew today.
