Medical residents: Don’t miss these 4 great AMA member benefits

The AMA is with its members every step of the way. For medical residents, that means the Association provides resources to succeed—during residency and in charting your career—throughout your years of training.

How do these comprehensive members-only offerings help you stay ahead during residency? Here’s a quick glance.

Odds are, you entered residency with some student-loan debt. If that’s the case, lenders will buy out your loans—public and private—from your existing servicers, allowing you to have one new loan at a potentially lower interest rate. This process also will consolidate all of the loans you refinance into one payment, potentially helping to save thousands of dollars. The AMA and Laurel Road, an FDIC-insured bank that offers student-loan refinancing, have joined to help members save on their student-loan debt.

The members-only offer includes:

• An additional 0.25% rate discount when refinancing with Laurel Road. The 0.25% AMA member rate discount is offered for applications from AMA members in good standing. The rate discount will end if AMA notifies Laurel Road that borrower is no longer in good standing. Offer cannot be combined with other offers, including the Referral Program. The discount will not reduce the monthly payment; instead, the discount is applied to the principal to help pay the loan down faster.
• An online application that allows physicians to get rates in minutes—without impacting their credit. Residents pay only $100 per month all through training. Click here for APR and Payment Examples and more information about the $100 monthly payments. All credit products are subject to credit approval. Laurel Road is a brand of KeyBank National Association. All loans are provided by KeyBank. Member FDIC.

As you prepare to exit residency or fellowship and begin practicing, the AMA Career Planning Resource, a members-only benefit, can help you plan and achieve your career goals. Topics the digital platform touches on that are of use to residents and fellows entering practice include:

• Understanding employment contracts: Find out what you need to know before signing a physician employment contract. Read up on how to understand your compensation package and more.
• Navigating state medical licensure: Each state requires practicing physicians to obtain medical licensing. What you should expect when you apply for one?
• Evaluating a prospective employer: When considering an employment offer, you should do your homework. What factors should you consider beyond the contract terms?

The AMA holds its Annual and Interim Meetings at which elected members can help shape policy in the Association’s House of Delegates (HOD). The AMA Resident & Fellows Section, which deliberates as part of the HOD, allows physicians-in-training the opportunity to develop leadership skills and advocate for patients.

In addition to policy, events surrounding AMA meetings give members the opportunity to present their research and network for potential job opportunities.

Building on the editorial excellence of JAMA®, JAMA Network Open™ and the 11 JAMA Network™ specialty journals offer enhanced access to the research, reviews and perspectives shaping medicine today and into the future. AMA members receive a print copy of JAMA, plus unlimited online and mobile access to all JAMA Network journals. That includes:

• A network of 13 peer-reviewed journals: Gain access to the authoritative source for cutting-edge research and thought-provoking viewpoints across medical specialties.
• Author video interviews: Watch authors give their perspective to gain a deeper understanding of a study’s objectives, findings and implications.
• Convenient, relevant podcasts: JAMA Network editors and authors explore the latest original research and current clinical topics

Learn more about AMA member benefit and check out this handy catalog of benefits for AMA physician members.

Editor’s note: A previously published version of this article detailed a fifth benefit that is no longer available to AMA members.