The AMA Medical Student Advocacy Conference (MAC) is a yearly event for medical students to:

• Learn how to be a successful public health advocate.
• Advocate for change on health policy issues that impact medicine.
• Participate in meetings with legislators and staffers on Capitol Hill.

It is an exclusive opportunity for AMA medical student members.

The 2022 conference was held virtually March 3-4, 2022. Conference dates for 2023 will be posted when available.

Access training videos and resources from the 2022 AMA Medical Student Advocacy Conference to learn how to serve as a public health advocate, approach legislators and advocate for the future of medicine.

Learn effective lobbying techniques from experts and observe a mock Capitol Hill meeting

Receive tips and best practices for meetings with legislators and staffers on Capitol Hill. Observe a mock meeting for real-time experience.

Panel speakers

• Mary S. Carpenter, MD, chair, AMA Council on Legislation
• David M. Lusk, founder, Key Advocacy: Unlocking the power of advocacy

Moderator

• Brittany Ikwuagwu, Government Relations Advocacy Fellow, AMA

Receive education on 3 key health policy issues

Learn about the health policy issues—reducing prior authorization burdens, telehealth, Medicare physician payment reform—and why they matter to patients and medical students, and how to advocate for these issues on Capitol Hill.

Panel speakers

• Bryan Hull, JD, MPH, Division of Legislative Counsel, AMA
• Jason Marino, Congressional Affairs, AMA
• Sandy Marks, Federal Affairs, AMA

Moderator

• Brittany Ikwuagwu, Government Relations Advocacy Fellow, AMA

To support virtual Capitol Hill meetings, the AMA created an action kit which contains key facts on Medicare physician payment reform, prior authorization, telehealth and key tips for engaging with lawmakers. Refer to helpful tips to set up meetings on your own and lead effective conversations.

• Advocacy 101 tips and action plan (PDF)
• Issue brief: Medicare physician payment reform (PDF)
• Issue brief: Reducing prior authorization burdens (PDF)
• Issue brief: Telehealth (PDF)
• Tips for virtual Hill visits (PDF)

The AMA issue briefs summarize the action requests from early March. For most up-to-date information on the key health policy issues, sign up for the AMA Advocacy Update (log in required).

Use these tips and techniques to continue advocating on important issues for medical students and patients. Priority policy issues from the Medical Student Section (MSS) include:

• Improving undergraduate and graduate medical education
• Advocating for “equity policies,” including racism as a public health threat, policing reform, cultural leave for American Indian trainees
• Addressing burnout, depression and suicide among medical students and residents
• Addressing social media usage and negative impacts on mental health
• Health care needs of LGBTQ
• Fairness in National Residency Matching program

Contact the MAC team with any questions at [email protected].