A note from the YPS chair
June 2025
From YPS Chair Sam Mathis, MD, MBA
As I write this, the Annual Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates has just finished. We spent the last seven days working together to craft the AMA’s policy and to give our association and the leadership their marching orders for the next few months.
Our YPS Assembly Meeting is complete and now the day-to-day work of advocating for our patients begins. During this meeting, big changes occurred on the federal level that threaten the safety and wellbeing of the general American population. Our AMA spoke out and will continue to speak for the health of our country.
YPS GC election results
In addition to the creation of new policy and direction for the association, the YPS Assembly has elected three new members of your governing council. Anna Yap, MD, an emergency physician in California, has been elected as the new chair-elect for the section. She has a strong voice and has been a leader in organized medicine since her time as a medical student.
Theresa Phan, MD, MPH, a family medicine physician from Texas, has been elected as the speaker. Her attention to detail will be a great addition to helping improve our meeting efficiency.
James Docherty, DO, MS (neuromusculoskeletal science), MS (biology), a family medicine physician from New York, has been elected member at-large. He will be working to help our current standing committees improve their engagement.
I am so excited to see the passion and new ideas these new leaders will bring to move this section forward. Please be sure to welcome them to their new roles as they represent us on the GC.
YPS members serving on councils
This year has been a fantastic year for young physicians. We had multiple YPS members get elected to the AMA’s councils, where they will help to guide the work the AMA does on behalf of patients and physicians.
- Jerry Abraham, MD, MPH, CMQ: Council on Constitution and Bylaws
- Kavita Arora, MD, MBE, MS: Council on Science and Public Health
- Laura Faye Gephart, MD, MBA: Council on Medical Service
- David Savage, MD, PhD, and Scott Pasichow, MD, MPH: Council on Medical Education
This doesn’t include all the YPS members who served on committees during the House of Delegates meeting. Our presence is strong in the organization, and our members are making a positive impact in helping to move medicine forward. Thank you all for your service!
Thank you
Finally, it wouldn’t be a member news & highlights if I didn’t say one last thank you. Serving as your chair this year has been one of the greatest honors of my professional career. Thank you for your trust, for sharing your stories and concerns, for challenging us to do better and be better as we advocate for our patients and colleagues. Thank you for showing up, staying engaged and not losing hope.
The Young Physician Section is strong because of doctors like you, and it continues to get better and stronger because of you. I now leave you in the most capable hands of our new YPS Chair Alisha Reiss, MD. I can’t wait to see the great things we will do under her leadership!
Contact us
As always, email us at [email protected] with any comments and questions.
