American Medical Association AMA

Amongst the midst of the ancient remains of a mastodon (Mammut amercanum) inside the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, more than two hundred fifty delegates from twenty-eight states met in May 7, 1847 to form a national convention of medical practitioners as response to the resolution of Dr. Nathan S. Davis (1817-1904) in the New York Medical Association. All affirmed Dr. Davies’ vision and agreed to the founding of the American Medical Association with Dr. Nathaniel Chapman as its founding president ("Founding of the American Medical Association," 2005).

Since then AMA has been the leading organization in promoting the medical science and consolidating the doctors and their patients. Among its goals are to centralize scientific advancement in the field of medical science, to set standards and establish rules for medical practice and education, and to improve public health. The AMA’s Strategies To achieve their goal to consolidate scientific advancements in the field of medical science, they institutionalized the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 1883. This publication became the largest publication for a weekly medical journal in the

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“33183073 American Medical Association AMA” “Page # 2” world and became a forum for members of the medical society to communicate easily with each other and learn of the most recent medical discoveries or research in the science of medicine ("American Medical Association," 2006). In the advent of computer technology and the internet, they gained new means of relaying new discoveries and data to their members and even to non-members alike. In their official website, the association provides links to electronic editions of JAMA.

Also they provide a means for patients to find the right physicians to help them with their health problem, together with their location and availability trough the “DoctorFinder” feature of their website ("DoctorFinder," 2006). To attain national recognition and to increase its membership, the AMA in 1901 decided to reorganize the association and create a more effective national body by enabling each state medical society to have equal representation. They then established the AMA House of Delegates (HOD) as the legislative body of the AMA ("American Medical Association," 2006).

This permitted the organization to increase its number and relevance with respect to the national medical society. The establishment of the HOD increased the organization’s influence in the medical society enabling them to make decisions that are respected by all medical practitioners. According to the US History Encyclopedia (2006), the AMA recommended the implementation of severe standards of medical training in schools and was the one who established the original Code of Medical Ethics in 1847 and provides a lead role in the development of the American Code of Medical Ethics until today.

In regards to their mission to improve the condition of public health in America the Association took part on numerous public health initiatives such as the declaration of “33183073 American Medical Association AMA” “Page # 3” alcoholism as an illness in 1956 and the recommendation of a nationwide polio vaccination in the 1960’s. Recent efforts of the organizations to promote the Children’s Medical Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act in congress show the AMA’s intention to help improve public health by making public care affordable to less able patients or citizens.

Their support for CHAMP is consistent with their vehement campaign against the reduction of Medicare funds that would greatly increase the cost to beneficiaries of the insurance system and reduce their access to care ("Tell Congress to pass the Children's Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act," 2007). These, together with numerous other efforts, not mentioned here, by the AMA are vital to the improvement of the American public health and the medical community as a whole. Conclusion

The AMA is fighting a continues struggle for the improvement of medicine as a science and the development of public care so as to continually give patients the proper attention that is due them. Their success in the elevation of the status of the medical science and public health in the USA is their contribution to the American society as a whole, and this allowed the United States to be one of the worlds leading countries in the field of medical science. References American Medical Association. (n. d. ). Encyclopedia of American History. Retrieved August 02, 2007, from Answers. com Web site: http://www. answers.

com/topic/american-medical-association American Medical Association. (n. d. ). Encyclopedia of Public Health. Retrieved August 02, 2007, from Answers. com Web site: http://www. answers. com/topic/american-medical-association DoctorFinder. (2006). Retrieved Aug. 2, 2007, from http://webapps. ama-assn. org/doctorfinder/home. html Founding of the American Medical Association. (2005). Retrieved July 28, 2007, from http://www. ama-assn. org/ama/pub/category/12982. html Tell Congress to pass the Children's Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act. (2007). Retrieved Aug. 2, 2007, from http://capwiz. com/ama/issues/alert/? alertid=10078856

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