American Medical Women's Association:

The Vision and Voice of Women in Medicine Since 1915

Arenas For Action

      Women physicians represent a powerful voice. Each day you are in contact
with a wide variety of people who care about your opinion and your message will be
welcome by many groups. Identify events, issues and patients that motivate you and
may inspire others to listen to your concerns. As a woman consumer of health care and
a health care professional that treats patients you have several experiences to pull from
and share. Bring your personal experiences to your letters and meetings with elected
officials. Offer your availability to speak at town meetings, professional and women's
organization meetings, debates, or other public forums held by schools, churches and
colleges. If you are unable to do so, contact AMWA associatedirector@amwa-doc.org
for help finding a colleague who is available.  

 

Press

     Health care reform is a hot topic and the press is constantly looking for new, expert voices.  Once they know you as a good reliable "source", the media will come back to you for reactions and opinions on a variety of health issues.  Your work with the media in your state and community will strengthen public understanding and support for health care reform.

Tips for conveying your message to the press in three different ways:

  1. Become a Spokesperson with editorial boards, reporters and talk shows
  2. Letters to the Editor
  3. OP-ED Pieces

 

Elected Officials

 

     Elected officials, both at the federal and state level, are poised to be the key decision makers in reshaping our health care system.  It is important that your elected representatives are well informed about health care reform.  There are many different ways to communicate with lawmakers including phone calls, letter writing, e-mails, personal visits, testimony at public meetings and elected officials and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.  Congress gets over 200 million e-mails a year so here are some guidelines for helping you get your message through the clutter.


Identify Your Elected Representatives

Understand your legislators’ point of view.  Determine your voting district or state and go to www.thomas.gov or www.cqpress.com to learn about your elected representatives voting record, key committees and perspective on your topics of interests.

 

  1. Tips on telephoning your elected representatives
  2. Tips for writing your elected representatives
  3. Helpful tips for your congressional visit


 


Your Personal Network

Each day you are in contact with a wide variety of people who care about your opinion: friends, neighbors, colleagues, patients, hospital administrators, medical supply companies, local health officials and staff.  Take advantage of any opportunity to expand your personal and professional network.  Expanding your social network online is free, simple and can be beneficial both personally and professionally.  In addition to networking, online platforms can be used to enhance advocacy efforts, fundraising opportunities, donation requests, education, job search and mentoring communications.

Why You Should Use Online Social Networks

    One of the most important reasons for bringing AMWA online is for member interaction.   When we engage our community to interact with each other on a more personal level we are no longer just an organization or a website, we are people communicating about accomplishing goals, advocating for issues we care about, providing and receiving mentoring and recommending each other for available job positions.  When we invest in creating a vibrant and active community, mobilizing our supporters for fundraising and action becomes easy.  Advocates can use social networking to reach a large audience of existing and potential supporters, obtain jobs, inspire dialogue around healthcare issues and influence key decision makers.