The 2023 Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates was recently held November 10-14, in Maryland with robust representation by AMWA leaders. AMWA’s delegate, Neelum T. Aggarwal, MD, and alternate delegate, Roberta Gebhard, DO, attended the Programming and Reference Committees of the HOD, providing support or testimony on several important resolutions. These resolutions included Addressing Burnout and Physician Shortages for Public Health, Medical Aid in Dying, Long Term Care and Support Services for Seniors, and Further research of Endometriosis, especially in women of color, among others.
Drs. Aggarwal and Gebhard attended the Academic Physicians Section Meeting (APS) and Women Physicians Section (WPS) sessions, with engaging topics discussed such as ‘Show Them What You’re Worth: Educational Value Units (EVUs) in Academic Medical Practice’, ‘Beyond Apology to Restorative Justice – A Pathway to Health Equity’ and ‘Embedding Racial Justice and Advancing Health Equity: AMA’s 2024 – 2025 Equity Strategic Plan.’ These topics are aligned with AMWA’s goals and priorities.
AMWA’s representative to the AMA Women Physicians Section Governing Council, Tiffani Bell Washington, MD, provided testimony to the following resolutions: Funding for Physicians to Provide Safe Storage Devices to Patients with Unsecured Firearms in the Home and Post Marketing Research Trials. Other areas of focus for the AMA in the coming year include fixing Medicare, reproductive rights, and reducing physician burnout, important to AMWA members as well. AMWA, which has maintained a long-standing relationship with the AMA and WPS, will continue to be active.
Many other AMWA leaders also attended the AMA meeting in their roles as delegates or members of various AMA sections, including Dr. Susan Hingle, Dr. Theresa Rohr-Kirchgraber, Dr. Gloria Wu, Dr. Eileen Barrett, Dr. Elisa Choi, Dr. Anna Laucis, Dr. Nicole Plenty, Dr. Edith Mitchell, Dr. Seema Sidhu, and more.
The AMA HOD Annual Meeting will be held June 8 – 12, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. We’d like to thank all of the AMWA leaders and members for their representation on behalf of AMWA and other organizations and the generosity of their time.
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“As the AMWA delegate to the AMA Interim Meeting, I was able to advocate for advancing the interests of female physicians and their families, improve patient care, and help shape healthcare policy to create a healthier nation”
Neelum Aggarwal, MD
AMWA Delegate to the AMA House of Delegates
“I am so proud to be the AMWA Alternate Delegate to the AMA House of Delegates. I really enjoy the ability to collaborate with other “Associates” to improve the healthcare system for all. Thank you AMWA for the opportunity to make a contribution!”
Roberta Gebhard, DO
AMWA Alternate Delegate to the AMA House of Delegates
“I was honored to represent American Medical Women’s Association as the representative to the AMA Women Physicians Section Governing Council. We work diligently to improve health policy for our female patients of all ages. Despite being two months post-partum, I was able to give testimony to support awareness of the impact of gun violence on women and how safe storage reduced deaths of youth and reduces the impact of interpersonal violence which affects women more frequently. I also spoke to the need to prevent pharmaceutical companies from increasing the price of needed medications that have already been released to the market with the goal of rebranding them to charge more. I am looking forward to advocating again to improve health policies at the AMA annual conference!”
Tiffani Bell Washington, MD
AMWA Delegate to the AMA Women Physicians Section Governing Council
“I have found that policy making is difficult but so essential in achieving our mission and vision. When it gets difficult, I focus on the fact that advocacy at its core is an exercise in empathy. AMWA is committed to our mission and vision and combining our voices with the AMA and all organizations involved.”
Susan Hingle, MD
ACP Delegate to the AMA House of Delegates
AMWA President-Elect
Member, AMWA Board of Directors
“Having discussions with physicians and realizing the importance of our experiences and how that influences our own biases was fascinating and gave me better insights on how we can be more inclusive in our discussion around advocacy.”
Theresa Rohr-Kirchgraber, MD
AMWA President 2022-2023, 2015-2016
Member, AMA Minority Affairs Section Governing Council
“I am an elected member to the Women’s Physician’s Section to the AMA. It has been an honor and a privilege to represent the women of the AMA and also carry the banner for AMWA. At the AMA, I met the most inspiring women leaders, students, activists, thought leaders and it was an amazing experience.”
Gloria Wu, MD
Member, AMA Women Physicians Section Governing Council
Member, AMWA Board of Directors
Dr. Eileen Barrett
Dr. Nancy Church
Dr. Tiffani Bell Washington
Dr. Tiffani Bell Washington
Dr. Neelum Aggarwal
Dr. Elisa Choi
Dr. Gloria Wu
