This program arranges for medical students to lobby their State House one or two times per year. In preparation for the visits, you should contact your area representatives to make an appointment. You should arrange a briefing on relevant pending legislation through your state medical society. This can be done before or after your group reaches the state capitol. The students then visit their representatives, presenting the student perspective on health related issues.
The Textbook of Legislation and the Legislative Activism handbook provide comprehensive background information for these legislative visits and are available directly from the DMSS.
Target Audience: State legislators.
Participating Groups: The AMA-MSS chapter and members of the Family Practice Club.
Budget: $250 to cover the cost of carpools to the state capitol, gas and parking for 3 to 4 cars, and lunch for the students.
Funding Sources: The administration's student activities budget.
School: Mercer University School of Medicine Macon, GA
This program uses the lecture series format to harness election year rhetoric and introduce medical students and other members of your community to key issues facing the profession. You should schedule the program in the fall of an election year, setting up a slate of six or seven weekly lectures with representatives of each party discussing their platform position on specific issues relevant to health care. This format provides participants with a greater depth of information on health care topics, encouraging increased dialog on the political process in your community.
These lectures should be scheduled at lunch to promote attendance. Possible topics include:
Health system reform (coverage and financing mechanisms).
Student issues (physician workforce planning, cost of education, federal loan deferments during residency).
Medicare and Medicaid changes.
Research funding and fetal tissue research.
Abortion issues.
HIV policy.
Each speaker can be allowed twenty minutes to present their party's position on the issue, with the remaining minutes devoted to question and answer.
Target Audience: Any interested members of your school and medical center.
Participating Groups: The AMA-MSS chapter.
Budget: Promotion (flyers and handouts) $100, Refreshments $150, Total $250
Funding Sources: AMA-MSS Policy Promotion Grant.
School: University of Minnesota Medical School Minneapolis, MN
Despite the failure of the 103rd Congress to pass health system reform, this issue will continue to be part of the national public policy debate. Partisan politics can provide an excellent platform from which to introduce the students of your school to the key issues in health care. You can invite speakers to present and debate the Republican and Democratic agendas. Ideally, you should try to secure participation by the candidates for the U.S. Congress or for your state senate (or equivalent body).
An alternative is to contact the Republican and Democratic National Committees and ask them to supply appropriate speakers to participate in your program. Your state society may be able to supply you with speakers and a moderator, either from their leadership or from their staff.
This program format stimulates an interest in government and organized medicine, helping to build an informed electorate which can guide the course of policy. The program will require you to secure an adequate meeting space, such as an auditorium. You should offer some form of refreshments to encourage attendance. In addition to handouts you can distribute at the program, relevant background and issue papers can be kept on reserve at the library.
Target Audience: All medical students and any interested members of your community. Remember, they all vote and everyone, at some time, has to interact with our health care delivery system.
Participating Groups: The AMA-MSS chapter.
Budget: Beverages $150, Posters and handouts $50, Total $200
Funding Sources: AMA-MSS Policy Promotion Grant.
School: Eastern Virginia Medical School, Indiana University School of Medicine
The health system reform update is designed to achieve the following:
Provide information on the status of health system reform.
Communicate information on AMA positions in the national debate on health system reform. Promote student involvement in your MSS chapter's activities as well as in state and national events. Encourage students to join the AMA-MSS (particularly valuable if you schedule your program early in the Fall, so it overlaps with your MSS Outreach Recruitment efforts).
This program offers medical students an opportunity to learn more about the legislation which will shape the careers for which they are training. You need to start by selecting a specific topic in health system reform - physician workforce planning, antitrust relief or professional liability - or an overview of current reform initiatives. Speakers are available at the county, state or national level. AMA trustees are sometimes available. All you need to do is identify your topic, select your audience, set a time and place, and forward your invitation to the AMA's Board Office.
An alternative is to coordinate a program with your state medical society, whose leadership may be interested in addressing your group or who have staff working on your selected topic. Working with your state society can be especially relevant if your medical school is in a state considering its own reform initiative.
You can contact the DMSS to obtain extensive resources for your program. These include the Campaign Action Kit for Health System Reform, numerous advocacy briefs, material on the Patient Protection Act and Health Access America (the AMA's original system reform principles), etc.
Finally, in addition to good promotional flyers, do not forget to include light refreshments to attract participants.
Target Audience: You should aim your program at medical students, first and second year students especially, to encourage them to learn about the issues which face medicine. However, a good program will also draw up to 25% other medical center professionals. You should encourage this, a heterogenous audience produces more debate and better dialog.
Participating Groups: The AMA-MSS chapter.
Budget: Beverages and light food $250 (should serve up to 100), Posters and handouts $35, Total $285
Funding Sources: AMA-MSS Policy Promotion Grant.
School: Loma Linda University School of Medicine Loma Linda, CA
The program's goal is to educate medical students about the costs, to the patient, of tests that the students may order now and in the future as physicians. The health cost pocket reference cards will concisely define for your peers the costs of frequently ordered laboratory tests and procedures.
To obtain the best volume discount on the printing costs, order cards for all medical students in your state. Distribute through the MSS chapters at the other schools. To evaluate the card's effectiveness, distribute evaluations to the other chapter president/chairs.
Target Audience: Your states' medical students.
Participating Groups: The AMA-MSS chapter.
Budget: Layout $50, Printing (1,000 cards) $120, Miscellaneous costs (postage,etc.) $20, Total $190
Funding Sources: AMA-MSS Policy Promotion Grant.
School: University of Miami School of Medicine Miami, FL
Mounting a voter registration drive within your medical community is a good way to assure medicine's influence remains strong in the legislative arena. A voter registration drive can be a vital part of any election year activities. The following steps will help you get your drive started.
Get assistance and approvals. You should work with your state and county medical societies, they may be able to provide resources or get involved in your efforts. You also need to contact your county or state election office to receive literature on the rules for your state and jurisdiction.
Set goals. What population of the medical community do you need to target? Do you want to generate publicity for your AMA-MSS chapter? Do you want to raise awareness within the medical community about the need to vote?
Select one or more methods of registration. You need to determine, in light of your goals, the registration mechanisms your time and resources can accommodate. Your election office will be able to answer any questions you may have.
Branch: A branch registration allows for branch offices to be set up for registration in places such as medical centers, hospitals, community centers, libraries, etc.
Postcard: Your AMA-MSS chapter sends unregistered voters a pre-addressed postcard to fill out and send to the registrar's office. The postcards are supplied by your area's election official.
Deputy: A deputy registration allows (volunteer) deputy registrars to participate in voter registration drives by working branch locations and doing "on-site" registration.
Centralized: The unregistered voter must go to one established location (usually the county courthouse or city hall) and register at the appropriate office.
Form a coalition. You should invite other interested groups to participate which will help you maximize your time and resources. In addition, if your MSS chapter has never conducted a drive before, an experienced organization such as the League of Women Voters can lend valuable "how-to" assistance.
Begin planning your drive. When you communicate your plans to the election office remember to order the necessary forms. These include registration forms, change of address forms, change of name forms, change of party affiliation forms, and absentee ballot applications. Now you need to recruit a committee of reliable volunteers from your MSS chapter and select your registration method(s). If you choose branch registration, you need to schedule the date and location.
Prepare your chapter's volunteers. Your election office should be able to supply training information or may offer a quick training course for volunteers. They will need to be able to answer questions such as "How do I use an absentee ballot?" or "Where is the nearest polling station?"
Seek publicity for your drive. Voter registration drives present a unique opportunity to generate awareness for your MSS chapter. Send a press release or announcement to the local paper, radio or television station. To reach your target population consider announcements in any local medical journal or hospital newsletter. Flyers and posters in your medical center will increase the visibility and effectiveness of your efforts.
Follow up. There will be paperwork to complete for your election office and do not forget to keep a file of all the names, addresses and even telephone numbers of those who registered. You will need to remind them later to vote. You should keep doors open for future activity by thanking your chapter volunteers, your medical society, partner organizations, and those at your registration location.
Target Audience: Your medical community specifically, but you can include your community as a whole.
Participating Groups: The AMA-MSS chapter and the student chapter of the AMA Alliance.
Budget: Travel and lunch for volunteers $100, Flyers and handouts $50, Total $150
Funding Sources: AMA-MSS Policy Promotion Grant.
School: Adapted with thanks from a guide developed by the AMA Alliance, Inc.
The purpose of the legislative awareness program is to show your peers why they need to be informed about the legislative process and the variety of issues that have the potential to affect them. You should start by arranging sessions which explain specifics of the legislative process, so that the students become comfortable with its jargon and structure. Excellent resources for these sessions are available directly from the DMSS, the Textbook of Legislation and the Legislative Activism handbook.
Once you have a framework in place, provide direction on how students can get involved with the legislative process at both the state and national levels. Finally, you can set up a committee to follow legislation and make efforts to affect it. Possible lunchtime speakers include:
A lobbyist on legislative activism. A politician on the legislative process. An AMA representative on the AMA's political activities and positions on pertinent issues.
You may want to schedule your program so as to dovetail with when your state legislature is in session. If you plan to track state legislation be sure to work closely with your state society which will prove an invaluable resource.
Target Audience: Medical students interested in learning about the legislative process.
Participating Groups: The AMA-MSS chapter and the AMSA chapter.
Budget: Promotion (flyers and handouts) $50, Refreshments and food $200, Total $250
Funding Sources: AMA-MSS Policy Promotion Grant.
School: University of Florida College of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin