A Message from the WPC Governing Council Chair

  Dear WPC Members:

Our recent AMA Annual Meeting proved to be exciting for the WPC. The House of Delegates (HOD) convened in June 2008, considering over 300 policy items and conducting a variety of timely educational sessions.  (Go to the 2008 Annual Meeting of the AMA HOD Web site for more information)  Your WPC convened its annual caucus and was an active participant throughout the meeting.  Highlights from the Annual Meeting include:

The AMA House of Delegates voted to adopt the recommendations from Board of Trustees Report 19, “Gender Disparities in Physician Income and Advancement.” A copy of the report is available.

Attendees of the WPC Caucus were granted a first look at new data from 2007 Giambalvo Scholarship winners Patricia Turner, MD and Ethan Jewett, MA.  Dr. Turner reported on her study on the impact of attitudes regarding childbearing on a woman’s decision to pursue a career in surgery and Mr. Jewett reported on reentry barriers for inactive physicians. 

• WPC-Liaisons and leaders were also honored at a special breakfast at the AMA’s Annual meeting that provided attendees with the opportunity to network and discuss activities and issues of particular interest to women physicians.  I encourage you to go to our WPC Web site (link to ) to read informational reports from our Liaisons and find out if your specialty and/or state medical society has appointed a WPC Liaison.  If they have not, send an e-mail to wpc@ama-assn.org for more information on becoming a WPC Liaison today.

We look forward to more exciting activities for the coming year.

Our annual September Women in Medicine Month celebration provides an additional venue for acknowledging the influence of women physicians in medicine. This year’s theme “Building Bridges through Mentoring” celebrates those physicians who have contributed to the success of women physicians and provides a chance to say thank you to colleagues.

Through its Physician Mentor Recognition Program, the AMA-WPC will recognize those physicians who have made a difference in our professional lives.  Over 30 nominations were submitted for the second year of the AMA-WPC Physician Mentor Recognition Program.  These mentors will be recognized during September Women in Medicine Month and through a special commemorative book to be distributed at the WPC Caucus during the upcoming Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates. 

The WPC looks forward to your participation in the Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates.  We will host our Caucus on Saturday, November 8, where we will honor our 2008 mentors and discuss findings from the recent Women in Medicine survey.  In addition, the WPC will host an educational session entitled, Women in Combat – New Challenges for Medicine and Society on Monday, November 10. 

The WPC continues to be a forum for members to discuss policy items before the AMA, and to foster leadership development within the organization. We would love to hear from you. Send an e-mail to wpc@ama-assn.org if there are any issues you would like us to work on or bring forward. We are in regular communication with our members, and with the leadership of the AMA Board of Trustees.  Thank you for your continued involvement in this dynamic organization.

Jolie C. Holschen, M.D.
WPC Governing Council Chair