The AMA and the Campaign Unity Project

[Matthew T Perry]

I got to thinking about the representation those of us who are members of both the AMA and the AOA are getting. Both organizations declare they are advocates of our concerns and interests and work to ensure we maximize our potentials as physicians and medical students. With this in mind, I am fully supportive of the AOA's effort to promote the osteopathic goals and philosophies through its Campaign Unity project. This is something that should have been done years ago, and if effective can greatly improve the public awareness of the osteopathic profession, which in turn will only help us.
Now as a member of the AMA, I do not find it at all inappropriate to expect some type of support from them as well. As a matter of fact, every DO physician and student member should be fervently demanding they do their utmost to ensure the success of the Campaign Unity project. They should be actively engaged in promoting osteopathy. Their goals should be to make Andrew Still and the DO initials a breakfast conversation across America. After all, don't we pay the same dues as our allopathic colleagues?
I would love to hear from others who support this idea. Also, if anyone can expound on this or has any useful comments regarding this please email me or post.

Osteopathically yours,

Matthew T. Perry
Student Doctor
UNTHSC-TCOM

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[turtleboard]

The Unity Campaign is the AOA's attempt to increase awareness of osteopathic medicine and philosophy within the public, as well as to reintroduce DOs to osteopathic medicine. From my understanding it is not necessarily a vehicle through which the AOA and its DO leaders hope to make the DO a household name.

The AMA has a responsibility to all physicians, MD and DO alike, and is not in the business of promoting the interests of MDs over DOs or DOs over MDs. The issue of osteopathic medicine's public obscurity and what must be done to reverse it is entirely the responsibility of the osteopathic profession, which the last time I checked, was independent of medicine (allopathic medicine) as a profession. Do you, as an osteopathic medical student, really want a group of MDs to lead the country's perception of osteopathic medicine? Of course not. If you want the job done right, do it yourself!


Tim of New York City.

[This message has been edited by turtleboard (edited August 21, 1999).]

 

[turtleboard]

Tim of New York City.

[This message has been edited by turtleboard (edited August 21, 1999).]