AAMC Reporter: January 2008

A Word from the President:
"2008: An Engaging Opportunity"

In my December column, I sounded the call for greater engagement by our community on several front-burner issues, particularly given the looming national election. With several primaries and caucuses now under our belt, I am even more convinced our active participation is vital and believe we have an unprecedented opportunity—as individuals and as institutions—to help shape the future of key issues in education, health care, and research.

Some may despair, believing we are in a perpetual state of hopeless, partisan gridlock. Others may point the finger of blame, and abstain from civic involvement until someone else "fixes" the problem. And most disturbing, some may disengage entirely, and fail to exercise the one option that in itself can render political change: our vote. With so much at stake for our core missions of medical education, research, and health care, it is incumbent upon us—as citizen-voters, as professionals bound by principles of social responsibility, and as members of the larger academic community—to become actively involved in elections at all levels of government. The following are a few steps I hope you will consider.

First, take a moment to self-reflect: where do you stand on the issues? A fascinating way to start this exercise is by visiting www.typology.people-press.org, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press project that identifies nine distinct political typologies. You can take a short quiz and learn whether you fit with the "Upbeats," "Enterprisers," "Bystanders," or other six groups. This exercise convinced me that we are far more than a nation of "reds and blues."

Second, get informed. A good resource is the Kaiser Family Foundation's www.health08.org, which in addition to providing in-depth analysis on health care issues, hosts an online tool to compare, side-by-side, the presidential health care proposals of your choice. You also can go to www.factcheck.org, the Annenberg Center for Public Policy site, which assesses the validity of each candidate's claims, allegations, and use of statistics.

Two additional resources that I urge you to visit are www.yourcandidatesyourhealth.org and www.yourCongressyourhealth.org, both sponsored by Research!America and a coalition of organizations in which the AAMC is a founding partner. These groups asked members of Congress (many of whom are running for reelection) and all major presidential candidates their views on issues such as health care access and coverage, funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and shortages in the health professions. As this column goes to press, only a quarter of Congress and a handful of presidential candidates have responded, so I encourage you to not only visit the site, but use its direct e-mail function to thank the candidates and lawmakers who already have shared their views, and encourage those who have not to respond. Be sure, too, to watch for the survey of congressional candidates—incumbents and challengers—that Research!America plans to post later this year.

Third, use the power of persuasion. As ABC political commentator and National Public Radio senior news analyst Cokie Roberts noted in her keynote speech at the 2007 AAMC annual meeting, "America is listening" about health care; medical schools and teaching hospitals would be well advised to take full advantage of having the country's attention. Now is the time to talk about the NIH budget, the coming physician shortage, the plight of the uninsured, children's health insurance, the state of our health care system, and other issues so important to us. Pick the issue about which you feel passionately and make it the centerpiece of your activity through an opinion piece to your local paper, participation in a policy blog, or work on a candidate's campaign.

Fourth, ask questions. While the Internet is a remarkable medium for information exchange, it is no substitute for in-person discourse and debate. Many of our institutions or their affiliated universities sponsor town hall meetings or candidate forums that offer invaluable opportunities to ask federal, state, and local candidates their views on key issues. Where do they stand on public support for higher education? Do they understand the importance of sustainable funding for the NIH or realize the economic impact of our institutions on the national and local economies? When they talk about health insurance, do they mention the complexity and range of issues involved, from expanding coverage to restructuring the delivery system, and from providing appropriate incentives for health promotion and wellness to supporting chronic care?

Fifth, think "collaboration." The AAMC is part of an incredible matrix of associations focused on education, health, and research. As we affirmed through our strategic thinking and positioning process, our effectiveness on any given issue depends on our ability to partner with these organizations, carefully determining on which issues the AAMC should play a lead role and in which cases we should follow the lead of others. You probably belong to some of these associations and, in your capacity as members, please encourage them to take the same collaborative approach.

Finally—and I cannot emphasize this enough—please vote. According to a recent study by researchers at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, physician voter turnout is on the decline, with only 75 percent of physicians voting in three of the last four presidential elections. These statistics are particularly disturbing given our profession's time-honored commitment to social responsibility. If you are not already registered to vote, visit the U.S. Election Assistance Commission site, www.eac.gov/voter, for more information.

Staying on the sidelines will only perpetuate the political stalemate of recent years, and make gridlock a self-fulfilling prophecy. Only through our collective effort can much needed transformational change be realized. Whether the 2008 election helps bring about a seismic shift in support for the public goods of education, health care, and research or tragically leaves us stuck in a partisan quagmire, is in no small part up to us.

Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., AAMC President and CEO

Contact Us    © 1995-2008 AAMC    Terms and Conditions    Privacy Statement