The 175th president of the American Medical Association (AMA), Dr Susan
Bailey, was sworn in remotely during a virtual Special Meeting of the AMA
House of Delegates on 7 June.
An allergist in private practice, for more than three decades she has been with Fort Worth Allergy and Asthma Associates. Dr Bailey has been active in the AMA since medical school when she served as chair of the AMA Medical Student Section. She was first elected to the AMA Board of Trustees in 2011 and over the years has held numerous leadership positions at the AMA. She was elected president-elect of the American Medical Association in June 2019.
“After more than 30 years in a small, private practice, I am a passionate
defender of the independent physician, and, like the AMA, I’m determined to
remove all those obstacles that have come between us and our patients,” Dr
Bailey said in her inaugural
statement.
Prior to engaging with AMA, Dr Bailey worked in various organisations including
the Texas Medical Association, Tarrant County Medical Society, Texas Medical
Association House of Delegates and the American College of Allergy, Asthma and
Immunology House of Delegates.
Dr Bailey is an honour graduate of Texas A&M University College of
Medicine. She completed her residency in general pediatrics and a fellowship in
allergy/immunology at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine and is certified by
the American Board of Pediatrics and the American Board of Allergy and
Immunology. She is a distinguished fellow of the American College of Allergy,
Asthma, and Immunology and serves on the board of directors of the
Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.
Highlighting the obstacles that physicians are now facing in her address, Dr
Bailey stressed those were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. “We need the
power of the AMA on this journey. I believe involvement in organised medicine
is a professional obligation, taking good care of our patients requires much more
from us than the time we spend with them in an exam room,” she said concluding
with a message of hope that with joint effort the pandemic would be defeated.
Source: AMA
Image credit: AMA
