Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
    • COVID-19 Articles
    • Obituary notices
  • Authors & Reviewers
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
    • Open access
    • Patient engagement
  • Members & Subscribers
    • Benefits for CMA Members
    • CPD Credits for Members
    • Subscribe to CMAJ Print
    • Subscription Prices
    • Obituary notices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
    • Trousse média 2023
    • Avis de décès
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN

User menu

Search

  • Advanced search
CMAJ
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN
CMAJ

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
    • COVID-19 Articles
    • Obituary notices
  • Authors & Reviewers
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
    • Open access
    • Patient engagement
  • Members & Subscribers
    • Benefits for CMA Members
    • CPD Credits for Members
    • Subscribe to CMAJ Print
    • Subscription Prices
    • Obituary notices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
    • Trousse média 2023
    • Avis de décès
  • Visit CMAJ on Facebook
  • Follow CMAJ on Twitter
  • Follow CMAJ on Pinterest
  • Follow CMAJ on Youtube
  • Follow CMAJ on Instagram
News

Are medical associations relevant to young doctors?

Wendy Glauser
CMAJ January 08, 2018 190 (1) E23-E24; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.109-5537
Wendy Glauser
Toronto, Ont.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Tables
  • Responses
  • Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Major medical associations are working hard to attract young doctors, but newer physicians tend to feel less represented by large associations than more senior colleagues.

One reason may be the increase in choices of specialist organizations, professional networks and advocacy groups for physicians over the past few decades, according to Dean West, president of the Association Laboratory, a Chicago-based consulting firm for professional associations.

Those who join associations, however, do so for similar reasons as previous generations. “They want someone to represent their interests, and they want to know they’re being heard,” said West.

One way the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is engaging younger doctors is through its ambassador program, launched four years ago to bring medical students, residents and new-to-practice physicians to its annual meeting and general council.

“They don’t just invite you, they take a lot of effort to include you in the conversations and get you to mix with the more established members,” said Dr. Seema Marwaha, an internal medicine physician in Ontario who attended the CMA meeting under the program this year. She was impressed with the strong position the CMA took in favour of harm reduction, and appreciated that young doctors who disagreed with the majority of CMA members on federal taxation proposals were given a prominent platform to express their views.

Part of the impetus behind the ambassador program was to address the “drop off” the CMA sees among doctors in later residency and early-practice years, said Tim Smith, the association’s CEO.

Figure

Many younger doctors would like to see greater diversity among the leaders and delegates of national medical associations.

Image courtesy of sturti/iStock

Because students already belong to university-based organizations and the Canadian Federation of Medical Students, it’s easy to reach students, said Smith. About 90% of medical students are members. But once they’re out on their own, young physicians are busy and difficult to organize, he said.

Another problem, some newer to the profession have noted, is that many young doctors don’t see themselves reflected in medical association leadership. “At the meeting, among the students and residents, the gender breakdown was about 50–50, and there were about 50% visible minorities,” said Marwaha. “But when you look at the established membership, it seemed like a bit of an old boy’s club.”

This divide was especially evident at the CMA awards ceremony, where all but two of the awards not intended for residents, students or early-career physicians went to white males. Some younger doctors voiced concern over the lack of diversity, and the CMA is working to seek out nominations more actively, especially from younger doctors, said Smith.

The American Medical Association faces similar challenges. Although 49% of members are under age 40, only 14% of delegates are that young, according to 2017 statistics. But the numbers have been growing. In 2015, 46% of members and 12% of delegates were under 40.

Dr. James Madara, CEO and executive vice-president of the American Medical Association, credits the membership increase among young doctors in part to the association’s advocacy to preserve insurance for 20 million Americans covered by Obamacare. “We stake out ground much more forcefully in what we are for,” he said.

Similarly, in Australia, “the advocacy of the organization is the primary reason why young doctors join,” said Anne Trimmer, secretary general of the Australian Medical Association. The association took a strong stance this year on marriage equality legislation and recently called for more government attention to climate change’s health effects.

Other topics that tend to attract young doctors include physician wellness and work-life balance, in addition to social justice, which is “huge for a lot of trainees,” said Henry Annan, who sits on the CMA board as the president of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students

Some advocacy decisions made by medical associations, however, have been unpopular among young doctors. Last year, for example, the American Medical Association supported the nomination of Dr. Tom Price, a harsh critic of Medicaid and Obamacare, for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Three young physicians penned an open letter condemning the decision and more than 6000 other doctors signed it.

Another challenge, for all professional organizations, is keeping up with technology — an important factor for young people. In one survey of professionals under 40, 74% said professional associations are useful, but only 45% agreed they were tech savvy. Recognizing the importance of technology to continued relevance, the American Medical Association has made a push into technology-driven services, including an innovation network to connect physicians with entrepreneurs who have similar interests. In Canada, the CMA is set to launch a virtual community where young doctors can access peer support and mentorship, and get confidential advice if they’re experiencing intimidation.

Footnotes

  • Posted on cmajnews.com on Dec. 12, 2017.

PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Canadian Medical Association Journal: 190 (1)
CMAJ
Vol. 190, Issue 1
8 Jan 2018
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author

Article tools

Respond to this article
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
To sign up for email alerts or to access your current email alerts, enter your email address below:
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on CMAJ.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Are medical associations relevant to young doctors?
(Your Name) has sent you a message from CMAJ
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the CMAJ web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Are medical associations relevant to young doctors?
Wendy Glauser
CMAJ Jan 2018, 190 (1) E23-E24; DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.109-5537

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
‍ Request Permissions
Share
Are medical associations relevant to young doctors?
Wendy Glauser
CMAJ Jan 2018, 190 (1) E23-E24; DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.109-5537
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Footnotes
  • Figures & Tables
  • Responses
  • Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Resignations at Canada’s drug pricing panel raise independence questions
  • Provinces accept federal health funding deal
  • Feds propose $196B health funding deal with few strings attached
Show more News

Similar Articles

 

View Latest Classified Ads

Content

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Collections
  • Sections
  • Blog
  • Podcasts
  • Alerts
  • RSS
  • Early releases

Information for

  • Advertisers
  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • CMA Members
  • CPD credits
  • Media
  • Reprint requests
  • Subscribers

About

  • General Information
  • Journal staff
  • Editorial Board
  • Advisory Panels
  • Governance Council
  • Journal Oversight
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright and Permissions
  • Accessibiity
  • CMA Civility Standards
CMAJ Group

Copyright 2023, CMA Impact Inc. or its licensors. All rights reserved. ISSN 1488-2329 (e) 0820-3946 (p)

All editorial matter in CMAJ represents the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Canadian Medical Association or its subsidiaries.

To receive any of these resources in an accessible format, please contact us at CMAJ Group, 500-1410 Blair Towers Place, Ottawa ON, K1J 9B9; p: 1-888-855-2555; e: cmajgroup@cmaj.ca

Powered by HighWire