 |
|
|
Christopher Libby |
Christopher Libby, a third-year student in the School of Medicine, has been elected to chair the governing council of the American Medical Association Medical Student Section. He is the first UMMS student elected to this post, which is one of the highest student leadership positions within the AMA. He was elected by fellow medical students at the November meeting and will serve as chair-elect until his one-year term as chair begins in June.
The Medical Student Section of the AMA is a democratic, policy-making body dedicated to representing medical students, improving medical education, developing leadership and promoting activism in health care.
Libby, who has an MPH in health policy from Boston University, has been passionate about organized medicine since his first year of medical school when the Massachusetts Medical Society funded his attendance at the AMA conference. Since then he has attended numerous AMA conferences with funding from the Worcester District Medical Society and the MMS, serving in a variety of roles.
“Some of my favorite people in medical school I’ve met through the AMA. They are all passionate about improving health care and it is great to network with so many like-minded students,” said Libby, noting that a number of residents he’s encountered during rotations this year are people he met at AMA conferences. He sees this new role as an opportunity to help other students engage with the AMA as voices of change in health care.
“Students can be responsible for real changes in health policy. In the 1980s, they advocated through the AMA for airplanes to be nonsmoking, which eventually became policy. We have advocated for increased access to nasal naloxone, women’s health and changes to medical education. Most recently, we worked with residents and physicians to change the AMA stance on direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceutical drugs to now oppose the practice,” said Libby.
“My biggest priority will be to get student voices heard and to raise awareness among students of the opportunities available to them through the AMA,” he said.
As chair of the student governing council, Libby will provide direction for initiatives, serve as a liaison between the governing council and AMA staff and represent the Medical Student Section. His specific organized medicine interests revolve around medical education, health policy and health technology.
In addition to his interest in medicine, Libby has extensive experience in health IT and currently chairs the AMA-MMS Healthcare Information Technology Task Force. He also serves on the MMS Task Force on Electronic Health Records Interoperability and Usability.
“Health IT is becoming an integral part of health care delivery,” said Libby, who plans to do his senior capstone project on one of the internal health IT initiatives.
“I feel honored that my fellow students have put their trust in me. I want to help them get the most out of organized medicine,” said Libby. “The AMA does a lot of work to advocate for physicians and their patients. If you are passionate about an issue or think a policy stance the AMA has should be changed, the best way to make that change happen is to get involved.”
