Australian Medical Association

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is the professional association for Australian doctors and medical students. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the Medical Board of Australia and the Australian Health Practitioner Agency. The association’s national headquarters are located in Barton, Australian Capital Territory, in addition to the offices of its branches in each of the states and territories in Australia.
The AMA and AMSA work closely together as they share many goals.
==Aims and objectives==
The AMA has a range of representative and scientific committees and one of its stated aims is "leading the health policy debate by developing and promoting alternative policies to those government policies that the AMA considers poorly targeted or ill-informed; responding to issues in the health debate through the provision of a wide range of expert resources; and commissioning and conducting research on health issues.".
==Organisation structure==
The AMA uses a representative structure involving state branches and committees to work with members to promote and protect the interests of doctors.
The mechanisms that allow this include:
* working with governments to maintain and increase provision of world-class medical care to all Australians;
* tracking and reporting government performance on health;
* challenging government on policy that potentially harms the interests of patients;
* providing a resonant and authoritative expert medical commentary on health issues;
* responding to issues in the health debate through provision of a wide range of expert resources; and
* commissioning and conducting research on health issues.
The AMA supports patient care by serving the medical profession across a broad range of services, including:
* protecting the academic, professional and economic independence and the well being of medical practitioners;
* promoting and advancing ethical behaviour by the medical profession and protecting the integrity and independence of the doctor/patient relationship; and
* preserving and protecting the political, legal and industrial interests of medical practitioners.
==History==
The British Medical Association, founded in England in 1832 to promote both the study of medicine and protection of the medical profession, established branches in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria in 1879-80. The New South Wales branch, under its founding president Sir Arthur Renwick, replaced the earlier "Australian Medical Association" formed in Sydney by Dr William Bland in 1859. The BMA Branches of the Australian states and territories formally merged into the Australian Medical Association in 1962.
==Presidents==
# Cecil Colville (1962–1964)
# Angus Murray (1964–1967)
# Clarence Rieger (1967–1970)
# Roderick Macdonald (1970–1972)
# Gavin Johnson (1972–1973)
# Keith Jones (1973–1976)
# Rupert Magarey (1976–1979)
# Lionel Wilson (1979–1982)
# Lindsay Thompson (1982–1985)
# Trevor Pickering (1985–1988)
# Bryce Phillips (1998–1990)
# Bruce Shepherd (1990–1993)
# Brendan Nelson (1993–1995)
# David Weedon (1995–1996)
# Keith Woollard (1996–1998)
# David Brand (1998–2000)
# Kerryn Phelps (2000–2003)
# Bill Glasson (2003–2005)
# Mukesh Haikerwal (2005–2007)
# Rosanna Capolingua (2007–2009)
# Andrew Pesce (2009–2011)
# Steve Hambleton (2011–2014)
# Brian Owler (2014–2016)
# Michael Gannon (2016–present)
==External links==
*AMA – National site
**AMA – New South Wales Branch site
**AMA – Victoria Branch site
**AMA – South Australia Branch site
**AMA – Queensland Branch site
**AMA – Western Australia Branch site
**AMA – Tasmania Branch site