The Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society Med Journal May 2020 Final 2 | Page 11
work on contract for AMS to carry out some of
the duties of affiliated specialty societies. They
are relied upon by the Arkansas Urological So-
ciety, the Arkansas Chapter of the American
College of Cardiology, Arkansas Dermatologi-
cal Society, and the Arkansas Ophthalmologi-
cal Society.
Membership Specialist Laura Haywood
pointed out other ways the Society works to
support physicians in every area of medicine.
Sometimes, that means bringing members to-
gether in one place. She explained, “We know
doctors can feel isolated, so we provide an op-
portunity for physicians to come together to
talk about the issues that concern them most
and to learn from each other how to better help
their patients. A good example of this is our
annual membership meeting, complete with
CME.”
While this year’s May 1 meeting has been
suspended due to COVID-19 concerns, the
Presidential Gala honoring incoming president
Chad Rodgers, MD, will be rescheduled for a
later date.
Medical Board
Legal Issues?
Call
Pharmacist/Attorney
Darren O’Quinn
1-800-455-0581
Aside from the annual membership meet-
ing, AMS provides regular continuing education
opportunities for you and your staff members.
For example, each October, they host an insur-
ance conference during which payers come to-
gether to talk about issues and give attendees
a chance to ask questions.
AMS Begins a Membership
Campaign: Will You Help?
After sharing this brief overview of AMS
membership advantages, the Society appeals
to all members to take advantage of every mem-
bership benefit. In addition, they ask members
to help them spread the word to non-member
physicians throughout the state. To that end,
The Society will launch a campaign to bring
more awareness of the Society to potential
members. Staff members are reaching out to
medical students and residents, making group
and clinic visits, attending partner events, and
taking time to explain the long-term impact of
physicians joining the Society.
“It’s extremely important that AMS con-
tinue to work on its membership growth,” said
AMS Executive Vice President David Wroten.
“Those physicians who are members are car-
rying the load for everyone else. Membership
fuels all the advocacy efforts of the AMS. While
this is certainly true to ensure AMS has the fi-
nancial resources to accomplish its work, it is
especially true from the advocacy perspective.
More members mean we have a broader repre-
sentation of thought leaders. It means the AMS
Board of Trustees is more representative of the
state. In short, our membership is the lifeblood
of our organization, and we, in turn, work to be
the lifeblood of our members, professionally
speaking.”
Visit ARKMED.org and click on the Join/
Renew link and share with your non-member
colleagues. Tell them why you’re a member
and encourage them to join. With your help,
we will continue to strengthen our ability and
we will continue our work to represent the in-
terests of every Arkansas physician! (For more
information about advocacy at the Capitol, you
may contact Smith at [email protected]. To
participate as a Doctor of the Day, contact Laura
Hawkins at [email protected].)
Keeping Physicians In Mind and Informed
CORONAVIRUS
UPDATE
www.DarrenOQuinn.com
The Arkansas Medical Society has been working closely with the Arkansas Department of Health
and other health care community leaders to serve physicians during the COVID-19 outbreak
here in Arkansas. Our top priority is the safety and well-being of the health care community that
we serve, including our 4,400 member physicians, residents, and medical students. We will be
providing updates as often as possible.
Little Rock, Arkansas
Volume 116 • Number 10
Visit ARKMED.org/COVID19 to sign up for our latest updates, as well as to view resources on
financial assistance, telemedicine, and more.
MAy 2020 • 251