MeMBerShIp MAtterS Find Connections and Shared Purpose with Colleagues Get Involved in the OMA! Jennifer Nordgaard Director of Membership Oregon Medical Association One Of the MOSt valuable benefits of OMA membership are the opportunities available to connect with your colleagues, voice your concerns and discover common ground and shared purpose with others in medicine. Serving on an OMA committee or participating in one of the Membership Sections is a great way for members to play a leadership role and be an advocate for the profession. OMA committees tackle a wide variety of issues that impact physicians, physician assistants and their patients. These range from workforce and patient access to quality and patient safety to community and public health concerns such as addiction and mental health, childhood immunizations, health equity and health literacy; to health care finance matters and much more. OMA members from anywhere in Oregon are welcome to participate on a committee in person or by phone. The Sections give members within a particular member group, or with a similar practice arrangement or location, a forum to express ideas, tap into expertise to address issues, learn about OMA resources and meet other OMA members who share similar interests or have common concerns. There are membership sections for physician assistants, medical and PA students, Alliance members and those practicing in rural areas or who are employed by a hospital or health system. Participating on a committee or section is a great way to help shape the association while building leadership skills. Committees and sections bring policy recommendations to the OMA Board of Trustees for consideration, or the Board may refer a policy submission or recommendation to an OMA committee for further review and exploration. Committee and section members are vital to this process to ensure the voice of members are heard. JOIn us, GEt InvOlvEd! If you’d like to get involved with the work of an OMA committee, visit theOMA. org/committees, review the committee descriptions and submit an interest form. The OMA president reviews interest forms and appoints committee members each spring. To learn more about a particular membership section, visit theOMA.org/ membership/sections and contact the OMA staff liaison for more information. Follow the path of ideas to policy at OMA. Check out the policy development flow chart at theOMA.org/policyflow. w ww.TheOMA.org Spring 2015 11
OMA Spring 2015 Magazine
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