Physicians of the United States, you have every reason to be proud of, and pleased with, your American Medical Association, whether or not you are a member. The representative process of the House of Delegates has done it again. At the June 19 through 23, 1983, meeting, 73 Board, Council, Officer, and staff reports and 150 resolutions were considered by eight reference committees, proceeding through democratic process toward rejection, referral for further study, filing, amendment, or adoption. Forty-six reports and 56 resolutions were adopted, many after amendments.
As Lester King, MD, has stated in his definitive history of MEDICINE IN THE USA: HISTORICAL VIGNETTES, "A medical society is not a philanthropic or altruistic organization. It exists for the sake of its members."1 But, it is wonderful to be a member of a profession in which actions that benefit the members are so often actions that also benefit patients specifically and