KANSAS CITY, KAN. ? Joe McDonald knows the power medical students can have in the American Medical Assn.

Last year, the AMA approved a policy McDonald wrote supporting health-care benefits and visitation rights for same-sex partners.

“I was so impressed with the power one person could have, even a student,” said McDonald, a fourth-year Kansas University School of Medicine student.

Now McDonald will have a chance to influence even more policies as chairman of the 53,000 students who are AMA members. The student delegation elected McDonald to the position Dec. 7 in New Orleans. He’s the first KU student to hold the post.

McDonald said physicians allowed students a significant place at AMA meetings.

“They really value us, and we have a voice on the floor,” he said. “When we’re passionate about an issue, the docs are passionate about an issue.”

McDonald, 30, is one of a handful of students in KU’s M.D./Ph.D. program, a seven-year program that gives graduates dual degrees.

Issues

Joe McDonald, a fourth-year medical student at the Kansas University School of Medicine, will be chairman of the student section of the American Medical Assn. McDonald, pictured at his laboratory at the Kansas City, Kan., campus, was elected to the post Dec. 7.

A native of Cheyenne, Wyo., McDonald received his undergraduate degree from Baker University and a master’s degree from KU before entering medical school.

He immediately became involved with the KU student chapter of the AMA and eventually worked his way up to serving on the planning committees for two national conventions.

He’ll serve as incoming chairman until June, serve a year as chairman, then serve as outgoing chairman until December 2004.

McDonald said he expected to work on several big issues in the next two years:

l Medical students are fighting a proposal by the National Board of Medical Examiners to add a clinical skills assessment to the tests required to become a doctor. Although many support the concept, McDonald said the NBME proposal would cost $1,000, with only one testing site west of the Mississippi River.

“These kids already have $75,000 in debt by that point,” he said. He suggested the test could be administered at medical schools.

¢AMA student organization

l Finding new ways to decrease student debt and encourage debt consolidation.

l Analyzing the aftermath of the AMA’s decision to limit hours resident doctors can work to 80 hours per week, a policy the students supported.

l Helping doctors reduce the cost of malpractice insurance and increase Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

“It sounds at first like a pocketbook issue,” McDonald said.

But he said both issues led to limited access to health care. Doctors and students need to unite to improve their lobbying efforts and make a difference for national policy, he said.

“We need to have one voice,” he said. “Until that happens, we’re going to get crushed on these big issues.”

Future career

McDonald is married to a third-year family practice resident at KU Med. The couple have a 4-year-old son and a 1-year-old daughter.

McDonald’s research focuses on effects on the brain caused by low oxygen levels in high altitude, respiratory disorders or sleep apnea.

Mark Meyer, associate dean for student affairs, said McDonald’s success with the domestic partner policy showed he could be an effective leader for the AMA students.

“That was huge. To get a program like that through the legislative process was a big stepping stone,” Meyer said. “It gave him good exposure.”

Meyer said leading medical students often led to other political opportunities.

“That’s a big representation for him,” Meyer said. “It’s kind of a legacy, and it often continues into your career. He’s on a path to be very politically relevant.”