American Medical Association Elects First Female President

The 150-year-old, 292,000-member American Medical Association has elected a female president for the first time in its history. Dr. Nancy W. Dickey, a family practitioner from Texas, was elected by acclamation on Sunday June 22, 1997. The year-long position pays $222,000 and holds mostly a spokeswoman role for the group’s members. Currently, Dickey is the Chair of the Board of the A.M.A., a more powerful yet less visible position than the presidency. Four of the A.M.A.’s twenty board members are women, and women comprise 11% of its membership. In the United States, 20% of the doctors are women.