Members Move Medicine: She explains to legislators what matters



On the move with: Gunjan Malhotra, MD, a diagnostic radiology resident.

AMA member since: 2013.

What inspired me to pursue a career in medicine: I was always fascinated with how the body functions and wanted to use that knowledge to help people in the way I that saw physicians help my loved ones over the years.

How I move medicine: As a trainee, I understand the importance of investing time and effort on my patients in the hospital and how that will shape the physician I ultimately become. However, I think I help move medicine by investing time and effort into organizations such as the AMA where that time and effort is geared towards addressing the policies that govern the practice of medicine.

Career highlights: My involvement in organized medicine is particularly meaningful, because I have seen ideas that I have been involved in introducing as resolutions eventually make their way to become topics of legislation. I feel fortunate to represent the AMA Resident and Fellow Section (AMA-RFS) as vice chair.

Advice I’d give to those interested in pursuing a career in medicine: Have a strong support system, work hard and take care of your own well-being before you can think about helping others.

How I give back to the community: I am passionate about writing resolutions for consideration by the AMA-RFS and the AMA House of Delegates and feel this is an important way that I can take a topic I am concerned about and bring it to the attention of a large number of people.

I am also passionate about attending legislative days where the goal is to educate lawmakers on relevant medical topics that they may be unfamiliar with in hopes that they will enact legislation to address those issues.

Aspect of my work that means the most: I find meaning in being able to help other clinicians understand the findings of an imaging study they ordered to help facilitate the care of our patient.

I also find meaning in both the diagnostic and interventional procedures I perform, as they often result in an eventual diagnosis for my patient or a therapeutic measure for my patient.

My hope for the future of medicine: That when decisions about health care delivery are made, that they are not shortsighted and do not compromise on quality. I believe all patients deserve to be treated by a physician-led health care team. Additionally, I believe we need to focus on environmental factors that affect human health and address population health issues in a better manner.
