Association of American Medical Colleges
The AAMC and the medical schools, teaching hospitals, academic and professional societies, faculty, residents, and students we represent are committed to improving the nation's health through medical education, research, and high-quality patient care. We are dedicated to the communities we serve, committed to advancing the public good, and steadfast in our desire to earn and keep the public's trust for the role we are privileged to play in our society.
Founded in 1876, the AAMC is a not-for-profit organization representing all 130 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools, nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers, and nearly 90 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 125,000 faculty members, 75,000 medical students, and 106,000 resident physicians. AAMC is governed by a 17-member board of directors that includes deans, hospital executives, faculty, residents, students, and a public member.
As the leading voice of the academic medical community, the AAMC represents the interests of the nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals before Congress, federal regulatory agencies, and the executive branch on a wide range of issues, including Medicare and Medicaid funding, federal support for medical research and public health, federal student loan programs, health professions education funding, and veterans' medical care and health research. Through various programs and initiatives, the AAMC also informs the public to build support for the unique missions of the nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals.
Each year, more than 16,000 students graduate with an M.D. degree from AAMC-member medical schools, and more than 100,000 resident physicians continue their training at teaching hospitals and associated community sites across the country. The AAMC works to ensure that the medical education and advanced preparation of these new doctors meet the highest standards and keep pace with the changing needs of patients and the nation's health care system.
The teaching hospital and health system members of the AAMC, along with their clinical faculty, provide the world's most advanced medical care. Although they constitute just 6 percent of U.S. hospitals, AAMC members account for nearly one-quarter of all hospital admissions and provide nearly half of all hospital charity care nationwide. They also operate half of all organ transplant and Level I trauma centers, and house two-thirds of all burn unit beds. Comprising general acute care facilities, as well as VA, children's, and specialty hospitals, the AAMC's members train 70 percent of all resident physicians.
The nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals are major centers of research and training. More than half of all National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants are awarded to physicians and scientists at these institutions, which also educate more than half of the nation's life science Ph.D.'s. Through numerous individual and collaborative efforts, the AAMC is a leading national advocate for the biomedical, behavioral, and health sciences research communities.
The association works both to increase diversity in medical education and to advance health care equity in the United States. The AAMC efforts focus on four general areas: diversifying the applicant pool and encouraging more underrepresented minorities to consider medicine as a career through AspiringDocs.org, the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program, career fairs, and other programs; working to reduce health disparities; supporting a more diverse medical school faculty and administration; and conducting research on the impact of diversity.
As a workplace, the AAMC nurtures a culture that promotes excellence in service to our members and the public good.
