Medical Student Involved in MSSNY and AMA Roles

By Dirk Hoffman

The MSSNY is an organization of about 20,000 licensed physicians, medical residents and medical students whose members participate in both the state society and in their local county medical societies.

It serves as a link between New York physicians and the American Medical Association (AMA), the national professional association for physicians.

Altman was elected as the Medical Student Section (MSS) Councilor representing medical students in all of New York State.

Her term began in April during the MSSNY House of Delegates meeting in Tarrytown, New York.

Altman is responsible for capturing the activities of the Medical Student Section and accordingly compiling a report to share with the MSSNY Council. She attends all meetings alongside the physicians in the MSSNY Council.

She has also served as an outreach leader for the AMA, helping to lead membership recruitment and engagement efforts for the AMA at the Jacobs School.

Altman says she intends to pursue neurology residency training upon graduation from medical school.

“The nervous system, including the brain, has always fascinated me with its ability to cause drastic and sometimes transient changes in both physical and cognitive abilities, as well as behavior,” she says. “As a health care provider, it is important that I am fully engaged with my patients and sincerely understand their reason for seeking medical care.”

“That is why I got involved in the AMA and MSSNY during my first year of medical school,” Altman adds. “I was initially interested in opportunities for advocacy and networking, but later became involved in leadership and policy review.”

Altman says organized medicine has a large learning curve with a lot of new rules and parliamentary procedures to follow.

“As my competency grew, I became more interested in leadership and policy review. I transitioned from having little knowledge of organized medicine to having the competency and knowledge to orient and teach new members,” she says.

Altman served as advocacy chair for MSSNY-MSS during her first and second years of medical school and also had the privilege of giving live testimony at the AMA interim 2024 meeting.

Advocacy, leadership and networking are the main reasons Altman cites for encouraging students to join the AMA and MSSNY.

“These groups are our voice in the political realm,” she says. “The AMA is a nationally recognized organization that has representation in Washington, D.C. When medical students or physicians write a resolution, that document has the potential to be lobbied in the White House.”

Altman says there are no shortage of leadership positions and students can be involved at the state level, like her, or aim for regional or national leadership positions.

“I got involved as a first-year student because there is a large learning curve,” she says. “To be the most successful in leadership positions, I recommend getting involved as early as possible.”

When Altman is not busy with her obligations to school, AMA or MSSNY, she enjoys playing viola in Avanti, a community orchestra in Buffalo.

“Our group contains both professional musicians and those in other career paths, like me,” she says. “Playing the viola has held a significant role in my life since I began in 4th grade. I later studied with members of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.”

“As a medical student, playing has helped reduce stress, improve mental well-being, and provide social support amidst demanding studies,” Altman adds. “As an example of connections made possible through organized medicine, MSSNY physicians in Buffalo often attend my concerts.”