Overview

The Society was conceived by a small group of Chinese physicians who met informally in New York City.  In 1964, a formal organization called the American Chinese Medical Society (ACMS) was established.  In 1986, the name was changed to Chinese American Medical Society (CAMS).  The Society is incorporated as a non-profit, charitable, educational, and scientific society.  The founders of the Society and the current membership have been guided by the following objectives:

To promote the scientific association of medical professionals of Chinese descent. To advance medical knowledge and scientific research with emphasis on aspects unique to the Chinese. To establish scholarships to medical and dental students and to provide endowments to medical schools and hospitals of good standing. To promote the health status of Chinese Americans.

Membership and Chapters

Currently, the Society has over 1,300 members.  The composition of the membership reflects the activities of Chinese American physicians.  Members include physicians in primary care as well as various specialties in academic and research institutions, residents, fellows and medical students.  Dentists, Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine, and podiatrists are also included.  Members are categorized as Life, Regular, Emeritus, Resident and Students.

While most of the members reside in the New York-New Jersey area, there are members from all over the country.  Three Chapters in different geographical areas help give a true national character to the Society.  These are the Capital District Chapter in Albany, New York; the Greater Boston Chapter in Boston; and the Mid-Atlantic Chapter in Washington, D.C.  Chapter members account for about 20% of the total membership. 

There has been a dramatic increase in membership in recent years from approximately 500 members in 1994 to over 1,300 in 2009.  This increase is due to our efforts to recruit students, residents and practicing physicians.  The inception of managed care in New York Chinatown also led to an inflow of new members.  CAMS publishes a newsletter twice a year, which includes announcements of upcoming events, news of chapters and individual members; as well as excerpts of papers presented at scientific meetings.  A membership directory is published annually, listing all active members with categorization by specialty, Chapter, and membership status.


Major Activities

The major event is the Annual Scientific Meeting usually held in November in New York City.  It is an open meeting for all physicians, scientists, nurses, allied-health professionals, residents and students.  The meeting includes a full day of presentations by members and invited guests on topics of general interest or on recent medical advances.  A discussion on some aspect of clinical practice is also included because of the recent influence of managed care.

The meeting features a lecture by the Scientific Award recipient and is followed by a business meeting reviewing the activities of the preceding year.  Discussion of important issues of the Society and election of a new Board of Directors are held at this time.  To conclude, a Chinese banquet in the evening has been a tradition.  A Distinguished Service Award is given to one of our deserving members at the dinner.

A half day Semiannual Scientific Meeting is held in the Spring, with presentations generally on a single theme.  In addition, the Society holds tennis parties, Career Day Seminars for medical students and fund raising events usually around Chinese New Year.  Every 2-3 months there are also dinner seminars sponsored by pharmaceutical companies.  Chapter members hold their own scientific meetings, often in the form of sponsored dinner seminars.  Representatives of Chapters are invited to come to New York to attend our Annual Scientific Meetings.

In 1994 a Chinese Physicians Partnership was formed in which interested CAMS members develop clinical practice arrangements with managed care plans.  In 1997 the Chinese American Independent Physicians Association (CAIPA) was established and currently has 180 members.  CAMS played a major role in the formation and inauguration of the Federation of Chinese American and Chinese Canadian Medical Societies (FCMS) in 1994.  Among its activities, the Federation continues the tradition of sponsoring an international conference on health problems related to the Chinese biennially.  The third conference (1986), the 7^th conference (1994), the 11^th conference (2002) and the 13^th conference (2006) were hosted by CAMS in New York City.

  History of CAMS