Anyonere here a member of the AMA?

[Fade to Black]

Originally Posted by edmorel

Interesting, I thought he meant the American Masturbators Association. I was a member for awhile, but then they started jerking people around so I quit.

GOLD, Jerry!!!

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by HORNS

Very interesting. Since leprosy was so contagious, did he ever contract it?

Leprosy still happens with some frequency in tropical countries - especially where there's a sugar cane industry. The reason? I believe it's the cuts the workers get on their bodies from the sharp blades of grass on the cane stalks.

I'm not sure what his role was, but he was involved in the Hawaiian leprosy colony.

 

[RJman]

LeperKing?

 

[SirSuturesALot]

Originally Posted by edmorel

Interesting, I thought he meant the American Masturbators Association. I was a member for awhile, but then they started jerking people around so I quit.
Nicely done, sir.

 

[Omar1223]

^^^^^ +1

 

[Coho]

Originally Posted by HORNS

Very interesting. Since leprosy was so contagious, did he ever contract it?
IIRC, leprosy is not "so contagious". You can live with an affected family member for many years without actually developing any signs of the disease. The few people that manifest signs of the disease through contact with affected individuals are probably already genetically susceptible to the bacteria. Go watch Ben-hur starting Moses (Heston) himself for proof. Even the word "contagious" is not really appropriate to describe this disease since many researchers still do not know the exact mechanism of transmission. I'd say that affected individuals suffer a lot more from the social aspects of the disease than the pathological symptoms themselves. Kind of like AIDS. I'll take either one in exchange for something truly terrible like Alzheimer's.

 

[Coho]

Thank you for the insights. I thought along these lines also.

Originally Posted by Duveen

The American Medical Association was and is a lobby for physicians. It had an incredible influence on the profession through the 1960s and 1970s.

It was particularly important in the 19th and early 20th century helping establish the concept of 'reasonable and customary' charges (e.g. whatever a doc wants) and to professionalize the industry. The AMA has been criticized by Milton Friedman and others for creating an artificial shortage in physician supply by not only accrediting, but limiting total class sizes of medical schools.

The real shift in AMA power came in the 1960s and 1970s when it openly clashed with Medicare and other gov't intervention in healthcare. Many young physicians stopped joining at that point. As HMOs became dominant in the 1980s (the AMA nightmare), it became clear that the organization had lost its former lobbying power.

Today, the AMA is kind of taken for granted and seen as 'tainted' by many med students. The sense seems to be that the core functions of accreditation will be taken care of by fees and that the AMA is neither particularly relevant nor particularly representative of the beliefs that many medical students have (this is based on my convos with classmates who are in the MD/MBA program).

NOTE: I am sure that I have gotten some details wrong here, but thought I'd give you a fuller answer.

SHORT ANSWER: most believe that the AMA will be around no matter what, they don't like some of its positions and don't feel obligated to join. Kind of like unions -- now that we have the 40 hour work week, etc there is a sense that they are less relevant. Similarly with the AMA now that the physician accreditation process is established (and the AMAs power in Congress has weakened) people feel less compelled to support it.

There are not a lot of tangible individual benefits (to my knowledge) or more folks would join. It is more about supporting the lobbying efforts of the org. You should check out their agenda, tho, as I think you might agree with it more than some med students.

 

[chobochobo]

Leprosy is infectious, after all it is caused by a mycobacterium - how do you think it spreads? Surely even a neurosurgeon would know that?

It's just not that infectious, and once patients have started the medicines, they generally become effectively non-infectious even if they have open wounds.

 

[Coho]

There are some proposed mechanisms but nothing definite. Why don't you tell me since your question is obviously rhetorical?

Originally Posted by chobochobo

how do you think it spreads?

 

[Bradford]

I assumed he meant the American Marketing Association.

Also, my grandfather is a 33rd level Mason. I'm still waiting for him to tell me where they hid all the treasure.

 

[merkur]

..

 

[Coho]

I'm not an expert. Could be.

Originally Posted by merkur

aren't there 2 main types of leprosy?