Association of American medical colleges

The Association of American Medical Colleges is a non-profit association founded in 1876 to work for reform in medical education. Originally representing only medical schools, the Association now comprises the 125 accredited U.S. medical schools, the 16 accredited Canadian medical schools, 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, 90 academic and professional societies representing nearly 100,000 faculty members, and the nation's medical students and residents. Additionally, the administrative leadership of medical schools and teaching hospitals are served by a variety of professional development groups housed within the AAMC.

The AAMC has as its purpose the improvement of the nation's health through the advancement of medical schools and teaching hospitals. As an association of medical schools, teaching hospitals, and academic societies, the AAMC works with its members to set a national agenda for medical education, biomedical research, and health care, and assists its members by providing services at the national level that facilitate the accomplishment of their missions. In pursuing its purpose, the Association works to strengthen the quality of medical education and training, to enhance the search for biomedical knowledge, to advance research in health sciences, and to integrate education into the provision of effective health care.

The Association has five constituent components: the Council of Deans, the Council of Teaching Hospitals and Health Systems, the Council of Academic Societies, the Organization of Student Representatives, and the Organization of Resident Representatives. Each of these components elects members to the Executive Council, the AAMC's 30-member governing body.

[Excerpted from the Association's web page]

From the guide to the Association of American Medical Colleges Archives, 1938-1966, (History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine)