[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 80 (Thursday, June 18, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1159]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING DR. NANCY W. DICKEY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN BENTSEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 18, 1998

  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Dr. Nancy W. Dickey 
as she becomes president of the American Medical Association and to 
recognize the tremendous contributions she has made to the Texas A&M 
University Health Science Center College of Medicine and the nation's 
medical community. She will be honored at A Star for Texas dinner on 
July 24, 1998, benefiting the Dean's Excellence Scholarship Fund to 
increase scholarships for economically disadvantaged students.
  On June 17, 1998, Dr. Dickey became the first woman to assume the 
presidency of the American Medical Association. She is also an 
associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine 
at Texas A&M University Health Science Center College of Medicine.
  Dr. Dickey joined the College of Medicine faculty in January 1996. In 
addition to teaching, she directs both the Family Practice Residency 
Foundation of the Brazos Valley and the Family Medicine Center in 
Bryan, Texas, which provides training for up to 18 family medicine 
residents.
  Dr. Dickey assumed her first leadership role with the AMA in 1977 
when she served as the first elected resident member of the Council on 
Medical Services. She was elected to the AMA Board of Trustees in 1989, 
serving as chair of the Board's Finance committee, as Vice Chair of the 
Board, and as later as Chair. She was AMA commissioner to the Joint 
Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations from 1989-
1995.
  Dr. Dickey served as a member of the AMA's Council on Ethical and 
Judicial Affairs from 1980-1989 and as the Council's Chair from 1984-
1987. She has been a powerful voice for the AMA in its opposition to 
physician-assisted suicide and is often called upon to testify 
regarding the national debate on medical policy and other issues. She 
was also instrumental in helping to create and launch one of the 
Association's newest initiatives, the AMA's Patient Safety Foundation.
  Dr. Dickey received both her M.D. and her residency training at the 
University of Texas Medical School at Houston, where she was a 
recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award. She also served as vice 
president of the Texas Medical Association from 1986-1987, is a fellow 
of the American Academy of Family Physicians, and has been a certified 
Diplomate of the American Board of Family Practice since 1994.
  I commend Dr. Dickey on her numerous achievements and her 
contributions to the medical community, and I congratulate her on 
becoming President of the AMA. She is a caring physician, an excellent 
teacher, an expert on health care policy and medical ethics, a 
respected role model, and a pathbreaking leader. I have no doubt that 
the future will bring even greater accomplishments that will benefit 
the nation and the practice of medicine.

                          ____________________