WMJ-V58N3-Jul2012-JDN-article

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WMA news
Background
The World Medical Association (WMA)
Junior Doctors Network (JDN) represents
the world’s first international body of junior
doctors, operating under the auspices of the
organization recognized as the voice of phy-
sicians worldwide.It provides junior doctors
with a global forum to exchange ideas, col-
laborate, and conduct research relevant to
issues they face in their training and career
development, while providing them the op-
portunity to participate and contribute to
the wider policy and advocacy work of the
WMA.
Founded in 2010 after acceptance at the
WMA General Assembly in Vancouver,
the JDN’s Draft Terms of Reference were
subsequently accepted at the 188th
 Council
Meeting in April 2011 in Sydney, Australia.
This groundwork allowed the growth of a
number of initiatives and culminated in the
successful inaugural JDN meeting, held in
conjunction with the 2011 WMA General
Assembly in Montevideo, Uruguay.
What is the Junior
Doctors Network?
The JDN is made up of junior doctors who
independently join the World Medical As-
sociation as Associate Members. Any ju-
nior physician may join and participate. As
the representative voice of young doctors
worldwide, the JDN attracts many mem-
bers who also hold leadership positions in
the resident or junior doctor sections of
their respective National Member Associa-
tions.
The JDN founding members were largely
alumni participants from the International
Federation of Medical Students’ Asso-
ciations (IFMSA) alumni. Other notable
founding members included junior doctors
from the Korean Interns and Residents As-
sociation, Australia Medical Association
Doctors-in-Training Council, Doctors-in-
Training New Zealand Medical Associa-
tion, American Medical Association, Brit-
ish Medical Association, Canadian Interns
and Residents Association, Brazilian Medi-
cal Association Junior Doctors, Singapore
Medical Association, and the Permanent
Working Group of European Junior Doc-
tors.
Why the Junior
Doctors Network?
The JDN acts as a forum for experience
sharing, policy discussions, and resource
development putting focus on issues per-
taining to junior doctors. Before the JDN,
there was no global forum directly voicing
the concerns and views of junior doctors,
interns, residents, and fellows at a global
level.This left a void in representation in the
middle of young physicians’ continuum of
training, since the interests of medical stu-
dents were represented by the IFMSA, with
the WMA representing physicians globally.
The development of the JDN now provides
a natural progression, further developing
the existing relationship between the IFM-
SA and the WMA. It fulfills the very im-
portant role of representing junior doctors
at a global level. Recognized in official rela-
tions, the JDN also supports the IFMSA
by strengthening the recruitment and de-
velopment of the IFMSA alumni network.
Finally, the JDN offers participants an op-
portunity to make an impact and to con-
tribute to the many levels of global health
via policy change at the WMA and with
the WMA’s partner organizations, such as
the WHO.
Junior Doctors Network
From the left :Thorsten Hornung, Lawrence Loh, José Luiz Gomes Do Amaral, Xaviour Walker
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WMA news
Defined functions and
objectives
The Junior Doctor Network has the follow-
ing functions and objectives:
1. Participate, advocate, and consult with
Constituent and Associate members of
the WMA on issues of interest to junior
doctors.
2. Collaborate with Constituent and As-
sociate members of the WMA and oth-
er stakeholders to increase the number
of junior doctors registered as Associate
members of the WMA.
3. Develop reference materials on issues
of interest to junior doctors, including
(but not limited to) literature reviews,
surveys, reports, and policy papers.
4. Communicate information on emerg-
ing issues of interest to junior doctors
internationally,in collaboration with the
National Medical Associations of the
WMA and other stakeholders.
5. Organize professional development ac-
tivities and develop resources for junior
doctors
6. Coordinate and disseminate informa-
tion on global health research and clini-
cal elective opportunities and resources
for junior doctors worldwide.
7. Develop and implement relevant ju-
nior-doctor led projects and programs.
Current projects and work
The JDN identified social media as an ini-
tial area of interest and expertise among
junior doctors, and one of the first proj-
ects undertaken was the development of a
white paper to provide additional scientific
detail for the WMA Policy on the Profes-
sional and Ethical Use of Social Media.
Subsequent projects are focused on other
issues of concern to junior doctors and
trainees, and include reviews of physi-
cian well-being and the ethical consider-
ations surrounding global health training.
The JDN also works in concert with other
WMA workgroups on identified issues of
interest to its members, such as the current
WMA workgroup on the ethics of physi-
cian strikes.
The JDN members participate as repre-
sentatives of the WMA at a number of
high profile conferences worldwide as well.
Members of the JDN have been actively in-
volved in working with the WMA team at
the World Health Assembly and other con-
ferences such as a recent patient centered
conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
Where to from here?
The JDN continues to grow and adapt to
the increasing interest and commitment
from members all over the world.The orga-
nization is presently undergoing a structural
review to improve its capacity and workflow
as the network grows. An important struc-
tural change concerns focusing on regional
growth, particularly related to the WMA
meeting venues in different continents. The
JDN hopes to support the development of
a website, as well as electronic resources and
virtual participation for its members. The
JDN also hopes to inspire and support the
growth of new national junior doctor bod-
ies as part of national medical associations,
to ensure that those residents, interns, and
trainees have a voice during this critical
phase in their career. Recently the JDN was
identified as a potential resource for two
new junior doctor bodies in the Asian re-
gion.
The JDN is working hard to develop sus-
tainable structures prior to the WMA
October General Assembly in Bangkok,
where the current committee is targeting to
increase the involvement and contribution
level of Asian junior doctors to wider activi-
ties of the WMA.
Xaviour Walker, MD
Lawrence Loh, MD MPH
Thorsten Hornung
E-mail: chair.jdn@wma.net
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