MACS: Medical Association of Catholic Students
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MACS Mission Statement :
About MACS:
I. PREAMBLE
Ethics is the discipline which studies the tightness and wrongness of human behavior. Medical ethics is the study of tightness and wrongness of behavior involved in the practice of medicine. The healing art of ancient origin and embraces the values of respect of life and human dignity as such values are reflected in the ancient corpus begun by Hippocrates. Medical ethics in the Catholic tradition follows natural-law theory and the Hippocratic traditions, as refined by the Magisterium.
II. GENERAL
The Catholic Medical Association (CMA) is a national organization of Catholic physicians, loyal to the Magisterium, which represents Catholic values to the test of the health-care profession. All Catholic medical students and professional healthcare students are encouraged to join the CMA as student members in order to form themselves as future Catholic doctors, as well as to further the goals of providing compassionate healthcare and healing to all members of the human family. In addition an association for Catholic medical students and professional healthcare students, designated the Catholic Medical Student Association (CMSA) will be formed.
Given the nature of medical education in the United States, students in various medical and professional healthcare schools would benefit from a membership in the CMSA, which provides a national network for students, as well as communications on current issues in Catholic medical ethics. In addition to the CMSA on a national level, students would benefit from an association with and activities of the CMSA organization at a local level. To this end, CMSA Chapters should be organized at all medical and professional healthcare schools, ideally sponsored by local Guilds of the CMA. In addition students would benefit from CMA membership (e.g., receiving a LINACRE subscription and participating in local CMA Guilds activities).
III. ORGANIZATION
Sections 1: Membership and Organization
The Catholic Medical Student Association (CMSA) is an association of Catholic medical students and professional healthcare students organized in groups at various medical schools (allopathic and osteopathic) and professional healthcare schools across the US and Canada. In regions where there are more than one medical school, groups are encouraged to work together under the direction of the local Guild. These students should hopefully, although not necessarily, also become members of the CMA in the student category. The CMSA Chapters will adhere to magisterial pronouncements insofar as they bear on medical ethics and, in particular, to those set forth in the Ethical and Religious Directives (ERD). Non-Catholic Christians and others may be members but must in principle adhere to the ERD of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the teachings of their local bishop.
Section 2: Purpose of the CMSA
The purpose of the CMSA Chapters is to instill in their members a keen sense of ethical responsibility and to promote understanding and respect for the principles of ethical medical practice among the public. In fulfilling their purpose, the CMSA groups will undertake a variety of activities, typically including the following:
• Promote medical ethics in the Hippocratic tradition, which is a natural-law-based medical ethics, which emphasizes the Aristotelian virtue tradition.
• Sponsor an annual White Mass in honor of St. Luke the Physician.
• Sponsor regularly scheduled lectures or discussions on issues of importance to the ethical practice of medicine.
• Seek out volunteer opportunities for serving the sick and the poor; for example, working in free clinics or serving as extraordinary ministers of communion in the hospital or community setting.
• Serve as a support groups for students who share similar values and Catholic beliefs.
Section 3: Framework
• The basic unit of the CMSA would be a local CMSA Chapter formed at a medical or professional healthcare school. It would consist of a president, vice-president, secretary, volunteer coordinator and other roles as determined by the membership. CMSA Chapter may require dues to support their activities.• An annual luncheon meeting of the CMSA will be held in conjunction with the annual CMA meeting
• A president will be elected at the annual meeting of the student membership of the CMSA and confirmed by the sitting president of the CMSA. Absentee ballots may be permitted as determined from time to time by past and present officers of the CMSA, at their discretion.
• The president of the CMSA will coordinate the CMSA activities for the following year.
Section 4: Advisors
• Each CMSA Chapter will have a Chaplain• Each CMSA Chapter will have a faculty advisor, who should be a physician
Section 5: Accreditation
• New Chapters will be admitted by contacting the CMSA office, which is currently located in Chicago, Illinois. They will submit a list of members, with postal and e-mail addresses (when available), as well as the name, address, and phone numbers of the advisors prescribed in Section 4.
• Chapters will annually submit a report of activities to the CMSA national office, (currently in Chicago, Illinois)
• National office address:
The Catholic Medical Students' Association
c/o The Catholic Physicians' Guild of Chicago
P. O. Box 214
Oak Park, Illinois 60603
e-mail: info@cathmsa.org
Section 6: UNTHSC Medical Association of Catholic Students Membership.
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Physician's Prayer:
Lord, Thou Great Physician, I kneel before thee. Since every good and perfect gift must come from Thee, I pray:
Give skill to my hand, clear vision to my mind, kindness and sympathy to my heart. Give me singleness of purpose, strength to lift at least a part of the burden of my suffering fellowmen, and a true realization of the rare privilege that is mine. Take from my heart all guile and worldliness, that with the simple faith of a child I may rely on Thee. Amen.
History of MACS:
This organization was established in the summer of 2005 by Ewa and Joseph Oberdorfer, a wife and husband that felt that UNT HSC needed a place to discuss the Catholic prospective in their daily lives and professional careers. They wanted to invite all that are interested to learn more about the Catholic faith either for themselves or their future patients to join them in this endeavor.
MACS is associated with...
Catholic Medical Students Association which is a branch of the Catholic Medical Association.
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