CHICAGO — Jack Resneck Jr., M.D., a dermatologist from the San Francisco Bay Area, was sworn in today as the 177th president of the American Medical Association (AMA), the nation’s premier physician organization. Sworn in during the Annual Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates (HOD), Dr. Resneck spoke about the specific challenges of practicing medicine during COVID-19, including prior authorizations, physician burnout, and longstanding inequities in our health system. He also re-emphasized the importance of the AMA’s Recovery Plan for America’s Physicians, which was announced at the opening session of the meeting.

“For more than two years physicians have put everything on the line,” Dr. Resneck said in remarks prepared for delivery.

“Today, we are reminding policymakers that it’s time our nation renews its commitment to doctors and the patients we serve.

“Today, we work to elevate and prioritize the voices of physicians over purveyors of disinformation.

“Today, we fight in legislatures and in court to keep politicians from inserting themselves into our exam rooms, and dangerously criminalizing evidence-based care, including contraception, abortion, and gender-affirming care.

“Today, we are intentionally and deeply committed to the work of health equity and racial justice.

“And today, for our nation’s physicians who have bravely responded to a historic call without hesitation, we are a focused, science-based, nimble, influential, and powerful ally. 

“We will always have doctors’ and patients’ backs.”

Prepared text of Dr. Resneck’s inaugural address is available by clicking here.

Dr. Resneck was first elected to the AMA Board of Trustees in 2014, holding the office of board chair from 2018 to 2019. Prior to his election to the AMA Board, Dr. Resneck served as chair of the AMA Council on Legislation and as a delegate to the AMA House of Delegates. Additionally, Dr. Resneck has held several leadership positions across organized medicine, including president of the California Society for Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery, board member at the American Academy of Dermatology, and active member at the California Medical Association. 

Dr. Resneck is the first AMA president from California since 2007, and the first dermatologist to hold the position since 1925.

Practicing for more than two decades as a dermatologist in California, Dr. Resneck is currently vice chair and professor of dermatology at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), where he directed the dermatology residency program for several years with a joint appointment at UCSF’s Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies. He also serves as a member of the editorial board of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology and sits on the board of directors at the National Quality Forum. 

As a health policy expert with a passion for health equity, Dr. Resneck frequently advocates on issues related to public health, having testified in U.S. Congressional hearings on telemedicine, prescription drug costs, prior authorization, and other challenges facing the U.S. health care system. He has published numerous studies in prominent journals on topics including patient access to care, quality metrics, and digital health that have attracted national media attention.

Dr. Resneck received his undergraduate degree in public policy from Brown University and his medical degree from UCSF, where he also completed an internship in internal medicine, a residency training program in dermatology, and fellowship in health policy. 

A Louisiana native, Dr. Resneck resides in San Rafael, Calif., with his wife and their two teenage children.