Dr. John Armstrong Is Elected Vice Speaker of AMA House of Delegates

Trauma surgeon John H. Armstrong, MD, FACS, recently was elected vice speaker of the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates (HOD). In this position, Dr. Armstrong will assist in presiding over the HOD—the legislative and policymaking body of the AMA.

Since 1989, Dr. Armstrong has participated regularly in the AMA HOD as a member of several delegations representing the voices of surgeons, physicians-in-training, hospital-based physicians, and Army physicians. He has been a tireless advocate for the priorities of the College and advancement of the field of surgery within the AMA’s efforts, serving as a member and eventually chair of the ACS Representatives in the HOD.

In the ACS, Dr. Armstrong serves as a member of Health Policy and Advocacy Committee, an Advisory Member of the ACSPA-SurgeonsPAC Board, Legislative Committee Member, and Chair of the Committee on Trauma Advocacy Pillar. He was a Governor from 2010 to 2016 and has held all major leadership positions—Secretary, Treasurer, and President—in the Florida Chapter.

Dr. Armstrong is a professor of surgery at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine in Tampa and adjunct professor of surgery at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. In addition, he served as Florida’s Surgeon General and Secretary of Health from 2012 to 2016, where he helped achieve the lowest infant mortality rate in the state’s history.