Aug. 24, 2017 — The UF College of Medicine’s faculty and student body are well-represented on this year’s 33-member Florida Medical Association Board of Governors. The four appointments and one election were announced during the Florida Medical Association’s meeting in Orlando earlier this month.

Ashley Norse, M.D., was elected vice-speaker, placing her on the Board of Governors executive committee along with its president, treasurer and speaker. Norse is an associate professor of emergency medicine physician who serves as the medical director of UF Health Jacksonville’s emergency room. Last month, Norse was also named president of the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville Faculty Council.

UF College of Medicine Dean Michael L. Good, M.D., will represent the state’s medical school deans through his re-appointment onto the 2017-2018 board. Good has served as the college’s dean since 2008.

Mobeen Rathore, M.D., and Charles E. Riggs Jr., M.D., were appointed to represent their respective geographic districts. Rathore is a professor and associate chair of the department of pediatrics, chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases and immunology and director of the UF Center for HIV/AIDS Research, Education and Service at the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville. Riggs is a professor of medicine in the division of hematology and oncology at the UF College of Medicine and former president of the Alachua County Medical Society.

Third-year UF College of Medicine student Mat Bowers was appointed the Board of Governors representative within the medical students section. David Winchester, M.D., an assistant professor in the division of cardiovascular medicine, serves as the faculty adviser to the UF FMA medical student section, and he also was elected as an American Medical Association delegate representing the FMA.

“The Florida Medical Association has a strong voice in Tallahassee, and because Florida is the third-largest state in the country, it has a national influence as well,” Good said. “It’s important to have the UF College of Medicine and UF Health well-represented through these appointments and elections.”

Located in Tallahassee, the Florida Medical Association represents more than 20,000 physicians on legislative issues, regulatory affairs, medical economics, education and matters of public health. Its mission is to ensure the highest standards of medical practice and to enhance the availability and quality of health care in the state.