Swedish Medical Association

The Swedish Medical Association (SMA) is the union and professional organization for medical doctors and medical students in Sweden. In the main, it deploys activities on behalf the Swedish doctors' employment conditions, ethics, working environment, and also regarding patient safety.[1]

Swedish Medical Association
AbbreviationSMA
Formation1903
Typeprofessional association
Purposerepresenting medical doctors and students
HeadquartersVendevägen 89, Danderyd, Stockholm, Sweden
Chair
Dr. Heidi Stensmyren
Websiteslf.se

Organization

The Swedish Medical Association was founded in 1903. Its membership in February 2019 was officially given as 54,869,[2] which comprises about 85 percent of the medical doctors in the country.[3] About a third of medical doctors working in Sweden come from foreign countries,[4] and membership in the organization is granted irrespectively of citizenship.[5]

Membership of medical students comprises 75 percent [6] of all medical students in Sweden, whose total number is 8,100.[7]

The organization’s chair is since 2014 Dr. Heidi Stensmyren, a Norwegian anesthesiology and intensive care specialist who came to Sweden in 1999. Dr. Stensmyren obtained her medical education at the University of Würzburg, Germany.[8]

The organization owns the Swedish medical journal Läkartidningen.

The Swedish doctors’ professional associations

The Swedish Medical Association is divided into eight professional sections, such as the Swedish Junior Hospital Doctors’ Association (SYLF, for doctors completing their internship and specialist training), the Swedish District Doctors Association (for general practitioners), the Swedish Military Doctors Association, the Swedish Private Doctors Association, on other sections.[9] Each of these associations elect its own board, and there is also a Federal Board elected in annual meetings.

Main issues addressed by SMA

The Swedish Medical Association main endeavors are the general employment conditions of Swedish doctors including training and research, ethics, salary, and work environment. Patient safety is also a main issue.[10]

Besides to represent the Swedish doctors in bilateral negotiations with their employers, the organization also works for developing and improving Swedish health care, for which SMA conducts own investigations and present proposals for solutions.

The SMA is among the organizations that governmental authorities consult regarding health care policies, new legislations, and other society-relevant issues.

References
  2. Sveriges läkarforbund. Retrieved 9 February 2020
  3. Facket.net. “Sveriges läkarföbund”, Retrieved 9 Februari 2020
  4. Nordic Labour Journal. “OECD: Stor ökning av utlandsfödda läkare och sjuksköterskor“. 28 September 2015.
  5. A membership requirement is to be enumerated in the Swedish Population registration in Sweden (Swedish: folkbokföring) at the Swedish Tax Agency
  6. Facket.net. “Sveriges läkarföbund”. Id.
  7. Läkartidningen. “Färre läkarstudenter utomlands – men fler i Sverige “. 8 February 2018.
  8. Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association (Norwegian). 10 September 2009.
  9. .Sveriges läkarföbund. “Hitta förening”. Retrieved 9 Februari 2020
  10. Sveriges läkarforbund. Id.
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