The Los Angeles County Medical Association's District 5 hosted its first Early Career Physician Event on Oct. 18 at Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica. Approximately 50 people attended, including LACMA District 5 President Elizabeth Galton, MD; David Pruitt, LACMA vice president of government relations; and the Majority Whip in the California Assembly, Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles).

The term young physician typically refers to physicians who are under 40, no matter what stage of medical practice they're in," says Faye Mosley, LACMA director of member services. "On the other hand, the term early career physician encompasses all doctors starting out in medicine, because many enter the profession later in life. Our goal was to give these physicians a chance to come together, network and strengthen their community."

A Santa Monica psychiatrist, Dr. Galton saw the event as an opportunity to recruit new members by inviting attendees to join LACMA. She discussed her longstanding involvement in the organization and promoted LACMA's legislative advocacy on behalf of physicians.

On that note, Majority Whip Bass networked with physicians and medical students, giving them an opportunity to express their ideas about state and local healthcare issues.

The event was also co-sponsored by Medical Imaging Center of Southern California. And Michael Anselmo, MD, and Ross Eto, MD, of Medical Imaging made a presentation on the emerging technologies in radiology.