The American Chinese Medical Society, as it was originally known, was formed in the early 1960s in New York City.  It evolved from informal gatherings among a small group of Chinese physicians who frequently met during holidays to enjoy friendship and good cooking.  After several years, they developed the idea to form a medical society devoted to Chinese American physicians.

The original core group who initiated and pursued the idea consisted of the following five people: Drs. Percy Tung, Florence Chu (wife of Dr. Tung), S. J. Yue, David Ju and S. H. Ying, all graduates (late 1930s to early 1940s) of the National Medical College of Shanghai.  They then invited graduates of other medical schools: Drs. Bernard C. H. Chang, Charles C. Chang and Sophia H. Y. Chang (wife of Dr. Charles Chang) of St. John’s University Medical College, Drs. Horace Yu and Paul N. Yu and also some from Peking Union Medical College to participate.  This group became known as the "Founders Group".

There were many planning meetings held in the home of Drs. Percy Tung and Florence Chu in Great Neck, Long Island.  By late 1962, it became apparent that it was both desirable and feasible to form such a society, which they named "American Chinese Medical Society".  Dr. Florence Chu was requested to serve as the secretary, and Dr. Percy Tung was assigned the task of drafting the Constitution and the By-laws.  In drafting the two documents, Dr. Tung consulted a number of people, including Dr. Frederick Reiss, a former Professor of Dermatology at National Medical College of Shanghai and St. John’s University Medical College, who provided copies of the American Hungarian Medical Society Constitution and By-laws as a guide.  A great deal of effort was put into rewriting the draft to suit the purposes of the American Chinese Medical Society.

When that was done, Dr. Tung consulted an attorney for guidance in registering the yet-to-be-born society with the New York State Department of Education.  In the meantime, Dr. Chu wrote many letters of solicitation to Chinese physicians whose names she had culled from the membership lists of various medical organizations.  The responses were overwhelming.  In the spring of 1963, at a general membership meeting, about 50 physicians approved the draft of the Constitutions and By-laws as well as the proposed name for the Society.  A Board of Directors was elected.  The newly formed Board asked Dr. S. J. Yue, the most senior member, to be the first President.  This historic gathering was later referred as the "Founders Meeting".  The Constitution and By-Laws, as well as names of the Board of Directors and Officers were then submitted to the New York State Education Department for registration.  The official seal of the American Chinese Medical Society was designed at this time by Dr. Tung.  It was carved in Taiwan, and has been used since then on all letterheads and official communications.  The first Secretary, Dr. Chu served for four years, 1964-1967.  She was at the time working full time at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.  Because of heavy work load at the hospital, she had to resign from the post of the Secretary at ACMS.

The following year, 1964, the NYS Department of Education approved the Society’s application for registration.  The American Chinese Medical Society was officially established.  A general meeting was held at the China Institute in New York to announce the good news.  Dr. S. J.  Yue officially became the President, Dr. Percy Tung the Vice-President, Dr. Florence Chu the Secretary and Dr. C. H. Chang the Treasurer.

Dr. Yue served as president for 2 terms, 1964 and 1965.  Dr. Tung became the president in 1966 and served 2 years, 1966 and 1967.  During this time, Dr. Tung worked closely with an attorney on an application to the Department of the Treasury for tax exempt status since the Society was a nonprofit organization.  This was later granted.

Background and Early Activities

In the 1950s, a number of Chinese physicians, along with other professionals and students, fled China because of the regime change in 1949.  Some went first to Taiwan or Hong Kong while others continued their exodus to the United States of America, Canada and other Western countries.  Whereas previous visitors eventually returned to China after their studies and training, a majority of this group settled down and integrated into the mainstream.  However ,there were many reminders in those days of their newly found place in American society, and of their longing for something that only association with other Chinese could offer.  The commonality of language and culture proved strong magnets to the formation of such associations, as every new immigrant group has experienced.  When the bond of medicine was added, it resulted in the establishment a number of medical alumni associations.

Since its inception, the ACMS differed in that its members came from several different medical schools, even though the 5 nuclear founding members were all graduates of the National Medical College of Shanghai.  There were other important differences between the ACMS and other such associations, including the stated objectives of advancing medical knowledge and scientific research, and establishing scholarships for students and endowments for medical schools and hospitals.  These were written into the Constitution and By-laws of this young association.

The top half of the cover of a 1977 Bulletin.  The greetings, written in Chinese, are by Dr. Eddy Tong.

In the beginning, dinner meetings, some with invited speakers, were the staples of the Society.  After a few years, it branched out to include holiday celebrations at exotic sites such as Atlantic City (in the pre-casino era).  The Society also started newsletters to keep members informed.  By 1976 (vol. 13, #1), the Newsletter had evolved into a Bulletin with a magazine format which included word-for-word transcriptions of the material presented at annual scientific meetings, listings of articles published by members in peerreviewed medical journals, minutes of business meetings, Treasurer’s reports, awards and honors received by members, and other items of personal news serving to bond the members as well as to highlight their achievements.  The issues came out 4 times a year, and varied from 14 pages to as many as 32 pages.  Some of the articles were in Chinese only.  A sample of a cover from 1977 is seen here.

An acknowledgment is in order to the members who must have worked late into the night to put together those issues in the pre word-processing era.  Even today their enthusiasm and energy are palpable as we re-read those pages.


Change of Name

What’s in a name?  The Board of Directors in 1985 thought it important enough that they decided to change to Chinese American Medical Society (CAMS) from American Chinese Medical Society (ACMS).

The arguments for the change included the appreciation that the members were settling down in America, and that we were (or were becoming) Americans, with only a qualifier to remind us of our origins.  Another reason was that the prior name had connotations of traditional Chinese medicine, such as acupuncture, of which the vast majority of the membership knew little to nothing.  This willingness to change and adapt spoke well for the Society.