For David Aizuss, ‘80 MD, being a student at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine was an eye-opening experience in more ways than one. 

Aizuss, who runs a private ophthalmology practice in Encino, California, where he specializes in cataract surgery and refractive surgery, has always strived to better the lives of others. As a child growing up in Morton Grove, Illinois, he had a deep interest in science, which compelled him to become a doctor. He chose to specialize in ophthalmology after watching David Shoch, ’39 MS, ’43 PhD, ’46 MD, then chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at Feinberg, perform cataract surgery. 

“I’m passionate about improving people’s lives, and the eye is one of the most important elements of your day-to-day functioning,” he said. “If your eye is bothering you, it’s hard to enjoy your life.” 

After graduating from medical school, Aizuss completed his internship at Evanston Hospital and then went on to do his residency in ophthalmology at the UCLA School of Medicine’s Stein Eye Institute, followed by a fellowship in cornea and external disease, also at UCLA. He served as assistant clinical professor of ophthalmology at the Geffen UCLA School of Medicine for nearly 40 years, completing his service at UCLA in December 2023.  

In addition to wanting to improve the lives of his own patients, Aizuss realized early on in his medical education that he also had a desire to have an impact on improving the healthcare system.  

Jeremiah Stamler, MD, founding chair and professor emeritus of Preventive Medicine and the inaugural chair of the Department of Community Heath, was the first physician Aizuss heard talking about population health and caring for all patients, not just the patient in front of you.   

“That created a deep and lasting impression on me,” Aizuss said. “As an individual physician, you interact with your own patients but have very little impact on the healthcare system. I felt the way for me to have an impact beyond my medical practice was in the realm of health policy.” 

It was during his second year of medical school, when Aizuss attended a meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA) Student Business Session that he discovered the influence that organizations like AMA have on healthcare policy. By his fourth year, Aizuss was on the national governing counsel of the AMA Medical Student Governing Council. In 1982, he served in the AMA House of Delegates as a member of the California delegation. 

As an individual physician, you interact with your own patients but have very little impact on the healthcare system. I felt the way for me to have an impact beyond my medical practice was in the realm of health policy.

David Aizuss, ’80 MD

Since then, Aizuss has won numerous awards and has served as president and chair of the Board of Trustees of the California Medical Association, president of the California Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons, president of the Los Angeles Society of Ophthalmology, and president of the Los Angeles County Medical Association. In 2023, he was elected as the AMA Board of Trustees’ secretary and in 2024 as the Board’s chair-elect. 

“There is no organization that’s as effective in terms of promoting the practice of medicine and ensuring that the physician’s message is carried to Congress and all key players in healthcare than the AMA,” Aizuss said. “It is the physician’s most powerful ally in patient care and in our quest to improve the health of the nation. That’s why I spend so much of my time doing this —that’s where my ability to impact the health of our country lies.” 

As a member of AMA, Aizuss has also been involved in policy work that has impacted every aspect of medical care and addressed some of the most critical and controversial health-related issues of our time, including care for people with HIV and AIDS, reproductive care for women, gender-affirming care, and anti-smoking legislation.  

He is currently working extensively on fixing Medicare to increase access to care and on establishing and expanding competency-based medical education, which focuses on the development of specific skills and competencies rather than just didactic learning. 

 “Another major thrust of my public policy work is in health equity to ensure our diverse population has access to physicians who reflect themselves,” Aizuss said. 

Aizuss stresses the importance of being nonpartisan and working for bipartisan solutions when it comes to effective patient care. “We’re a very divided country, and one of the things we work very hard on is preserving the physician-patient relationship,” he said. “Physicians always should be the ones determining the best course of action for their patients without government interference, regardless of whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat.” 

To Aizuss, medical students are the conscience of organizations like AMA, and he urges them to get involved in organizations that aim to enhance patient care and healthcare policy, whether on a local or national level. 

“As far as health policy development, I think medical students today are incredibly sophisticated and way ahead of where we were back in the day. They are the ones that bring forth the issues that are critical to the nation’s health.”