The American Tamil Medical Association will hold its eighth annual convention in Boston from Aug. 23 to Aug. 26. The event will include dining, entertainment, a Boston Harbor cruise and Continuing Medical Education courses. The event is being sponsored by the Massachusetts chapter of the ATMA and is headed by conference chair Prakash Rau.

The ATMA was started in 2005 by a group of 10 Tamil physicians in the United States. Now there are more than 800 physicians and allied health-care professionals as members and the membership is growing.  It is a tax exempt, charitable organization.

The organization's vision is to promote charitable work through their foundation nationally and internationally; support its members who are in various academic medical centers, teaching hospitals, and community hospitals; in their careers, clinical practices and research, foster teaching/mentoring of medical students and residents of Tamil origin, and forge collaborative alliances with other organizations in efforts that support our mission.

The ATMA's mission is to bring together all American Tamil physicians and allied health-care professionals, provide a forum for members to enrich their cultural, social and educational values, help the members through Continuing Medical Education to maintain their high level of medical knowledge and to provide expertise and altruistic help to the needy in the United States and abroad during peaceful and disaster times through its charitable foundation.