March OMA Member Highlight

Teji Dhami, MD, FOMA, has been a member of the OMA since 2017 and became a fellow of OMA in 2022. Dr. Dhami became a member because OMA is devoted to providing comprehensive care to treat obesity with an individualized approach. She was in training in Internal Medicine in Texas, where treating obesity and obesity-related comorbidities was an everyday challenge. Joining OMA was the initial step to successfully meeting patient goals with evidence-based techniques for weight loss.

At previous OMA conferences, she has had the honor of meeting eminent professionals who have guided her in this career path for patient care, as well as setting up her practice. Dr. Dhami will be attending the spring conference in New York and says, “I’m looking forward to networking with obesity professionals as well as keeping up-to-date with the latest approaches for evaluating, diagnosing, and treating obesity in a clinical setting.”

Involvement with committees and LinkedIn group discussions offers collaborative opportunities for members. Serving on the membership committee has been an excellent opportunity to collaborate with team members and assist in recruiting new members, promote member retention, and enhance member benefits. OMA offers a number of member benefits like Obesity Adult & Pediatric Algorithm, webinars, on on-demand CME that have aided her to pass the ABOM exam and become an OMA Fellow. The LinkedIn online community, biennial conferences, committee involvement, and career-boosting resources have helped ongoing career development.

One piece of advice she would give people starting in obesity medicine is, “OMA has great educational resources for acing the ABOM exam, as well as tools for building a gratifying career in obesity medicine.” She also encourages others to treat all patients in a respectful and nonjudgmental way.