SGA Sponsored Student Organization Travel
The paragraphs on this page are brief recaps of the events that different student organizations attended with the help of SGA funding.
When AMSA members come together once a year for national convention, they assemble not just to learn more about their profession but to change it for the benefit of their patients. The theme of this year’s convention, “Win Back our Profession,” embodied this idea and highlighted how students, as future health care leaders, can take steps to transform their passion into action throughout their careers. With six renowned keynote speakers (such as Paul Farmer, M.D., Ph.D., and Marian Wright Edelman) and over 100 workshops and programs covering topics (many of which are not addressed at UTMB to any great extent) such as complementary and alternative medicine, health equity, the global AIDS crisis and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health, there were ample opportunities for learning and networking throughout the weekend.
One of the most memorable workshops that I attended, “Beyond Drug Reps: Linking Global Access to Essential Medicines to Domestic Efforts to Limit Industry Influence in Health Care,” opened my eyes (even more) to the gross disparities that exist in the world in terms of access to essential medicines. In this session, we discussed the “10/90” gap of neglected diseases— the fact that many of the diseases that affect 90% of the world’s population only receive 10% of research and development funds because they affect poor people and are thus deemed “unprofitable” diseases. Although I have had some exposure to pharmaceutical company issues at UTMB through PAG and POM I, this workshop exposed me to many new issues I had not previously considered, and it also gave me the opportunity to learn about what other students around the country are doing to help end this daily struggle.
Another workshop, “Money Matters: Wealth, Medical Students and Social Change,” allowed students to discuss and reflect upon the reality that physicians face when they begin to earn a salary that is substantially greater than what they have previously earned. Our conversations pushed us to consider how we may adjust our habits and behaviors as we transition into being physicians. Although the topic may have seemed uncomfortable and controversial at times, I felt that putting the idea out on the table encouraged us to think about how we can leverage wealth and class privilege for the greater good of humanity, instead of solely for our own selfish desires.
Attending this year’s AMSA convention gave me an incredible opportunity to come together with about 1,000 other committed and passionate medical students from around the country, and discover more about my emerging role in medicine. From the convention I gained a role as Regional Global Health Action Committee Coordinator, a chance to learn about topics not traditionally covered in medical school, and a lifetime of friends, connections and memories.
This past weekend, February 27 – March 1, I traveled to Dallas, TX to participate in the TAPA conference and represent my school. Funded by the UTMB SGA, I flew Southwest Airlines and stayed at the Westin Park Central where the TAPA CME Conference was being held. The conference was a great learning experience for me, especially since our program has not been too involved in TAPA for the past 5 years. I did not know what to expect, but after attending multiple talks on the ‘student track,’ I was pleased with the knowledge to which they were exposing us. The student track was really focused toward the major fears of the profession which also happen to be the least talked about. Namely, talks regarding transition from didactic to clinical years, and school to getting a job, passing our board tests (and studying for them), and becoming licensed. I received a lot of positive feedback upon my participation in the conference for our school, and that the TAPA organization was excited about our future. I plan to give a presentation in my upcoming chairman’s hour regarding the topics covered and the pearls of wisdom I was given.
We had the privilege of attending the 2008 Global Missions Health Conference in Louisville, KY on November 13th-15th. Purported to be the largest global health missions conference of its kind in the world, we were thrilled to have this opportunity.
Four UTMB students attended: Nishan Takele, Sara Janne Aarsland, Philip Ashley and Heather Relyea Ashley. We found the conference to be extremely helpful, in terms of giving us information on rotations abroad during medical school, and also opportunities to work long-term overseas upon completion of our training. The Plenary sessions had wonderful speakers, including Admiral Tim Ziemer (leader of the President’s Malaria Initiative) and Dr. Carl Taylor (Professor Emeritus at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and who was the primary WHO consultant for the landmark world health care conference at Alma Ata in 1978). We also greatly benefitted from the seminars. We went to many that involved HIV prevention and treatment in resource-poor settings. Other notable seminars we attended include: The Newest Anti-retroviral agents, Refugee health, Surgical Challenges in the Mission Hospital, Motivating People to Change their Health Practices, and Human Trafficking, and more. It was thrilling to be able to connect our current level of training and overseas work with what is being said and done currently in global health—and to actually understand many of the Continuing Medical Education classes.
One of the truly encouraging times was when students were placed in small groups with physician-mentors who were involved in global health. Additionally, there were two large galleries with booths with representatives hundreds of global health organizations—including hospitals, residence programs and sending, relief and development agencies.
This conference was not only educational, it was a great encouragement as we think about making global health a long-term part of our future practice of medicine. We hope that perhaps next year more UTMB students can attend. We are tremendously thankful for the grant from UTMB which allowed us to attend this conference. The website for this annual convention is: http://www.medicalmissions.com/.
Christian Medical Association
Annual Women in Medicine and Dentistry Conference
September 25-28, 2008
The Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA) host an annual medical conference for women medical practitioners and students. This year the conference was held in San Diego, California, September 25-28, 2008. It was a time for Christian women physicians, dentists, residents, and students to gather together to encourage one another and share about the deepest matters of our hearts. The conference came at a perfect time for the students at UTMB, because we needed to be refreshed and encouraged after the hurricane. Four students attended, Bethany Shoemaker, Courtney Solomon, Heather Relyea Ashley, and Chanel Granville. There were many workshops and continuing medical education courses available that piqued our interests, and the plenary sessions were awesome. The speakers spoke about national CMDA issues, awareness of human trafficking, physician’s rights, and medical missions. The women’s conference also gave us an opportunity to network with other students and clinical professionals at various healthcare institutions across the United States. CMA is extremely grateful for the sponsorship received from SGA. This helped defray some of the cost of attending the conference. We all enjoyed ourselves and were excited to tell other CMA members about our experience. Hopefully, more UTMB CMA members will attend the conference next year.
Student Organization of Allied Health Sciences
75th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Laboratory Sciences
July 16th-July 21st, 2007
The 75th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Laboratory Science was held in San Diego, California at the Westin Hotel and San Diego Convention Center from July 16th through July 21st. The main purpose of attending this convention was to present our research on the Correlation between Blackboard Usage and Overall Grade Performance in a Clinical Laboratory Sciences program. Students and professionals from all over the nation traveled to present their research. The research posters were on display from Tuesday through Thursday for all attendees to view. We were available during certain times throughout the day on Wednesday to discuss our topic with anyone who had questions. We also attended scientific sessions throughout the week such as “The Role of the Laboratory in Acute Coronary Syndrome,” “A Day in the Life of a Doctorate of Clinical Laboratory Sciences,” and “The Infections Disease Consequences of Global Warming.” The sessions were very interesting and extremely informative. The clinical laboratory expo was also held during this time. Throughout the days there were thousands of exhibitor booths from various laboratory equipment and diagnostic companies. Several social events also took place in the evenings. Overall the national conference was a positive experience. It provided the attendees with huge networking possibilities and continuing education. The national convention is recommended to anyone that has interest in clinical sciences.
* If your organization has recently traveled to an SGA sponsored event, please send us a brief synopsis (one paragraph) with the details of the trip and the experience your organization encountered while traveling. Your paragraph should include your orgranization's name, names of all who attended the event, date(s) of the event, and a summary of your experience, including any highlights/comments for future students.
