CLASS NOTES

Loyola Medical Student Organization Named National Chapter of the Year.

Mon, 10 May 2010 17:54:00 GMT

The Loyola Student National Medical Association (SNMA) has been awarded the P.R.I.D.E. Chapter of the Year Award at the SNMA Annual Medical Education Conference.

“I am glad to share the good news that our SNMA chapter received a national award for all the many services and leadership accomplishments they have achieved in this academic year,” said James G. Mendez, assistant dean for student affairs, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. “Our students continue to do great and meaningful work and represent Stritch well on both the local and national stage.”

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Support for the Gottfried-Duane Anti-Torture Bill.

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:58:00 GMT

New York State is currently considering the nation's first legislation that would permanently ban the involvement of physicians and other health professionals in acts of torture and prisoner abuse. The legislation proposed by State Assemblyman Gottfried and State Senator Duane clarifies the obligations of health professionals regarding cases of suspected torture and abuse, outlines disciplinary consequences for their violation, and at the same time protects physicians working in difficult situations from pressure to compromise their ethics.

AMSA chapters from across the state have teamed up with Physicians for Human Rights to gather support for this historic initiative. Please take a minute to sign the petition urging the NY State legislature to uphold medical professional values and to promote accountability: www.StopTortureNY.org

AMSA will hold a Lobby Day on this issue onl May 18th, please contact the New York Medical Student Coalition Against Torture at NYMSCAT@gmail.com for more information. You may also be interested to read about this issue on AMSA's global issues blog here.

DO Day on the Hill and SOMA’s Spring Convention.

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 13:00:00 GMT

On April 29, 2010, white coats will flood the halls of Congress and Senate buildings as osteopathic physicians and students gather in Washington DC for the annual DO Day on the Hill. This event is a very rewarding experience that all medical students should participate. Also, SOMA will be convening for their Spring Conference from April 30 through May 1. The conference is going to be filled with workshops and activities for students to partake. To learn more about these events, please contact your local SOMA chapter president or find more information at www.studentdo.com.

Medical Student Scholarships.

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 12:54:00 GMT

SOMA and the Student Doctor Network are proud to offer the Community & Preventive Medicine scholarship, which is due April 22nd, 2010. The scholarship is for students showing commitment to service and improvement in selected areas. One student will be awarded this $1000 scholarship.

The Ed & Melissa Medically Underserved scholarship is also due May 31st, 2010. At least one award of up to $1000 will be provided to help offset the costs of a third or fourth year student completing an elective rotation in an underserved area. Please submit questions and applications to PublicHealth@studentdo.com.

Please visit the SOMA Foundation website for more information.

CIR Visits the 2010 SNMA Annual Convention.

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 12:42:00 GMT

CIR alumni Dr. Nailah Thompson and Dr. Stacy De-Lin spoke to students by leading two workshops at the SNMA Annual Convention. One workshop discussed the evidence behind resident work hours reform while another workshop addressed medical students' concerns about ward service in their 3rd, 4th, and intern years. Thank you SNMA for inviting us!

AMSA Urges Students to Call Congress!.

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:23:00 GMT

Double or Nothing?

Congress has the chance to "help" -- help students, help patients. Will it pass both health care and student aid reform, or neither?

This week, Congress may be voting on quite possibly the most important piece of legislation to hit them for years -- both student aid reform and health care reform are coming in one package. It's double or nothing.

Student aid reform will cut out the banking middlemen to assure that more funds are going to students, expand Pell Grants to be available at higher levels to more students, and help fund community colleges and other educational infrastructures in a time when tuition and cost of living continues to go up. It's a long overdue iniative with lots of opposition from banks, who will be losing revenue.

Health care reform is finally coming to a vote perhaps this week, with lawmakers continuing to hash out the last bits. This is not a perfect bill by any means, but it is a first step that expands care to 30 million Americans and ends insurance company abuses like this one (http://bit.ly/bhQsyv). We hope it is the first step to providing health care to all.

Please call your Congressman and urge them to vote "yes" for student aid reform and health care reform this week.

To send a letter to you Congressman and Representative, click here

CIR Visits the AMSA 2010 Annual Convention.

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:47:00 GMT

CIR Secretary-Treasurer Farbod Raiszadeh and CIR NM Regional Vice President John Ingle visit the AMSA 2010 Annual Convention. Dr. Raiszadeh and Dr. Ingle led two workshops entitled "Surviving the Wards: Navigating the Clinical years to a Rewarding Training Experience" and "Resident Work Hours: In Search of Safer Schedules."

Above: Dr. Raiszadeh and Dr. Ingle meet with fellow convention speakers including the AMSA President, Dr. Lauren Hughes.

Above: Dr. Ingle and Dr. Raiszadeh meet with next year's AMSA/CIR Health Justice Fellow Sonia Lazreg.

American Medical Student Association’s 60th Annual Convention.

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:15:00 GMT

Celebrating Passion, Professionalism, Pride March 11-14, 2010 Disneyland Hotel * Anaheim, California

This is your chance to network with peers and mentors from across the country who care about the very same issues as you—how to survive the rigors of medical training while learning about and advocating for social justice, affordable education, and health policy. Enjoy amazing keynotes, programming and special events. Visit www.amsa.org/conv for more information.

2010 SNMA Annual Convention.

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:53:00 GMT

The Student National Medical Association (SNMA) is proud to host the 2010 Annual Medical Education Conference (AMEC) March 31st -April 4th in Chicago, Illinois. The overall goal of the AMEC is to provide SNMA members with the tools needed to bring about a healthier and more equitable healthcare system, through academic preparedness, and dissecting current issues not limited to: health care equality, the health of the African-American man, HIV in the black woman, and developing strategies to make an impact.

AMSA's offcial blog.

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:19:00 GMT

AMSA has launched their new blog: AMSA on Call. One of their more recent posts, written by AMSA's Health Justice Fellow Dan Henderson, deals with resident work hours. Here it is:

The long hours worked by residents are somewhat unique, but their vulnerability to fatigue is perfectly common. In fact, because of this propensity of people to defy the limits of sleep-deprivation, I was almost never born.

Many years ago, my father (then just a twenty-something North Carolinian named David) was at the wheel of his family’s Skymist Blue 1962 Ford Falcon headed for Elkins, West Virginia. He had worked a 14-hour shift at a hardware store the evening before, and then endured a white-knuckle drive through the mountains of West Virginia. Around two or three in the morning, he was driving along at 55 mph, and realized he was drowsy. The next thing he knew, the car was stopped in the shoulder of. The engine was off, and for some reason, the clutch wouldn’t budge. The dash was completely lit up, and an acrid scent filled the cabin. What had happened?

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