Region 3 meetings

Doctors in Disasters: Putting Patients First
Sept. 15-17, 2006
New Orleans, La.

Many charity, Louisiana State University, and Tulane doctors spent at least one week treating critically ill patients without lights, monitors, running water, telephones, adequate food or air conditioning. Unfortunately, we are not informed of the necessity the medical profession plays in natural disasters as physicians must leave families and friends while risking their health and life in order to help the sick. In these thoughts, we hope to use this conference as a spring board to further discuss the challenges faced by physicians in times of major crisis. In addition to the conference, we will host a social event Friday night to welcome students and facilitate mingling and discussion. The event may include dinner at a local New Orleans restaurant and/or a walking tour of several entertainment venues in the Historic French Quarter.

New Orleans and the state of Louisiana have played host to two of the largest natural disasters in U.S. history. In the months surrounding the one year anniversary of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we hope to hold a very charged and informational conference. Potential topics for speakers will include the moral and ethical dilemmas physicians must face, restructuring entire medical communities, and learning how to keep the patient first while the world around is in chaos. We will be drawing on the experienced and talented faculty, staff, and administrators of both LSU-New Orleans and Tulane Medical School. We will also hope to present as our keynote speaker Jeff Weise, Residency Director for Internal Medicine at Tulane and former Chief of Medicine at Charity hospital, who will be able to enlighten upon the experiences from Hurricane Katrina in a sit-down dinner that will culminate the conference on Saturday night.

Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans and Tulane University School of Medicine have teamed up to both plan and host the conference. Since the schools are located across the street from each other, the event will likely combine venues as needed to make the conference flow smoothly and seamlessly. Both venues have lecture halls and breakout rooms that are equipped with AV equipment and would be available to us for the weekend free of charge. We hope that you can join us!

The Physician as Advocate: Beyond the Clinic
Nov. 5-7, 2004
Houston, Tex.

With the trend in medicine toward “patient-centered” care, physicians are now encouraged to become adept at communication within the clinic setting. However, with the current problems our health care system is facing with regard to access, changing patient demographics, managed care and escalating costs, how can we be advocates for our patients outside the clinic as well. Our goal was to create a fabulous one-day Saturday meeting, culminating with a dinner and keynote speaker that focused on physician advocacy at Trevisio Restaurant, with social events Friday and Saturday.

The conference took place Nov. 5-6, between the Fall Summit of the TMA on Oct. 1-2 and the AMA Interim Meeting on Dec. 2-4 to minimized the consecutive weekends students had to travel. Baylor College of Medicine and UT-Houston teamed up to plan and host the conference.

The speakers and sessions focused on different aspects of advocacy, not just political advocacy. Sessions included how to write a letter to the editor about health care issues, ways to help your underserved or uninsured patients, and information about the benefits of additional degrees like an MBA, MPP or MPH.

The Art of Medicine

American Medical Association-Medical Student Section

This article appeared in the March 2004 issue of  Tarrant County Physician

Medical students from the University of North Texas Health Science Center Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas hosted the Region III meeting of the American Medical Association - Medical Student Section (AMA-MSS). The conference, "The Art of Medicine," was held in Fort Worth on Oct. 24-25, 2003. Region III of the AMA-MSS includes representation from 16 medical schools in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The meeting was attended by more than 100 medical students leaders.

The conference opened Oct. 24 with an evening reception at the Milan Art Gallery in downtown Fort Worth and continued with speakers and a business meeting on Oct. 25. The weekend was concluded by the keynote address, "The Art of Politics in Medicine," given by the U.S. Representative Michael Burgess, MD, at a dinner Oct. 25 at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Guest speakers addressed the different "art" aspects of medicine including communication, leadership, patient care, and legislative advocacy. Speakers included UNTHSC President Ronald R. Blanck, DO; AMA-MSS Chair Joe T. McDonald; TCOM Dean Marc B. Hahn, DO; AMA Delegate Carolyn A. Evans, MD; AMA Board of Trustees Chair-elect J. James Rohack, MD; Texas Medical Association President Charles Bailey, MD; and Laura Matzer, Public Programs Coordinator for the Amon Carter Museum.