2005 Interim Meeting

2005 Interim Meeting Highlights

The MSS held its 27th Interim Meeting on November 3–5 at the Wyndham Anatole in Dallas. Over 700 students attended the meeting, which offered two full days of educational programming on topics such as covering the uninsured, lobbying techniques, hurricane relief efforts, a residency panel, and much more!

See the meeting agenda (PDF, 133KB, requires Adobe® Reader®) for full listing of programs. Below are presentations and resources from some of the sessions held at the meeting:

• Committee on Legislation and Advocacy Newsletter (PDF, 593KB)
• Ethics and Professionalism for the Medical Student (PDF, 148KB)
• Healthy Lifestyles to Reduce Obesity (PDF, 87KB)
• PDAs in Medicine (PDF, 858KB)
• Public Health Education and Future Career Opportunities (PDF, 223KB)
• Public Health Quiz (PDF, 146KB)

The keynote address, "The Brave New World of Health Care," was presented by former Colorado Governor, Richard Lamm, to a packed audience of MSS and Young Physicians Section members on Saturday afternoon.

The Fourth Annual Research Poster Award, sponsored by an educational grant from Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative, was a success with over 50 abstracts presented and judged by members of the AMA Council on Science and Public Health as well as local medical school faculty. The MSS awarded winners in the following eight categories:

• Biochemistry/Cell Biology—Sriram Eleswarapu, Baylor College of Medicine
• Cancer Biology—Christopher Barker, University of Florida College of Medicine
• Cardiology/Vascular Biology—Eric Glissmeyer, University of Utah School of Medicine
• Clinical/Epidemiological/Health Care—Tanvir Hussain, Baylor College of Medicine,
• Immunology/Microbiology—Jaime Cavallo, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
• Neurobiology/Neuroscience—Michael Gerberi, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
• Radiology/Imaging—Neil Mascarenhas, Baylor College of Medicine
• Surgery—Paul Dahm, UTSHC Medical School at Houston

The Overall Winner was Jaime Cavallo, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, who receives a trip to the AMA Leadership Award Program and National Advocacy Conference in Washington, DC in the spring. Congratulations to these winners and all who participated for their impressive research.

The MSS is pleased to announce the election of the MSS Chair-Elect, Benjamin Galper, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Trustee, Chris DeRienzo, Duke University School of Medicine, whose terms commence after the 2006 Annual Meeting.

"Healthy Lifestyles to Reduce Obesity"
On Friday, November 4, in conjunction with the City of Dallas Department of Health and Environmental Services, the MSS hosted a successful Healthcare Expo for senior citizens. The event promoted the MSS National Service Project, "Healthy Lifestyles to Reduce Obesity." Over 40 student volunteers assisted nearly 250 Dallas area seniors at the expo through informational sessions on healthy eating, cooking demos, ability appropriate fitness, "mental" exercising, managing the new Medicare, talking with your doctor, and medications, as well as screenings for obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.

The MSS received a proclamation from the City of Dallas for this event, declaring November American Diabetes Month. The MSS At-Large Officer attended the City Council meeting to receive the proclamation and promote the event. The Expo was even promoted on the local Dallas NBC news affiliate.

MSS policy highlights from the Interim Meeting
At the 2005 Interim Meeting, the MSS Assembly considered 31 items of business, including 24 resolutions and 7 reports. The MSS focused on various issues ranging from medical education to public health to political action and internal MSS issues.

Items of business related to medical education addressed numerous issues including supporting our AMA in conducting an analysis of student loan deferment and loan forgiveness programs, encouraging the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) to recommend that medical schools include instruction on effective teaching methods in their curricula, and supporting the formation of protocols by individual medical schools to relocate medical students into other medical schools in the event of a crisis or natural disaster resulting in the closing of their medical school.

Policy was passed on several public health issues including that our AMA recognize National HIV Testing day and encourage AMA members to promote participation in voluntary HIV testing and counseling through community and media outreach, health fairs and free testing sites across the country.

In addition, the MSS, along with the Resident and Fellow Section, passed a resolution asking the AMA to make the number 1 priority comprehensive health system reform to ensure coverage for all Americans. This is a huge leap forward in helping doctors help patients as we seek to cover the 45.8 million uninsured. The resolution will be brought before the House of Delegates at the 2006 Annual Meeting.

Final actions from the 2005 MSS Interim Meeting (PDF, 139KB)