PROFESSIONThere she is ... Physician vies for Miss AmericaMiss Wisconsin, an aspiring pediatrician, is promoting organ and tissue donation.By Damon Adams, amednews staff. Sept. 8, 2003. For most of her life, Tina Sauerhammer, MD, 22, has been ahead of the curve. She started to play the cello at age 3. And while most of her peers were heading to high school, the Green Bay, Wis., native became a college freshman -- at age 14. At 18, she graduated from college. At 22, she finished medical school. Now, for the first time in a long time, she is going up against people her own age. As Miss Wisconsin, Dr. Sauerhammer is competing this month for the Miss America title. She is the only physician in this year's event, and the Miss America Organization said she is only the second physician to compete for the tiara, following Carrie Lee Davis, MD, Miss South Carolina 1992. "With me being a physician, I've really put a different face on the Miss America Organization. For so many years, Miss America was thought of as being a beauty pageant," said Dr. Sauerhammer. "When [pageant critics] see people with [my] credentials competing for Miss America, it makes them take a second look and question what this is about. It's not about beauty. It's about scholarships for women." If she wins the crown, Dr. Sauerhammer says she plans to spend her title year as the first physician Miss America promoting a platform near to her heart: organ and tissue donation. Her father, Randall, had an autoimmune disease and died last year while waiting for a kidney transplant. Two years ago, Dr. Sauerhammer was competing in the Miss Wisconsin contest in Oshkosh, and her parents traveled to see her. Back home in Green Bay, her parents' phone rang. A kidney was available. [...]Full text of American Medical News content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2003 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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The doctors are in the house
The AMA's House of Delegates is holding its Interim Meeting Nov. 7-10 in Houston, addressing issues such as health system reform and physician payment. Meeting coverage - Slideshow Feature articlesHealth reform review The Massachusetts experience Litigation stress Being sued is personal as well as professional Comprehensive coverage
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