PROFESSIONAL ISSUES

AMA meeting: Medical students take skills to Chicago neighborhood

Student service project helps the uninsured gain access to care.

By Myrle Croasdale, AMNews staff. July 16, 2007.

Annual Meeting 2007

Meeting Notes

Resources

Chicago -- More than 100 children and adults from the city's Hermosa neighborhood received free health care screenings June 15, courtesy of American Medical Association student and physician members.

John Vasudevan, MD, a new medical school graduate and member of the AMA Medical Student Section, helped organize the service event held at The Gap Community Center.

"The object of this health fair was not only to provide a snapshot of health but to emphasize the importance of regular follow-up care," Dr. Vasudevan said. "Sometimes the biggest barrier is knowing where you can go." Both students and neighborhood activists tried to break down that barrier.

Parents of eligible children were encouraged to sign up for the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Also, collaborating organizations, including the Healthy Hermosa Coalition, provided information on community clinics where parents could get routine care.

Board Trustee Chris DeRienzo, a fourth-year medical student at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C., said health care access for the uninsured is a national problem the AMA student section wants to address.

With this article

Meeting Notes: Medical education

"We hope to make these screenings a tradition at AMA meetings," DeRienzo said.

Some 30 students participated in the Chicago service project, along with four physician volunteers.

DeRienzo said AMA student chapters across the country also plan to organize screenings to draw attention to the uninsured issue. In April, many chapters organized screenings in support of Cover the Uninsured Week, and more are planned for September, as the new school year begins.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Meeting Notes: Medical education

Issue: Some physicians remain skeptical of the need for the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination clinical skills test.
Proposed action: Study potential mechanisms for independent oversight of physician licensing exams, with a report due at the 2008 Annual Meeting. [Adopted]

Issue: Resident physicians may hesitate to report work-hour violations for fear of retaliation against them or their programs.
Proposed action: Urge the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the American Osteopathic Assn. to alter the resident duty-hour violation reporting system to better protect whistle-blowers. [Referred for study]

Issue: Federal money for graduate medical education is capped, and regulatory changes threaten further restrictions to GME funding.
Proposed action: Collaborate with other stakeholders and advocate for a stable GME funding stream and push for more GME positions. [Adopted]

Issue: Concern that nonphysicians may call themselves board certified.
Proposed action: Communicate concerns to the National Board of Public Health Examiners and other stakeholders about NBPHE plans to create "board certification" for those who complete a master's in public health. Physicians believe the certification would be misleading. [Adopted]

Issue: Some worry that Office of Inspector General guidelines and revised Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education guidelines are impacting commercial CME money negatively.
Proposed action: A recent study said no, but continued monitoring on the impact of CME guidelines, standards and regulations on the delivery of CME at the state level is needed. Continued monitoring of trends in CME financing and availability also is needed. [Adopted, with a report due back at the 2009 Annual Meeting]

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