AMSA Alumni Connector

Issue #4 – March 2022

Hello AMSA Alumni!

We’re nearing the end of the leadership year and our 72nd annual convention is just around the corner. This year we’re building on AMSA’s legacy of advocacy by continuing to push for health justice. Later this month we’ll be heading to the Hill—virtually—to advocate for policies that improve health care equity and access, lower prescription drug prices, increase residency slots, and protect access to abortion. As we prepare for Advocacy Days, we’re also joining with other healthcare organizations to advocate for drug price negotiations, closing the Medicaid coverage gap, extending Medicaid postpartum coverage, and extension of tax credits that have helped millions afford health insurance.

My year as President has flown by, and I will soon be returning to finish my last year of medical school. I recently came across a photo of my very first AMSA Advocacy Day, and it led me to reflect on the path from there to where I am now. It would not have been possible without the incredible work of the AMSA leaders who have come before me. I’m so grateful for the mentorship and sense of community that I have gained during my time with AMSA, and for all of you. I can’t wait to connect at the AMSA Alumni Reception in D.C. on April 9!

Last chance: Cyber self-defense training—Self-protection against doxxing and harassment

Threats, harassment and doxxing of medical students, our physician colleagues—now one in four are harassed on social media, and public health workers and health officers are facing at alarming rates for doing their crucial work must stop.

Join us for cyber-security training for physicians and medical students: Harm Reduction & Self-Protection: Doxxing & Harassment on Social Media, March 31 at 7:30pm Eastern.

RSVP FOR CYBER SELF-DEFENSE

April 9 – AMSA Alumni Reunion, in person

Join us for AMSA Alumni and OATs reunion in conjunction with AMSACon 2022 on Saturday, April 9 from at 6pmET just outside Washington, D.C.!

 RSVP FOR ALUMNI RECEPTION

News from chapters and members in the U.S. and around the world – Check out AMSA Rounds!

Tracey Henry, MD, MPH, MS
Dr. Tracey Henry was selected for a leadership role in Emory University School of Medicine’s effort to adapt its current curriculum to prepare medical students to work toward diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in all aspects of patient care. To accomplish that change, Tracey works with program directors, school DEI leaders, the school’s Executive Curriculum Committee, and student leaders. “This role is an opportunity to empower our learners to not only become effective clinicians exhibiting cultural humility, but to equip them to become leaders and advocates,” Tracey told the Emory Daily Pulse.

Tracey, who is also associate professor in the Department of Medicine, recently published “Health Equity: The Only Path Forward for Primary Care” in the Annals of Family Medicine, weighing in with her co-authors on a 2021 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report on primary care, and identifying health equity as key to decision-making and policy formation for primary care in the U.S.

You can find Tracey on LinkedIn or Twitter: @docwithapurpose

(Have a suggestion for the AMSA Alumni Action Spotlight? Send info we can feature to Becky Martin at alumni@amsa.org.)

Students march to City Hall in Houston during the 2008 AMSA Convention.

Send photos you have to add to our archive to alumni@amsa.org and see them in a future AMSA Alumni Connector Blast from the Past!

Please consider sharing your expertise with future physicians, via in-person or virtual opportunities. To do so, you can fill out a quick update form here.

In solidarity and action for justice and a health filled future for all,
Hannah