Below is the February 2013 update from Ronnie Zeidan, current Chairman of the AAMC-OSR. Included are multiple useful links covering topics from the past year. It is the perfect launching pad for learning more about what is going on within the OSR. Click the "Read More" link for full details.
February 2013 Update
OSR Ad Board Focus on Issues - The OSR Ad Board will continue to focus on a number of issues including but not limited to: the rapidly increasing debt of U.S. medical students, its effect on primary care, and the difficulty of increasing the number of underrepresented minorities entering the field of medicine; enhancing the OSR presence at the 141 AAMC member medical schools; providing additional resources to OSR representatives on student issues; opportunities for involvement in the legislative process at both the federal and state levels; curriculum; tools for the OSR to increase communication; and advocating for innovation in undergraduate medical education.
Student Debt - In 2010, the OSR Administrative Board developed a survey for OSR representatives in order to obtain an updated picture of medical student debt, as well as to discern how students are currently involved in the process of setting tuition, the origin of medical school funding sources, and what is being done at the university level to help alleviate and educate students about their escalating debt. Written by the OSR student affairs committee, “The High Price of a Dream Job” analyzes the findings of the survey.
Legislative Affairs - The legislative affairs committee continues to produce bi-weekly health policy updates that are disseminated via the OSR listserve. In conjunction with the biweekly updates, the committee has started publishing articles on “often mentioned, but seldom understood” topics in legislative affairs. The first of these addresses Accountable Care Organizations. Updates and archived articles are available on the OSR web site.
Communications - OSR Advice on Applying to Residency- The OSR Communications Committee utilized feedback from recently matched medical students to provide a comprehensive guide for applying to residency programs covering topics such as away rotations, residency applications and interviews, and saving money during the process.
Annual Meeting – The OSR Administrative Board organized over 30 sessions around topics including: mentoring, LGBT issues, specialty choice, social media, diversity, learner mistreatment, service updates, a writing workshop, welcome sessions for new and current OSR reps, and many more. Approximately 230 OSR reps were in attendance.
Joining Forces - OSR reps have been encouraging institutions to participate in this initiative. More than 100 schools have pledged to work with the Joining Forces campaign. Participating institutions have committed to serve military personnel, veterans, and their families through medical education enrichment and dissemination of research associated with the clinical challenges related to this important group. Check here to see if your institution has signed on.
Student Affairs - Understanding the Role of Spirituality in Medicine – A Resource for Medical Students
The OSR Committee on Student Affairs created this document as a guide for medical students in approaching topics of spirituality and religion with patients to provide high quality, holistic medical care.
Additional Updates on the activities and projects of the OSR Administrative Board are available via the OSR web site: https://www.aamc.org/members/osr/updates/
The OSR Administrative Board will be meeting February 24-25, 2013 in Washington, DC. During this time, we will continue planning the 2013 AAMC-OSR Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, develop goals and focus issues for 2013; and begin planning for future projects. Ultimately, our goal is to serve you. If you have questions or concerns, please contact me or a member of the OSR Administrative Board. We are eager to help you in any way we can.
Respectfully,
Ronnie Zeidan
AAMC-OSR Chair
Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University