OSR-GSA-Minority Affairs Section Update
January 2008
GSA-MAS Strategic Plan
The GSA-MAS Coordinating Committee continues to implement its long range
strategic plan for the GSA-MAS. The GSA-MAS Strategic Plan Implementation
Team presented their priorities for 2008 and also recommended that the
GSA-MAS Coordinating Committee discuss hosting a national conference that
provides professional development for the implementation of diversity
in medical education for all medical school administrators.
GSA-MAS Minority Student Medical Career Awareness Workshops and Recruitment
Fair
The GSA-MAS had a record number of participants at last fall's annual
Minority Student Medical Career Awareness Workshops and Recruitment Fair.
Over 20 OSR reps participated in a very well received informal session
with the participating high school and college students. The MAS would
like OSR's continued involvement during their annual career fair and feedback
from participating OSR members was communicated to help improve this year's
and future years' sessions.
AAMC Proposed Group on Diversity and Inclusion
AAMC President Darrell Kirch, M.D informed the GSA-MAS Coordinating Committee
that the AAMC Governance Group and Officers will recommend to the AAMC
Executive Council an action to establish a new Group on Diversity and
Inclusion at its February 2008 meeting. The role of this new Group will
be to promote and advance diversity across academic medicine. The GSA-MAS
began an ongoing discussion on its potential role in the formation of
this new Group.
Cultural Competence
Norma Poll, Ph.D., Director, and Ann Steinecke, Ph.D., Senior Staff Associate,
updated the committee on recent initiatives with the Division on Medical
Education. They are in the process of gathering information to expand
the agenda for cultural competence. The MAS Coordinating Committee will
collaborate by establishing cultural competence experts to advise Drs.
Poll and Steinecke on as needed basis.
Medical Student Debt
The GSA-MAS Coordinating Committee and Henry Sondheimer, M.D., Group Executive
Secretary for the GSA, discussed the topic of medical school student debt.
Concerns were voiced about the substantial hurdle indebtedness was becoming
to recruit URIM applicants as well as for students in medical school to
decide to pursue a career in primary care. A recommendation was made to
have the AAMC begin dialog with the representatives from the National
Health Service Corps.
Workforce Expansion and Diversity
Sunny Gibson, M.S.W., GSA-MAS Liaison to the GSA Committee on Admissions,
presented a letter that the GSA Committee on Admissions (COA) submitted
to the AAMC Center for Workforce Studies about (1) no mention of diversity
in its publications and (2) no acknowledgement that diversity is critical
to workforce expansion. To support the GSA COA and to raise awareness
of this deficit, the GSA-MAS Coordinating Committee decided to write its
own letter supporting the same sentiments of the GSA COA.
AAMC Focus Session
The GSA-MAS Coordinating Committee would like to submit a proposal for
an AAMC Focus Session during this year's annual meeting. The Committee
will develop a draft session description and will send to OSR and other
AAMC professional development groups for collaborations.
If you have any questions, comments, criticisms or compliments please
feel free to contact me.
Respectfully submitted by,
Nathan Chomilo, MS3
OSR Liaison to the GSA-MAS Coordinating Committee
University of Minnesota Medical School - Twin Cities
chom0014@tc.umn.edu
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