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113th AAMC Annual Meeting: Leadership Forum Examines Trends, Future Opportunities Plenary Speakers Address Challenges, From Bioterrorism to Health Disparities Roundup from San Francisco: AAMC's 113th Annual Meeting Notes Trends, Concerns, Solutions Medical School Applications May Be On the Rise For the Love of Country: Afghan-American Physicians Rebuild Medical Education in Their Homeland Caring for Community: Loma Linda Medical Students Organize Health, Mentoring Programs Viewpoint: The State of the VHA Is Strong A Word From the President
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Plenary Speakers Address Challenges, From Bioterrorism to Health Disparities
Plenary session speakers at the AAMC's annual meeting in San Francisco last month gave varying assessments of the state of the nation's preparedness to a potential bioterrorist attack, the need for effective healthcare delivery, and the continued importance of promoting a diverse healthcare workforce. Anthony Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, opened the session by recalling the anthrax scare in the wake of last year's 9/11 attacks. Dr. Fauci, this year's Robert G. Petersdorf Lecturer, detailed threats posed by other biological agents, including ebola, botulism, and smallpox. Calling the global eradication of smallpox in 1979 "our greatest triumph," he added that today it has again become "one of our greatest health threats." In response, the NIH's biodefense funding increased from $274.5 million in 2002 to $1.5 billion slated for 2003. "This is the largest single increase in funding in NIH history to fight any disease," added Dr. Fauci, "includingcancer and HIV/AIDS." Bridging the gapIn a thorough examination of the history and present state of the relationship between medicine and public health, Deborah Prothrow-Stith, M.D., this year's Alan Gregg Lecturer, outlined the challenges and opportunities for an effective merging of individualized clinical medicine and population-based public health. The director and associate dean of the Harvard School of Public Health acknowledged the barriers between medicine and public health that have hindered, rather than helped, one another, including stereotypical beliefs, separate training, and authority struggles. Goodbye, Dr. WelbyThe John A. D. Cooper Lecturer, David Lawrence, M.D., chairman emeritus of the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, focused his talk on the current state of health care and the inability of the nation's fragmented delivery system to respond to patients' needs. "It is no longer Marcus Welby," said Dr. Lawrence, referring to the 1960s television character. "It is 15 doctors, 40 nurses, 10 physical therapists, and five social workers all caring for the same patient." He predicted that another decade or two would pass until the nation's healthcare system is adequately reformed to care for the complex needs of today's patients and predicted "dire consequences in morbidity and mortality rates" if the status quo persists. Attacking healthcare disparitiesThe plenary's final speaker, David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., former surgeon general and assistant secretary for health, and current director of the new National Center for Primary Care at the Morehouse School of Medicine, was the winner of this year's Herbert W. Nickens, M.D., Award. Dr. Satcher called attention to the causes he championed as surgeon general, including the elimination of health disparities. He outlined four "points of attack," including providing equal access to healthcare services; making sure the quality of care received is equal for all ethnic groups; increasing represent-ation of minorities in healthcare professions; and encouraging medical schools to reach out to improve the health of their communities. Dr. Satcher admitted that the realization of these goals will not be easy, but reminded his audience that "the tragedy of life is not in not reaching your goals, but in not having goals to work toward." By Barbara A. Gabriel |
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