AAHC Global Innovation Forum to Showcase Presentations from Latin America & the Caribbean (LAC) Region
WASHINGTON, DC, April 19, 2021 – The Association of Academic Health Centers International (AAHCI) is pleased to announce the successful completion of the inaugural AAHCI Student Leadership Initiative (ASLI), a program designed to provide a special opportunity for health professions students to demonstrate their creativity and leadership.
“This initiative launched with an invitation to medical students in the Latin America & the Caribbean region to share innovative ideas about new approaches to their education in virtual settings,” said AAHC President and CEO, Steven L. Kanter, MD. He added, “A distinctive feature of this program is a presentation by program finalists at the AAHC 2021 Global Innovation Forum(GIF), being held virtually this week, showcasing their innovative work before academic health center leaders from around the globe.”
The AAHCI Latin America & Caribbean (LAC) Regional Office announced the first call for proposals on Virtual Medical Educationin the LAC region in November 2020. In early 2021, the ASLI-LAC Review Committee evaluated submissions from participating institutions. Students from TecSalud Monterrey, Universidad de la Sabana, and the University of São Paulo received top reviews and were selected to present their ideas at the AAHC 2021 GIF. A full list of the finalists and their presentations, the faculty mentors, and all the outstanding submissions can be found on the AAHC website.
"Many academic institutions have experience with virtual medical education in their curriculum; however, the abrupt isolation and shift to full online medical learning during the pandemic brought many challenges. I was delighted to see so many outstanding projects developed by medical students and their mentors from the AAHCI-LAC region. These are creative, sometimes low-cost solutions to improve online medical education,” said AAHCI LAC Regional Ambassador, Valeria Aoki, MD, PhD, who initiated the launch of the ASLI program in the LAC region.
The participating AAHCI institutions in the LAC region include:
- Clínica Universidad de La Sabana (Colombia)
- Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu – Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) (Brazil)
- TecSalud, Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico)
- Universidad del Rosario (Colombia)
- University of São Paulo Medical School (FMUSP) (Brazil)
AAHC is a nonprofit association dedicated to advancing health and well-being through the values-based leadership of academic health centers.