Greetings! Fourth-year medical student here, hailing from the University of Michigan. I am also proud to call myself half Washingtonian and half Floridian having spent equal parts of my life in both states. I am in Seattle as one of the 28 UMMS students attending this year’s AAMC Learn Serve Lead Conference.
Some of the brief highlights from my first 48 hours include: the Cultural Barriers to Learning seminar, Group on Student Affairs (GSA) poster session, and Doris Kearns Goodwin’s plenary speech. The Cultural Barriers seminar was a great way to share each program’s commitment to diversity as well as reflect on current challenges, such as effectively incorporating cultural competency longitudinally in medical education.
I found the GSA poster session particularly impressive because of the great breadth of student engagement in medical education. Notable topics included everything from interprofessional education and team-based learning to student leadership engagement and student run clinics.
Doris Kearns Goodwin’s speech could not have been more relevant and appropriate for this conference. As a future physician and leader, my biggest take-away from her great speech was how to better evaluate leadership. As a historian, she effortlessly conveyed the achievements and shortcomings of United States presidents. Her message offered both hope for the future and the significance of the narrative for assessing leadership. I am both inspired and excited to see what the rest of the conference has in store!
Don’t miss the next Dose of Reality.
4th year medical student hailing from central Florida and Washington state. Hobbies are people, history, food, and languages.