Conference Workshop Schedule:

*Chapters are invited to bring a poster with highlights from your region to be displayed in the Foyer of the Lurie Building. If you will bring a poster, please email Annie Lee to let her know*

View a Timetable of the Speaker Workshops

Saturday, October 1

Workshop 1
B. Li, MD: Educational Profiling of APA Medical Students
Despite academic success in gaining entry into leading universities and professional schools, Asian Pacific American (APA) students have not yet achieved comparable professional success. A microcosm of this phenomenon occurs within the four years of medical school, in which APAs have had difficulty transitioning from the classroom to clinical rotations. What are the factors involved – is it simply another example of the “glass ceiling” phenomenon? Although racial and ethnic discrimination exists, it is difficult to document. The major factors appear to be misperceived cultural behaviors, lack of extracurricular involvement, work experience, and leadership skills. How do you prepare yourself for this giant transition to the rest of your professional life? That is the question…

Karen Kim, MD, MS: Cancer in Asian Americans: No longer the ‘Model Minority’
Cancer prevalence in Asian Americans is significant. Asian American women were the first US population to experience cancer as the leading cause of death. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in AAPI men. Between 1980-1993, cancer death rates increased by 240% and 290% in Asian women and men, respectively, representing the greatest increase of all racial/ethnic groups. Several explanations for this increase have been hypothesized and include access, language, cultural beliefs, fatalism, education and knowledge, poor representation in clinical trials, aggregation of Asian subgroups, ‘model minority ‘ status and migration effects.

Lotus Loo: APAMSA Hepatitis B Program

Mikael Eliasson PhD: International Drug Outsourcing

Andrew Solomon BA, MBA: Graduate Leverage
Graduate Leverage (GL) is a debt management company founded by post-graduates from Hardvard, Boston College and the UC Irvine College of Medicine. Working with the nation’s top financial aid offices and student body organizations, GL provides and unbiased source for information on student loan consolidation and debt management. During a field study at Harvard Business School, the GL team analyzed the student loan industry and recognized a heightened sensitivity to questions involving student loan consolidation and other debt management issues facing students today. The session will focus on understanding these key issues so that current students will be able to effectively manage their loans.

Workshop 2
Namratha Kandula, MD, MPH: Low Rates of Cancer Screening in Asians
The purpose of this talk is to understand potential cultural and social factors that are contributing to low rates of cancer screening in Asian Americans, and to discuss possible interventions that may improve cancer screening rates in Asian Americans.

Bhaswati Bhattacharya, MD, MPH, MA: Ayurvedic Medicine

Irene Cualoping, JD: Branding You & Your Professional Practice: How and Why in Today’s Economy
Most people know the importance of branding when it comes to organizations and the products they market. But what about today’s professional? Why does he or she need to brand? How can he or she accomplish this? What skills does he or she need to develop to successfully market him or herself? For Asian Pacific American professionals, traditional cultural and gender factors of reserve, respecting elders and the like, may inhibit putting your best pitch forward when it comes to “selling” yourself. What are things that today’s professional can do to help practice overcoming this? What about advertising – traditionally not done in many professional practices - what are some ways to “soft-sell” branding yourself? How can today’s professional get the message out in today’s economy, but not in an “in your face” manner?

Susan M. Nedza MD, MBA, FACEP: The View from Government: The Changing Landscape of Healthcare
The challenges facing the US healthcare system continue to grow. At the same time, the opportunities to improve the health of the individuals accessing the system have never been greater. The financial challenges facing the three pillars of the healthcare system including employer-based coverage, Medicaid and Medicare will be explored. The presenter will explore the various roles that government plays in the system such as payer, innovator, facilitator, regulator, and convener. A discussion of forces impacting these roles will be undertaken. Finally, a discussion of initiatives currently underway that will reshape the healthcare landscape will be discussed.

Workshop 3
Jhemon Lee, MD: How to Get Into Residency
What are residencies and fellowships looking for? How can you decide which programs to apply to? How should you tackle those applications and interviews, and end up in the best program for you? Having served on residency interviewing and selection committees, Dr. Lee will share his insights on the process and answer your questions and concerns.

Rob Dintruff: Philanthropy in Medicine: The HIV Pandemic in Asia

Steve Bonzak MS, LAc, DiplCH: Introduction to the Concepts of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Susan M. Nedza MD, MBA, FACEP: The View from Government: The Changing Landscape of Healthcare
The challenges facing the US healthcare system continue to grow. At the same time, the opportunities to improve the health of the individuals accessing the system have never been greater. The financial challenges facing the three pillars of the healthcare system including employer-based coverage, Medicaid and Medicare will be explored. The presenter will explore the various roles that government plays in the system such as payer, innovator, facilitator, regulator, and convener. A discussion of forces impacting these roles will be undertaken. Finally, a discussion of initiatives currently underway that will reshape the healthcare landscape will be discussed.

Workshop 4
Anjen Chenn, MD, PhD: Careers in Academic Medicine: Opportunities, Pitfalls, and Strategies

Steve Bonzak MS, LAc, DiplCH: Biomedical Research into the Mechanisms and Efficacy of Acupuncture
The practice of acupuncture is one of the main therapies used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and is one of the oldest, most commonly used medical procedures in the world. Recorded instances of the use of acupuncture in the practice of TCM date as far back as two hundred years before the birth of Christ.
While acupuncture has been used for millennia to treat diseases of all types, its efficacy has been based on clinical experience and careful observations of physicians over many generations. Only with the advent of the People’s Republic of China has acupuncture been subjected to any type of scientific testing, although much of it does not meet to the standards of the Western medical and scientific establishment.
There has been an increasing amount of rigorous studies completed both in the US and Europe researching the mechanisms and testing the efficacy of acupuncture. Since 1991 with the formation of the Office of Alternative Medicine within the NIH, funding for the research of CAM modalities such as acupuncture have grown from $2 million in FY 1992 to over $120 million in FY 2005. This lecture will provide an overview of some of the literature describing the mechanisms of action of acupuncture and which diseases it has been found to be most effective in treating. It will also discuss how and where it might be beneficial to complement standard biomedical treatments with acupuncture.

Irene Cualoping, JD: The Business Side of Technical: Building a Professional Practice in Today’s Economy
“I became a doctor to save lives, not to run a business.” “I don’t like the business side of things.” “Why do I have to be a business person too?” “Can I get someone else to run the business side of my practice?” “What about marketing?” “I don’t like marketing, and I don’t like the media. They always get it wrong. I just want to practice medicine.” …Help! Does this sound like it could be you in a few years? You’re great at the science and technical know-how, but you don’t necessarily want to run a business. Nor do you want to “sell” yourself, or your practice. But the business side of technical, is important to building a successful practice in today’s economy. What are some successful qualities of entrepreneurship that can be applicable to running a professional practice? What kind of skills is it important to have to run a good business? What kind of business team is it important to create to help you set-up and support a successful entrepreneurial practice? How does the marketing side fit in? What role does the media play in the health profession? Why is it important to develop strong oral and written communication skills at the layperson level? What
kinds of things should I do to help market my business?

Workshop 5
Anjen Chenn, MD, PhD: Careers in Academic Medicine

Shiao-Lin Hui RN, MS, APN: Nuts & Bolts: Building a Community Health Clinic

Andrew Solomon, BA, MBA: Graduate Leverage: Debt Management
Graduate Leverage (GL) is a debt management company founded by post-graduates from Hardvard, Boston College and the UC Irvine College of Medicine. Working with the nation’s top financial aid offices and student body organizations, GL provides and unbiased source for information on student loan consolidation and debt management. During a field study at Harvard Business School, the GL team analyzed the student loan industry and recognized a heightened sensitivity to questions involving student loan consolidation and other debt management issues facing students today. The session will focus on understanding these key issues so that current students will be able to effectively manage their loans.

Sunday, October 2

Workshop 6
Ho Tran, MD: Leadership in Medicine

John Schneider MD, MPH: HIV Infection in India and China, An Epidemic for the Big Two?
The two largest countries in Asia - India and China are both vying to become distinguished as the leader in total HIV cases in the world. While the HIV epidemic has not reached the dramatic incidence rates as in Sub-Saharan Africa, the sheer numbers combined with government inaction and overwhelming stigma could allow for uncontrolled infectivity and a retreat from the recent growth in their respective economies. This workshop will review the HIV epidemic in India and China, give examples of research on the ground, and discuss ways to address current and future problems.

Emergency Medicine Club - Jon Pribaz: Intubation Workshop

Workshop 7
Jhemon Lee, MD: How to Get Into Residency
What are residencies and fellowships looking for? How can you decide which programs to apply to? How should you tackle those applications and interviews, and end up in the best program for you? Having served on residency interviewing and selection committees, Dr. Lee will share his insights on the process and answer your questions and concerns.

Naiyer J Rafathullah: Domestic Violence in South Asian Communities

EM Club: Intubation Workshop