On October 9-11, 2009, the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA) held its 16th annual national conference on the UCLA campus. The event, sponsored by the US Navy, was hosted by the APAMSA chapters at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Western University of Health Sciences, USC Keck School of Medicine, and the UC Irvine School of Medicine, as well as the Premedical APAMSA chapter at UCLA. Over 300 medical and premedical students from more than 50 schools across the country attended the conference, which featured a wide variety of lectures and workshops from distinguished leaders in medicine, politics, law, and public health.
The theme for the conference was “Transforming Medicine: A Challenge for Future Leaders.” Given the rapidly changing landscape of health care, the conference program was designed to educate students on the salient aspects of the current health care debate. The conference opened with keynote speeches from Assemblymembers Mike Eng and Fiona Ma, who represent the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas, respectively. Their impassioned talks encouraged the attendees to be proactive about solving problems with health care and its delivery, and reminded them of the complementary roles that politicians can play in addressing these important issues. Additionally, the opening session featured a Health Care Reform Panel that discussed not only the topics at the forefront of the health care debate, but also the potential impact on the Asian Pacific American (APA) community. The panelists comprised a variety of political views and medical backgrounds, and consisted of: Dr. Jimmy Hara, Chair Emeritus of the Department of Family Medicine of Kaiser Los Angeles; Dr. Arthur Chen, Medical Director of the Alameda Alliance for Health; Dr. Cynthia Macri, Assistant Director of Minority Affairs for the U.S. Navy; and Dr. Paul Song, a private practice radiation oncologist based in Los Angeles. The panel was moderated by Dr. Marjorie Kagawa-Singer from the UCLA School of Public Health.
In line with the initiatives of the national organization, the conference program also consisted of lectures and workshops that focused on the health care issues affecting the APA community, as well as interesting and novel ways to address these issues. Dr. Myron Tong, the Director of the UCLA Asian Liver Center, delivered a lecture on the epidemic of hepatitis B in the APA community. Dr. Ka-Kit Hui, the Founder and Director of the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine, discussed the practice of traditional Chinese medicine and a potential role for it in a reformed health care system. Additionally, the conference addressed the increasing globalization of medicine with several lectures focusing on international medicine. Dr. Bruce Lee from the University of Pittsburgh led a talk on the delivery of vaccines to developing countries, and Dr. Kunchok Gyaltsen, founder of the Tibetan Healing Fund and a Tibetan monk, shared his experiences of caring for patients in Tibet.
The conference banquet, held at the Covel Commons Grand Horizon Room on the UCLA campus, featured keynote speeches from Brigadier General Joseph Caravalho, a cardiologist from the U.S. Army, and Commander Amanda Simsiman, an obstetrician/gynecologist from the U.S. Navy. They enlightened the conference attendees on the opportunities that exist for physicians in the military, and described their own experiences serving the country overseas. Afterwards, Dr. Eliza Lo Chin, the President Elect for the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), gave an inspirational talk in which she described her path towards becoming an acclaimed writer and the leader for one of the country’s most powerful medical organizations. Lastly, in a speech that enthralled the crowd, Dr. Sammy Lee, a retired otolaryngologist from USC and the first Asian American to win an Olympic Gold Medal (diving), recounted his experiences battling the barriers of race to become a national hero.
Although this conference was the 16th for APAMSA, it marked the 1st program for the newly formed Asian Pacific American Medical Association (APAMA). Founded by Dr. Jhemon Lee, former APAMSA member and current chair of the APAMSA Physician Advisory Board, APAMA provides APAMSA graduates with the opportunity to continue their efforts to address the health care issues of the APA community as physicians. This year’s APAMA meeting will hopefully be the first of many to come.
In commemoration of their outstanding efforts serving the mission of APAMSA, the chapter at the University of Pittsburgh was awarded the distinction of “Chapter of the Year.” Additionally, the privilege of hosting the 2010 APAMSA National Conference was given to the APAMSA chapter at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.
More about APAMSA's National Conferences
| File | Description | File size |
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 National APAMSA 2009 Conference Program.pdf | 1985 Kb |
