AMA Conference

Last weekend I attended the American Medical Association-Medical Student Section interim meeting in San Diego, California. There I presented a resolution stating that the AMA should support designed incompatibility for medical tubing such that it is physically impossible to connect tubes intended for different functions. Medical tubing misconnections have caused serious injuries and death; for example, in 2006 Robin Rodgers and her fetus were killed when a feeding solution meant for enteral delivery was accidentally pumped into her veins (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/21/health/policy/21tubes.html). This resolution was one of only two resolutions that was passed without amendment and referred to the main AMA, probably because the Nevada delegation of the AMA had recently proposed a very similar resolution. About a dozen Michigan students attended the conference, and we presented four additional resolutions on lengthening drug expiration dates, opposing mandatory treatment of patients with government-funded health insurance, sending unused surgical supplies to the developing world, and enforcing strict rules on medical students participating in medical clinics overseas. All the resolutions either passed with amendment or were not passed but led to reaffirmation of previous AMA policy.

Overall I had a great time at the conference and learned more about how the AMA works and a little about parliamentary procedure. I also attended a couple talks on research by medical students and a talk on HIV/AIDS disparities, particularly in the African American and Latino populations.

On a very different note, here is a rap that I made with a fellow classmate on the cardiovascular system:
https://mfile.umich.edu/?path=/afs/umich.edu/user/r/o/rogawski/Public/Cardio%20Rap.mp3