News
Attend the 2015 Legislative Conference: Scholarships Available!
The AAP’s 2015 Legislative Conference is taking place in Washington, DC, April 12-14.
This three-day, interactive advocacy conference will allow you to learn about the current federal landscape impacting children and pediatricians, network with more than 100 other advocates from across the country, and hear firsthand from leading experts about child health priorities.
During the Legislative Conference, participants will:
- Attend skills-building workshops in negotiation, social media and crafting effective messages
- Hear firsthand from distinguished guest speakers, such as members of Congress, White House officials and federal agency leaders
- Participate in meetings with congressional staff on Capitol Hill to urge elected officials to put children first in their federal policymaking
- Learn about federal policy priorities impacting children and pediatricians
- Earn a maximum of 19.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™
Scholarships: There are a limited number of scholarships to cover the cost of registration for the conference. If you are interested in applying, please fill out an application and submit it to LegislativeConference@aap.org bynoon ET on Friday, Feb. 27. Please click here to download the application.
If you experience difficulty downloading the scholarship application, please email Devin Miller in the AAP DC Office at dmiller@aap.org.
Visit www.aap.org/legcon to download the conference brochure, learn more about the conference and to sign uptoday.
We hope to see you in Washington this spring!
SOMSRFT Clinical Case Program – Call for Abstracts
Have you come across a unique case on your clinical rotations? Have some interesting research you want to share? The AAP is now accepting abstracts for the 2015 National Conference and Exhibition in Washington, DC! Medical Students, Residents and Fellows may submit case reports for a poster presentation - this is a great opportunity to present a case report at a national conference and network with your peers at the same time! Submission is free, and the deadline is April 10, 2015. You may also submit research abstracts to other sections and councils for consideration for oral or poster presentation during the conference weekend; be aware you will have to pay dues in that section/council in order to submit. Visit the Call for Abstracts website for further information (scroll to Section on Medical Students, Residents & Fellowship Trainees): https://aap.confex.com/aap/2015/cfp.cgi
If you are interested but are not yet an AAP member, please contact busm.peds@gmail.com because AAP Membership for Massachusetts medical students is sponsored by the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Opportunity from UMass Med Students to Raise Awareness of the Importance of Childhood Vaccinations
Hey BUSM!
As you all have probably heard in the news (or experienced in your clinical rotations), a lot of parents are opting-out of vaccinating their children, as many organizations have questioned the safety and utility of the vaccines that we are using. Because of the expanding anti-vaccination movement, there are more unvaccinated communities today than there have been in recent history. This is weakening herd immunity and putting everyone at risk - particularly the young and immunocompromised.
We have seen several measles outbreaks occur in the US after vaccination rates started to decline here, and it’s very important for us to join the conversation to provide our future patients, friends, and family with accurate information about vaccines and their safety!
We are going to start a social media campaign for medical students (just starting at UMass Medical School and expanding to others in the area) with our slogan being “Keep Calm and Vaccinate.” There will be a Facebook group for all of us to join that will provide information (with reliable sources) about vaccine-preventable illnesses that you can share to all of your Facebook friends!
If any of you are interested in joining the Facebook group, please let us know via this Google doc, and let us know if you are interested in purchasing a t-shirt! The design of the t-shirt will include the logo that you see in the attachment. The more people that want a t-shirt, the cheaper it will be! Once we have an idea about price, we'll email out to those interested to give you final details.
https://docs.google.com/…/1R1wj-8mFmlu7JixlbvmWhA…/viewform…
Thanks everyone!
SNAP Challenge: 2/2-2/8
This year, BUSM SNACC is sponsoring the SNAP challenge to raise awareness of food insecurity and the food budget provided to families who receive SNAP. This relates nicely to the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Medical Students, Residents, and Fellows 2014-2015 Advocacy Campaign FACE Poverty. If you are interested in participating and writing about your experience on our blog, please email peds.busm@gmail.com
From BUSM SNACC:
SNAAC would like to invite you to join us in this year's SNAP CHALLENGE!
Opportunity for Mural Painting in the BMC PEDS Department!
From the BUSM Creative Arts Society (creativeartsbusm@gmail.com):
Thanks to the hard work of BUSM students, we have the great pleasure to announce that we will be adding a mural on the Peds floor of the BMC hospital. We will be holding multiple dates/times of one hour shifts to finish it, and you will have the opportunity to possibly pain with some of the kids. If you are interested please email creativeartsbusm@gmail.com. Sign up sheets will be going out soon.
Opportunity for Medical Students Interested in Medical Education
We would like to share a summer research opportunity for medical students interested in medical education. It would be a good project for a first-year medical student during the summer or for a rising fourth-year who is interested as doing a research/educational elective as part of their schedule before applying to residency. From Dr. Ariel Winn, Associate Program Director of the Boston Combined Residency Program and a Hospitalist at Boston Children's Hospital:
We are launching a pilot intern boot camp in June and are planning to study the project. I am looking for a medical student who may be interested in helping with the study (probably would involve data collection from families) from 6/24-7/28 of this year. It is a pretty ideal project for anyone interested in med ed because the data collection period is short and we would obviously include them in any publication, etc. It would be essentially a full time job during that period M-F.
If you are interested, please contact Dr. Winn directly at ariel.winn@childrens.harvard.edu or contact Dr. Thompson (rachel.thompson@bmc.org) and she will pass along your information to Dr. Winn.
BUSM PumpStart: New Service Learning Opportunity for Medical Students!
BUSM PumpStart is a student-led initiative to provide BUSM students the opportunity to teach hands-on didactic lessons of CPR to a population of local high school students, with the hope of inspiring younger students to pursue further healthcare involvement.
PumpStart aims to improve knowledge of CPR and increase exposure to healthcare careers among high school students. By targeting students at a younger age, we hope to empower them with vital and potentially life-saving education. PumpStart uses an established American Heart Association curriculum to give students the knowledge and skills they need to conduct CPR but does not offer CPR certifications.
PumpStart volunteers facilitate one hour CPR instructional sessions in Boston high schools. These sessions involve 20-30 high school students, and are structured around the Friends & Family Anytime CPR program from the American Heart Association. Volunteers show the video, reinforce the concepts of the video and demonstrate proper CPR technique. Volunteers break students into small groups and supervise hands-on practice on CPR manikins, making sure they understand how to properly perform the physical CPR technique.
Interested in joining PumpStart as a volunteer? Here are some things you should know:
- You will never be teaching alone - sessions will always be run by at least 2-3 PumpStart volunteers.
- You do not need any prior experience teaching or performing CPR.
- Your role involves providing fun and high quality education. You will be expected to know the material well and be able to answer questions the students have. This will all be reviewed at volunteer training sessions.
- As a volunteer, you have the opportunity to empower high school students with life-saving skills and to get them excited about medicine, EMS and the healthcare field in general. You will gain increased confidence in your own CPR knowledge/skills and in interacting with high school students about health-related topics.
For more information, please email busm.pumpstart@gmail.com
BUSM Peds Interest Group Newsletter
BUSM Pediatrics Interest Group Newsletter
Thank you for reading! We will use this bimonthly newsletter to share information about upcoming opportunities and events. For more regular updates, please visit our blog at https://sites.bu.edu/busmpeds/
Pediatrics Department Grand Rounds and Case of the Week
Medical students are invited to attend the Pediatrics Department’s weekly Grand Rounds (Thursdays) and Case of the Week (Fridays) from 8-9am. Grand Rounds are presentations on topics related to pediatrics such as recent pharmacological advances or advocacy campaigns. During Case of the Week, a physician presents a complicated case with related literature citations (think IP!). We have updated the spring sign-up to include speakers and topics for the grand rounds. Please sign up here to attend.
Shadowing in the Pediatrics Department
Thank you to our faculty advisor Dr. Rachel Thompson who has helped us assemble a list of BMC physicians whom students interested in shadowing can contact. Please visit our blog to find the excel spreadsheet with contact information.
Pediatrics Department Research
We are excited to help connect students interested in research opportunities in pediatrics with mentors. We will continue to share opportunities with students. Please check our blog for updates.
Pediatric Mentorship Program
The Peds Board is in the process of developing a mentorship/buddy program between Pediatric residents and students keen on entering Pediatrics. Stay tuned to our blog and emails for more details in the near future!
List Serve for Students Interested in Pediatrics
If you have not yet subscribed to our list serve, please email busmpeds@gmail.com to indicate that you would like to be added. We will use this list to share opportunities related to pediatrics. Please also use this to share any opportunities that you find related to pediatrics. To send a message to the group, you
Upcoming Events
- Peds Interest Group leadership applications for the 2015-2016 school year are due January 23rd at 11:59pm. An email was sent on January 9th to all first-year students. Email peds.busm@gmail.com if you have any questions.
- Watch your email for information about CHAP (Child Health and Advocacy Project), a funded opportunity for medical students to design and execute and advocacy project during the summer between their first and second year of medical school.
Opportunities for Students
- Interested in serving on the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics Immigrant Child Health Committee? Dr. Julia Koehler, the committee chair, is looking for medical student to serve on the committee. Please email her at Julia.koehler@childrens.harvard.edu if you are interested.
- Want to write for the PEDS blog? Please email peds.busm@gmail.com. We are looking for short pieces about events that you have attended or projects that you are working on related to pediatrics.
- Interested in writing an article for the American Academy of Pediatrics Medical Student News? Learn more here. Email aapmedstudentnews@gmail.com if you have an idea for an article.
- Want to organize a 2015 pediatrics interest group lunch talk or event? Email peds.busm@gmail.com with your idea for a topic, speaker, or event.
Sun Jan 18: Hear Marian Wright Edelman Speak in Boston!
Founder of the Children's Defense Fund and accomplished child advocate Marian Wright Edelman will speak on January 18th at Trinity Church near Copley Square.
From the Boston Calendar Website:
To spotlight what our Rector, the Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd, calls “the urgent issue of our time,” Trinity Church will be hosting the inaugural Anne B. Bonnyman Symposium – “We Still Have a Dream: End Racism,” produced by a subcommittee of the Anti-Racism Team. Free and open to the public, the program, featuring nationally recognized speakers, will include opportunities to discuss barriers to equality as well as to learn spiritually sustaining practices individuals and communities can adopt to help recognize, root out and resist the effects of systemic racism. Events throughout the day will include:
• Keynote by Marian Wright Edelman, founder of Children’s Defense Fund
• Sermons by Bishop Michael Curry of North Carolina at 9:00 am and 11:15 am services.
• Panel Discussion with Marian Wright Edelman, Bishop Michael Curry, Reverend Liz Walker, Debbie Irving (Waking Up White), Randy Testa (educator, author); moderated by Barbara Dortch-Okara
• Music, food, discussion, and commitments going forward!
Shadowing Opportunities in the Pediatrics Department
Thank you to our faculty advisor Dr. Rachel Thompson for recruiting faculty members willing to have medical students shadow. Please consult the attached spreadsheet for information about physicians at BMC who have volunteered. Students have commented that shadowing allows them to see the clinical applications of their basic science courses and learn about different specialties within pediatrics. Thank you so much to all of our physician volunteers who are so generous with their time!
Click here to view the spreadsheet with contact info: PEDS Shadowing_Jan20