APSA Newsletter - Phi Psi, 2007 Fall, Volume 2, No. 2

From the Editors

Kofi Mensah and Kim Gannon, APSA Newsletter Co-editors and APSA Public Relations Committee Members

• Login or become a member to post comments
• Read more

We are pleased to bring you the latest APSA newsletter, our first as editors. It is our aim that this will not only be a source of medical and research information for all physician scientists, but also an opportunity to get to know one another outside of the annual meeting. This issue contains a message from our current president, Freddy Nguyen, and features the highlights of several meetings. We have included a box reminding students of upcoming meeting and grant deadlines. A new feature of the newsletter will be the results of the surveys of APSA members. The results of the surveys will be published in an attempt to get to know one another and gain a better understanding of other programs, and the way they work. Guest contributors are always welcome in the newsletter! We would also like to highlight individuals or interesting aspects of your programs. Other articles will be added as we progress, and we are always open to suggestions. Contact us if you'd like to contribute.

From the President

Freddy Nguyen, APSA President (2007-2008)

• Login or become a member to post comments
• Read more

As the new academic year is now well underway and fall has finally arrived, the APSA has been very active in the last few months. As the organization for physicianscientist trainees, we have continued to expand our presence and impact on a national and international scale by representing, advocating, and developing resources and opportunities for physicianscientist trainees. Our new leadership is now firmly in place and our standing committees are working diligently on everything from planning the Annual Meeting to working to increase the number institutes that participate in the NIH F30 Fellowship application to putting together this very newsletter you are reading.

Operation Double Doc: In Reverse?

Shyam A. Patel, Institutional Representative (2007-08), University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - New Jersey Medical School

• Login or become a member to post comments
• Read more

Fumitaka Hayashi is a second-year medical student who is already a "doctor." How, you ask? He has a PhD in immunology, and he is currently attending medical school to gain a better perspective on clinical science. Thus, he will graduate as a PhD, MD rather than MD, PhD. Subtle difference? Think again.

Dr. Hayashi has much to offer to fellow medical students who have limited knowledge in the sciences. Dr. Hayashi believes that his training in science has helped him greatly in the critical thinking involved in medical school. Sure, we can all memorize details in medical school, but few of us have a global perspective on 21stcentury science as it relates to the clinic. Therefore, numerous medical students (including myself) go to Dr. Hayashi for advice on the "big picture" of medicine and science. For example, frequent questions that arise include:

A Short Hop across the Pond to the French MD-PhD Retreat - Scientific Journeys 2007

Freddy Nguyen, President and Founder, American Physician Scientists Association

• Login or become a member to post comments
• Read more

This year, the APSA has been fortunate enough to be invited to a number of MD-PhD and physicianscientist related conferences both in the US and abroad. These conferences have given us the opportunity not only to present APSA, the organization, but to also voice to others the most pressing issues facing physician-scientist trainees in the United States. Through these interactions, we hope to advocate for our training and to foster a national and international community amongst physician-scientist trainees. However, what these meetings have shown us is that there are certainly some very universal issues along with country-specific issues. These international opportunities are of interest to the APSA since it is estimated that 5-7% of the MD-PhDs trained in the US are international students and/or carry dual-citizenship. Just as an example, on our executive council of 11, two of us carry dual citizenship and an additional international student.

Our Colleagues in Canada

Stephen Magill, APSA Public Relations Committee Chairperson

• Login or become a member to post comments
• Read more

APSA's newest partner is our counterpart organization to the north, the Clinician Investigator Trainee Association of Canada (CITAC). I had the privilege of speaking at their inaugural annual meeting this fall in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are a similar organization to ours, but are just getting started. There are roughly 200 MD/PhD trainees in seventeen programs spread across Canada. In addition to MD/PhD training, Canada has MD-plus programs, which support MD/MSc training. The annual meeting was attended by 50 trainees from across the country-an astounding 25% turnout! This is an important time for CITAC as they are working to get there organization off the ground. They held their first annual meeting in conjunction with the Canadian Society of Clinical Investigation's (CSCI) annual meeting. The meeting featured a range of speakers, including a program director and individuals at all levels of training.

So... Who Are We?

Kim Gannon, APSA Public Relations Committee Member and Newsletter Co-editor So... Who Are We?

• Login or become a member to post comments
• Read more

Beginning this fall, we have begun a demographic study of the members of APSA and the physician-scientists at schools across the country. Each newsletter will present a brief window into the lives of our peers since we currently really only have one chance during the year to meet each other. The first survey that was sent out collected general demographic information about us. For this survey, we had 262 replies (Currently there are 777 APSA members), so the results of the survey reflect 34% of our membership. The following results represent data collected only from those responding to this survey. Of the respondents, over half of physician-scientists in training are males (55.9%). Most students are single, regardless of sex (66.9%). First year medical students and second year graduate students each accounted for 16.1% of the respondents.