Thursday, August 16, 2018

LUCOM Dean and student-doctors attend AOA Policymaking Meeting

Thu, 16 Aug 2018Christopher Breedlove | LUCOM Marketing

Every summer, the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) hosts its Annual Business Meeting to gather its House of Delegates (HOD) from all over the country to consider proposed resolutions and enact new AOA-policies. Over 500 Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs) as well as medical students met this past July to elect new officers and celebrate the osteopathic profession. This year, the meeting took place at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile Hotel. Meetings are reserved for AOA members though video highlights, voted resolutions, and meeting minutes are posted shortly after for those unable to attend.

For LUCOM student-doctor Hannah Thompson, Class of 2021, this was her first visit to an AOA House of Delegates meeting. “I was pleasantly surprised at how informative the meeting was. I was able to not only interact with leaders from other osteopathic medical schools, but also numerous physicians across the nation,” she said. “We were able to attend sessions with both the Virginia Osteopathic Medical Association and the Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents and hear ideas from various COM’s across the nation as well as issues that are affecting us as future physicians at the state and national level.”

During each AOA HOD meeting, hundreds of resolutions are discussed with numerous osteopathic medical student delegates in attendance. At every meeting, they are given the opportunity to address leadership and offer their personal input. “One resolution that stood out to me the most was on encouraging education and advocacy about sexual assault [prevention] and misconduct. Alongside students from numerous DO schools, we stood in support of this resolution passing and told stories of colleagues and friends that had encountered these issues in the past. It was incredibly moving to then see state societies stand in support of the students and their amendments to the resolution,” Thompson added.

From the beginning, LUCOM leadership has always encouraged and endorsed student participation in advocacy and advancing osteopathic education as well as the profession. Commenting on medical student attendance, LUCOM Dean Peter A. Bell, DO, said, “It’s important to engage our students early in the profession. They need to appreciate the broad scope of challenges faced in the delivery of high quality health care. It is our responsibility to train them to be competent leaders.”

Ultimately, the week-long event is packed with meetings, networking events, special dinners, keynote presentations, and bill proposals/resolutions. LUCOM student-doctor Antipas Marati, Class of 2021, also attended with Thompson for the first time, left feeling encouraged. “I would highly recommend other student delegates attend next summer. Being at the conference really impressed upon me how important it is to be politically active. The broad spectrum of issues covered at the conference is an eye opener as to how much that goes on in our world affects our (future) profession,” he said. “Our voices and opinions as medical students have a platform and the AOA just recently made changes based on our interests.”

“My hope is that students will continue to represent LUCOM and be involved in shaping and advocating for health policy and reform,” Thompson also said.

Mobile images below courtesy of and featuring LUCOM Dean Peter A. Bell, DO.