1st General Meeting

We held our first general meeting on August 9, 2008. Here's a summary of what we discussed:

1. Community Service
Last year we focused on Hepatitis B education and outreach. This year our focus will be bone marrow drives. Patients who need a bone marrow transplant are more likely to find a match with someone from their own race or ethnicity. Since Asians are currently underrepresented in the National Bone Marrow Registry, encouraging Asians to join the registry can increase the chances of finding a match for Asian patients. Our first bone marrow drive will be held at the TACAS Asian Health Fair in October. For more information, see www.marrow.org.

2. Conferences
The APAMSA National Conference and National Hepatitis B Conference will be held in October. We may be able to fund several members who are interested in attending, so let us know if you're interested.

3. Other Ideas
-connecting with Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore
-working with other Duke Asian graduate students and other graduate organizations
-working with Duke undergraduate population (mentoring? Team HBV collaborations?)
-mentoring program within APAMSA
-creating a database of local Asian physicians
-networking with other APAMSA chapters
-social events such as films or dinners

If you're interested in any of the above events/activities, let us know at dukemed.apamsa@gmail.com.