29th Asian Medical Students’ Conference Day 2
Today we hear from David Humphreys (Australia delegate) and Sam Liu (UK delegate) about their experiences of day 2 of AMSC 2008.
Photo courtesy of Kai Yuen Wong
This morning saw the official opening of the 29th AMSC currently taking place in Tokyo, Japan.
The occasion represented the culmination of nearly two years of hard work and dedication by a remarkable organising committee led by Ms Waka Shibata, a final year medical student from Jichi Medical University. In her welcome message to delegates, Ms Shibata describes the conference academic program as providing “knowledge that cannot be learnt in [medical school] lectures or textbooks.” Delegates will certainly embrace such an approach with open arms.
Following the ceremony’s formalities, the opening keynote address was delivered to the conference delegation by Dr Shigeru Omi. Based in Manila, Dr Omi is the Regional Director of the WHO’s Western Pacific Office. An expert in global Public Health, Dr Omi will shortly retire from his position following ten years of service to the WHO in his role as Regional Director.
In his address, Dr Omi cited examples such as the eradication of poliomyelitis from the Western Pacific region as successful initiatives by the world’s leading public health body during recent years. Yet in consideration of the conference theme of Non-Communicable Disease and Health Promotion, Dr Omi was quick to articulate the important challenges that lie ahead.
Such is the case for the Western Pacific region, as with many other communities around the world, as modernizing societies begin to come to terms with the associated burden of chronic disease. Among questions from the floor in response to Dr Omi’s address, it was raised whether the WHO will be equipped to meet such a challenge – be it in the context of surveillance or health promotional activities – and what students can do to raise awareness in their own communities.
This last request is indicative of the collective passion of students in seeking to engage with the issues and enact social change themselves. Beyond national borders, health care systems and medical education programs, it is encouraging to see that the will to help alleviate suffering is universally present.
From afternoon small-group discussion sessions it became clear that the burden of non-communicable disease is no longer confined to the most developed nations. Groups consisted of approximately 15 students from over 10 different nations, and discussions considered the rates and prevalence of chronic diseases and the educational and preventative measures in place to mitigate the impact of such morbidity on the various societies represented.
As national health systems struggle to meet the challenges of chronic disease in the face of aging populations, a shift of focus to prevention is both important and urgent. There are many approaches – from increased emphasis on primary care provision and support for early screening programs, to remodeling health systems to target social determinants of health – that will invariably be considered and discussed during forthcoming days. Regardless of method however, it is encouraging to witness the clear call for increased emphasis to be placed upon health promotion activities in mobilizing populations to be educated and informed while taking responsibility for their personal health and wellbeing.
-David Humphreys, Australia delegate
Today was the opening ceremony and I was surprised to learn that the conference had been the culmination of nearly one and a half years of work. The Japanese have always been renowned for their attention to detail and such qualities were certainly displayed today. Furthermore, their hard-working lifestyle was evident even as we arrived in Japan the day before yesterday when we witnessed midnight trains still packed with suit-wearing businessmen.
Dr. Shigeru Omi’s lecture on global health promotion was inspirational enough to almost persuade me to change my direction of career development from orthopaedics to international health.
The afternoon group discussion resembled case studies we frequently encounter in the Professional Development Spine (PDS) of my medical training. I was thus surprised to discover that delegates from many other countries found the experience of such discussions novel and exciting. Indeed, there are so many opportunities to learn new things and I look forward to learning more from other delegates.
-Sam Liu, UK delegate
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