Is Sexual Assault Discussed in Your Medical School? Your Help Needed on Survey to Shape Medical Education
Amanda Wingle, AMWA Member
1 in 6 women, and 1 in 33 men, will be the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her/his lifetime. Survivors of sexual assault face a variety of physical and mental health issues, yet research shows that the topic is rarely discussed during the preclinical years of medical school. With this in mind, Amanda Wingle (Albany Medical College '14) and the AMC chapter of AMWA are conducting a survey to evaluate whether or not sexual assault awareness education is offered in the first or second year of medical school; and if so, if it is effective. Please fill out the survey and e-mail the link to your fellow medical students (all four classes; both AMWA and non-AMWA members): http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MJSKM22.
In addition, Amanda and AMC AMWA are working with Albany County Crime Victim and Sexual Violence Center and the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault to develop a curriculum to be used during the first or second year of medical school. The topic of the curriculum is how health care providers can screen for and/or respond to a patient disclosure of sexual assault. Currently Amanda and AMC AMWA are in need of "test sites" for the curriculum to be presented so its effectiveness may be evaluated. If you are interested in presenting the curriculum at your medical school, or if you have questions, please e-mail Amanda Wingle at winglea@mail.amc.edu. HINT: this makes a great AMWA event -- it is only about one hour long and could be easily presented during lunchtime or after classes.
Apply for the Women's Empowerment Symposium (WES) for career and leadership development
Lissa Yu and Nupur Agrawal, AMWA WES Coordinators
Interested in Women's Empowerment? Join us on Friday, October 14th, for the Women's Empowerment Symposium, a pre-conference event held in conjunction with American Medical Student Association (AMSA). A fun-filled day of speakers, workshops, and discussions about women as leaders in medicine and beyond, the Symposium will be held the day before AMSA's Empowering Future Physicians Conference at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. You must be an AMSA member to attend the full conference (events held through Sunday) but may attend the Symposium as a member of either National AMWA or National AMSA. TRAVEL GRANTS available for AMWA members!
Please click here for more info.
Or email Nupur Agrawal, AMWA WES Coordinator.
Spotlight On... Women in Medicine
Happy September: it's the AMA's Women in Medicine month. Have a look at the press release here.
Want to learn more about benefits to women included in the Affordable Care Act? Raising Women’s Voices is a great resource for you and your patients, with fact sheets detailing the top 10 changes in the ACA that positively impact women.
AMWA Accolades
We recognize and congratulate the amazing accomplishments of AMWA members and branches across the country, and we'd love to share yours! Email AMWA Secretary Lauren Wolchok at secretary@amwa-student.org to be included.
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Amanda Wingle, a student at Albany Medical College, has recently made a breakthrough in incorporating women's health into the medical school curriculum. AMC administration expressed interest in the Violence Against Women Awareness Week lectures that AMC AMWA had put together. Some tireless advocacy by Amanda Wingle has led to the "Sexual Assault Awareness & Treatment" lecture now being a required part of the second-year curriculum. This is a huge stride forward for AMWA! Encourage your local branch to follow suit, and look out for ways that you can help Amanda Wingle in future editions of AMWA Student NewsFlash as she continues her work. Also check out her survey featured in this newsletter edition.
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