Win a Trip with Nicholas Kristof!

So I have to admit that Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn really won me over with Half the Sky. I brought the book advance before it even came out because I am really obsessed with the topic of international women's health. The Fall 2009 semester came and it was a mega doozy so I really only began to read this book seriously this winter break. I finished it and I LOVED this book. It was great because it was organized with anecdotes of Nick and Sheryl's actual experiences and women that they met as journalists. Then what I liked is that it went beyond this and also included information about people making a difference and felt like it was about empowerment and about starting a movement towards real change.

Anyway so I was looking at Nick's blog for the New York Times called, On the Ground, that I also posted on here. It was great because there is where I found out about this opportunity! You should definitely apply! Last years candidate was a medical student and it seemed like she had a great and eye opening experience travelling with Nick Kristof. I am going to see if I can find her email or something so I can maybe interview her for this blog to find out what that experience was like.

For now check this opportunity out! I think all you AMWA members out there should apply for this. There is so much good that you could do with such an opportunity:

1) It is an all expenses paid trip to not meet women abroad and find out what are the things that are going on in their lives

2) It is also an opportunity probably to make a direct difference in the lives of these women because although Nick Kristof is a journalist it seems like he always takes some sort of action in these most dire situations

Volunteer with Largest Global Health Conference

The largest global health organization is the Global Health Council. I do not have alot direct experience with this organization but I know that they do alot and that there annual conference is the largest global health conference.  Here is some information on how to volunteer at the conference from the website:

The Helping Handz Conference Volunteer program, now in its 37th year, is an important opportunity for Council members to directly contribute to the overall success of the conference program.

Student and professional volunteers assist in a number of conference administrative duties that are essential to daily conference operations.

Why Volunteer?

• Interact and network with more than 2500 global health and development specialists from over 85 countries
• Limited hours of service (8-10 minimum) allow you to make a significant contribution to the overall success of the conference, while being able to participate in sessions and events
• Meet new colleagues and have fun
• Receive a substantial registration discount

Who Should Volunteer?
All individuals with an interest in global health – students are especially encouraged to apply.
It's a benefit of Council membership! You must be or become a current Council member in order to volunteer. Non-members are not eligible, but may choose to become new members. If your organization is a member with an organizational dues level of $1,050 or above, you may qualify to become a member at no additional cost to you. Questions: Contact Kelly Gardner, Membership Assistant via e-mail at membership@globalhealth.org.

Student Members: It's like having a backstage pass!
This is a great opportunity to take advantage of the additional networking and learning opportunities that being a volunteer provides.

Groups of students from universities, schools of public health and student organizations are encouraged to volunteer.

Thanks so much to Misty for passing this on! 

MSF Global Health Film Event this Monday in Theatres

Check out the new Medicins San Frontiers (Doctors without Borders) trailer for their upcoming Film Event titled "Living in Emergency". It will be playing in theatres this Monday December 14, 2009 only. It will be an interesting look at global health career as lived on the ground. I could recognize Liberia (where I was born) in the trailer so I am assuming that at least some of it will be about the Liberian civil war. And it is. Tickets are available from the website, it is only a one day theatre showing so make sure to get your tickets soon!


Here is some information about the film:

"Filmed in the war-zones of Liberia and Congo with unprecedented access to the field operations of Doctors without Borders/Medecins San Fronteres (MS), LIVING IN EMERGENCY follows four volunteer doctors as they struggle to provide emergency medical care under extreme conditions.

Two volunteers are new recruits: a 26-year old Australian doctor stranded in a remote bush clinic and an American surgeon struggling to cope under the load of emergency cases in a shattered capital city.

Two others are experienced field hands: a dynamic Head of Mission, valiantly trying to keep morale high and tensions under control, and an exhausted veteran who has seen too much horror and wants out.

Admist the chaos, each volunteer must contront the severe challenges of the work, the tough choices and the limites of their own idealism.

The film is arw and very real depiction of the dilemmas facing MSF staff in the feild and the toll their work can take on them both personally and professionally. It is not a pretty film about MSF heroes or heroines. It is about the reality of aid work- blood and sweat, tough decision snad hard consequences, laughter and tears, cagarettes and beer, arguments and all."

AMWA National Conference 2010

The AMWA National Conference 2010 will be held on March 26-28, 2010 in Washington DC. It will be a great opportunity for students and there will be student specific programming. The student track looks like it will be AMAZING and if you notice there will be a special session on AMWA Global Health Initiatives. Check out the website:

http://www.bioconferences.com/Conferences/WomensHealth/index.aspx

Please take the time to look through the schedule for the Student Track (taken from the conference website):

AMWA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2010
OPTIONAL STUDENT TRACK
Saturday, March 27
Choice of Student Sessions or Women’s Health Congress Sessions
7:00am Congress Breakfast Symposium 8:30 - 9:00am Welcome & Opening Remarks – AMWA Student Track 9:00 -10:00am Keynote Speaker: "How to Balance It All"
10:00 -10:15am Break
10:15 -10:45am How to be Successful in your Academic Years
10:45 -11:15am How to be Successful in your Clinical Years
11:15am -12:00pm AMWA Partnerships: Building Bridges
12:00 -1:30pm Lunch and Student Elections
1:30 - 2:30pm AMWA Global Health Initiatives
2:30 - 3:15pm Managing the Cost of a Medical Education
3:15 - 3:30pm Break
3:30 - 4:30 pm The Hostile Work Environment: Gender Discrimination and
Sexual Harassment
4:30 - 4:45pm AWMA Incentives and Benefits
4:45 - 5:00pm Adjourn
5:30 - 6:30pm Mentoring Reception 7:00pm AMWA 95th Anniversary and Awards Gala
Student Quilt Presentation

Medical Women's International Conference (MWIA) w/ Student Programming

Check this out! It is the Medical Women's International (MWIA) Convention and it will be held in Munster, Germany on July 27 to July 31, 2010. The focuses of this year's conference, taken from their website will be:

Main topics of the meeting

The international scientific committee chose 4 main topics for the meeting in 2010. We felt that these would depict important global issues and would be of interest of medical doctor from all over the world too. These are: gender strategies, addiction, epidemic plagues and nutrition. Invited talks will cover topics such as gender strategies, gender based war violence, the addictive brain, internet addiction, TB-globalization and resistances, gender inequality and HIV prevention strategies, selfish brain: the origin of obesity and interventions for preventing obesity in children. More information you can find here.
Bettina Pfleiderer, 2009-09-06 13:10:00

What is even better is that there will be Student Programming specifically geared towards students (taken from the 2010 MWIA convention Student Page):

A special committee dedicated to young doctors and medical students has just started to plan various exciting activities for the world congress 2010 and will organize a special plenary session for young doctors and medical students, a special guided poster tour, as well as an informal get-together in a typical student pub. In the organizing team are a medical student, Katharina- Schütte-Nüttgen and three young medicals doctors themselves, namely Anne Grund M.D., Heike Beckmann M.D., and Inke Dönch M.D., and for the LOC, Bettina Pfleiderer (chairwomen of the International scientific committee). They are looking forward to seeing you in Münster!

There is options to get funding covered for lodging. This is definitely a great opportunity for all AMWA members. I know that AMWA student Executive Committee is working on expanding some opportunities with this conference, so keep looking out for information about that.

The Lancet Student Edition

I do not get to visit my favorite global health student magazine as much as I want to but it is awesome and I would like to share it with you. The Lancet Student is a great global health resource. Check it out at http://www.thelancetstudent.com/.

Please feel free to come back and comment so I can know what you think about it.

Enjoy!