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Med Students Recognized for Commitment to Community Service

ALBANY, N.Y., August 27, 2007-Albany Medical College's Family Practice Club was recently awarded the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Program of Excellence Award for its commitment to community outreach. The College received the award at the Academy's annual conference in Kansas City, MO, where medical students presented on best practices.

"We are proud of our medical students' history of volunteering countless hours to educate and to provide exceptional care to the residents of this community. This award is well-deserved and serves as a valuable recognition of our students' hard work and dedication," said Henry Pohl, M.D., vice dean for academic administration at Albany Medical College.

The Family Practice Club (FP Club) is a student-run group at Albany Medical College designed to expose students to the various aspects of family medicine and primary care. Nearly half of the Medical College's student body (250 students) participates in the Club.

Various FP Club activities include Tar Wars, an effort to educate elementary students on the harmful effects of tobacco; Apple Wars, a childhood obesity prevention program targeting fourth and fifth grade students; Kids MD, an effort to help young children feel more comfortable in the medical environment and to introduce health care as a career; and sexual health education for local high school students, to name a few.

The FP Club's activities also include Project Medscope (Medical Students Community Outreach for Prevention and Education), which serves to provide quality health care to those in greatest need in the neighborhoods surrounding the Medical College; introduce medical students to the challenges facing the underserved; and give students the education and tools they need to provide free health care at five shelters in the community.

"This exposure to their community and the experience they gain working with the underserved will make our medical students more well-rounded physicians," said Pohl. "It's more than knowledge and skill; it's about compassion and understanding - a valuable lesson that stays with them throughout their medical careers."

The Program of Excellence Awards were developed in 1999 as a means of recognizing the top 10 medical colleges in the areas of infrastructure, student involvement/student retention, family medicine advocacy and community outreach/patient advocacy. Albany Medical College was one of the first recipients of the Award that year.

Albany Medical College, which was founded in 1839 as one of the nation's first private medical schools, has nearly 700 students. The College trains medical students and provides continuing medical education programs for area physicians. In addition to medical degrees, the College also offers Master's, doctoral and postdoctoral programs in the basic and clinical sciences, which includes educating nurse anesthetists and physician assistants.