Conference

2020 has truly been a year of Change— from planning an in-person conference at UCSF to going completely virtual, the National Conference has been an undeniably unique experience. With over 550 attendee registrations, our conference connected hundreds of passionate Asian American medical students, physicians/residents, healthcare professionals, pre-health students, and community members. Without you, our attendees, and APAMSA Directors, the National Conference would not have happened at all. Again, we thank everyone so much from the bottom of hearts.

We opened with our keynote speakers, Dr. Helen Chu and Dr. Leana Wen, who enchanted our audience with their personal experiences and genuine advice for the next generation of future Asian American physicians. The day continued with multiple workshops, such as Mental Health Illness in Asian Americans with Dr. Francis Lu, Dr. Descartes Li, Dr. Hendry Ton and Finding Your Voice as an Asian American Medical Professional with Dr. Sean Wu, that focused on the critical need for Asian American leadership in tackling health disparities. And as we are trying to find our APIA identity and solidarity, Dr. Alok Patel’s workshop, Media As Your Public Health Megaphone, and Dr. Monica Hahn and Dr. Michelle Lough’s workshop, Practicing Anti-Racism, emphasized how the medical community interacts with the public and echoed sentiments of tackling social justice issues. Although this is a short, limited recap, we are eternally grateful for all of our speakers and panelists who made the effort to impart their wisdom to our attendees.

Our highlights of the Research Poster Presentations, Big/Lil Meetup, Mentoring Mixer, etc. gathered us together to celebrate scientific breakthroughs and enjoy each other’s company. Check out all our wonderful research posters on our website link (click the Research tab). The Alumni and Pre-Medical Programming served to connect our residents and physicians and future medical student colleagues. The Alumni Anti-Racism Talk explored the importance of our duty as physicians to actively combat racism in our practice and daily lives. Pre-medical students learned how to open their own APAMSA Chapters and how to ace their medical school applications and interviews.

Lastly, the Annual Elections, Raffle, and Social ended the National Conference in a wholesome way by bringing us together one last time. Congratulations to all the chapters and individuals who were acknowledged for their commitment and passion. Enjoy the APAMSA Chapter Awards Video link and Senior Service Award Video link (videos made by Linh Vu). The full list of awardees and our new APAMSA National Board are below. Thank you again to all of you, our attendees and our APAMSA National Conference Directors, National Board, and UCSF Chapter. Although we miss the National Conference already, we are looking forward to the next time we will all meet again in 2022 and hopefully in-person.
Till then, please stay safe, healthy, and happy and keep on being Agents of Change.

Lastly, the Annual Elections, Raffle, and Social ended the National Conference in a wholesome way by bringing us

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