Medicine Students Advocate in Nation’s Capital

From March 5-7, first-year Northeast Ohio Medical University students Nupur Goel and Megha Gupta represented NEOMED’s student chapter at the American Medical Association (AMA) Medical Advocacy Regional Conference in Washington, D.C.  Goel contributed this reflection on the experience.

When medical students from around the country came together recently to learn about lobbying techniques and AMA platforms, Nupur Goel (photo, right) and Megha Gupta (photo, left) had the opportunity to listen and talk with Rep. Brad Wenstrup, D.P.M., from Ohio; Sen. John Barrasso, M.D., from Wyoming; and Rep. Kim Schrier, M.D., from Washington state.

The three members of Congress all had fulfilling and stable careers practicing medicine before taking public office. Dr. Wenstrup is a podiatrist and served as a combat surgeon during a tour in Iraq. Dr. Barrasso is an orthopedic surgeon; Dr. Schrier is a pediatrician. Each physician talked about their love for medicine, the unexpected route to becoming a public figure and the importance of layperson advocacy. A piece of advice they all gave: When running for public office, “be an expert on something else first.”

Meeting Ohioans

Goel and Gupta also had the privilege of meeting with the offices of senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, as well as Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, from Ohio.

As constituents from Ohio, Goel and Gupta were able to interact with Ohio members of Congress and advocate for AMA-specific legislation. This legislation included expanding telemedicine to rural areas; increasing the number of graduate medical education programs and cap flexibility for residency programs; and advocating for medical marijuana research.

Goel and Gupta were able to draw upon their experiences of attending NEOMED, as well as work alongside other Ohio medical students to advocate for issues close to home.

This experience also allowed Goel and Gupta to network with medical students and physicians from across the country, as well as to represent NEOMED’s AMA chapter on a national scale. Both Goel and Gupta are extremely grateful to the American Medical Association for creating such meaningful opportunities and to NEOMED for promoting their students to engage in such experiences.

Photo L to R: First-year College of Medicine student Megha Gupta, third-year College of Medicine student Hari Iyer, first-year College of Medicine student Nupur Goel.