Medicine students earn People’s Choice Award at OSMA competition
May 22, 2024
Michael Massey and James Moore, third-year students in the College of Medicine, earned the People’s Choice Award in the Medical Student Abstract Poster Competition during the annual meeting of the Ohio State Medical Association (OSMA).
Their poster, titled “Abolishing the Medical Debt of Akron Residents,” shared the success of their community advocacy efforts. In November 2022, Massey, Moore and other NEOMED students initiated conversations with the Akron City Council, proposing the use of American Rescue Plan funding to abolish medical debt for Akron residents via the nonprofit RIP Medical Debt. This organization uses private donations to purchase discounted bundles of medical debt, clearing an estimated $100 of debt for every dollar donated. Following their initial meeting, the students maintained contact with city council members, regularly participated in municipal meetings, connected local officials to helpful resources, and interfaced with the Akron Beacon Journal to promote the project. In March 2023, students organized their peers and physicians to provide public comment testimony, published an op-ed on this issue and saw the passage of an ordinance that resulted in $500,000 in funding for medical debt relief in Akron.
The OSMA annual meeting provides students with an opportunity to enhance their reputation both within and outside their institutions — and to network with physicians about policy, research, career interests and more. Ohio medical students were invited to submit an abstract for poster competition. Of 58 abstracts, 18 posters were presented during the OSMA Annual Meeting.