The COVID-19 pandemic did not stop members from across the Duke University School of Medicine from attending the 2020 Annual Medical Education Conference (AMEC) virtually, with an amazing showing of faculty, staff, students, and leadership. The AMEC, organized by the Student National Medical Association (SNMA), in partnership with the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) held their annual virtual conference and exhibit fair on an online platform this year to reduce physical interaction and the spread of COVID-19.
This event enabled SNMA to utilize the latest in online platforms to host workshops and programs and engage in an innovative virtual exhibit fair tailored specifically for SNMA members and attendees. The School's Office of Diverstiy and Inclusion seized the opportunity to utilize CareerEco, an online platform used for virtual exhibit fairs to set up a Duke School of Medicine profile, create a chat schedule for participants and utilize a virtual cloud-based feature to include literature describing and promoting our medical school, residency programs, specialties, and other service opportunities.
The connections made at this conference help facilitate Duke’s recruitment efforts. The platform provides participant contact information that we then share with their departments of interest. Program coordinators and directors are able to follow up with students and also and look out for them when they apply for away rotations through VSAS and residency through ERAS.
Operating in this new virtual environment was a learning experience for everyone . However the experience and results were positive, and team members learned a lot about what’s possible when necessity, opportunity and talent converge.
Forty-three team members from the following 11 departments/areas from the Duke University School of Medicine participated in this year's virtual conference:
- Admissions
- Dermatology
- Internal Medicine
- Master of Biomedical Sciences
- Minorities to Majorities
- Neurology
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- the Office of Diversity and Inclusion
- Ophthalmology
- Orthopaedics
- Pediatrics
In total the event had more than 500 total fair participants, with more than 50 members attending Duke virtual platforms.
The SNMA is the oldest and largest independent, student-run organization focused on the needs and concerns of black medical students in the United States. Its Annual Medical Education Conference (AMEC) has emerged as a cornerstone activity for the SNMA and the medical school community; an event in which both students and professionals have gathered with enthusiasm to attend a wide range of educational and networking events.