TouroCOM Students Travel to Albany to Advocate
Students Participate in DO Day on the Hill to Advocate for Medicine
Albany, N.Y. - As part of a first-time collaboration with the state’s leading medical society and their own osteopathic organization, students from the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM) traveled to Albany to participate in the annual Medical Society of the State of New York Advocacy Day in conjunction with the New York State Osteopathic Medical Society’s (NYSOM) “DO Day in Albany” -- where they joined forces to advocate for a variety of issues of importance to students and doctors alike.
Their agenda included proposing new legislation, written by NYSOMS, to ensure clinical clerkship slots for New York State medical students, and advocating that international medical schools be required to meet or exceed American medical education standards. They also supported legislation calling for transparency in the healthcare profession and opposed state legislation that would permit expanding the scope of retail clinics.
Shown in photo, right, are TouroCOM Harlem students with their dean, Robert Goldberg, DO, and students from the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM), at their appointment in Senator Bill Perkins’ office. Also participating in the day were 35 students from TouroCOM's Middletown campus.
"Advocating on behalf of osteopathic physicians and working with a variety of assembly members and representatives was an amazing experience and provided greater insight into the dynamics between medicine and politics," said Jay Zhang, a student at TouroCOM Middletown. "It was also an opportunity to build upon relationships amongst classmates and colleagues. The overall experience helped to develop a better understanding of different essential skills, including and not limited to, different methods of advocacy, the importance of teamwork, and the necessity for interprofessionalism."
