Learn, Serve, Lead AAMC Conference

Akhila Narla, MD
MGH Internal Medicine
PGY-1

At the latest AAMC conference taking place in sunny Phoenix, Arizona, the excitement around the theme of "Learn Serve Lead" was palpable in the packed conference rooms and buzzing attendees moving throughout the various presentations and exhibits (Image 1). Several inspiring figures from inside and outside of medicine gathered to discuss the importance of how academic medicine can truly play its part in creating a bright future for healthcare in the broadest sense. Bryan Stevenson, public interest lawyer and author of Just Mercy, gave an impassioned speech regarding his 

Learn Serve Lead Welcome

commitment to social justice, illustrating his journey that brought him to a career challenging bias in the criminal justice system. Bryan Stevenson, who I have heard speak in college and in medical school, managed to strike a chord yet again with me as he spoke during the plenary session of this conference that I attended recently as an internal medicine resident. He relayed his inspiration for what he does. He reiterated that "we have to get proximate", something we are blessed with in medicine as we witness the lives of patients in tragedy and triumph, and particularly when we get close and up front with the communities we wish to serve.

The conference allowed us to hear from leaders across fields, including patient perspectives from scholar Dr. Kate Bowler on what providers

"Faith, Morality, and Mortality: Everything Happens" session

could have done to help her through her tragedy and triumph as she relayed her own experiences (Image 2). Attending was a wonderful experience to expand my horizons regarding what several people are working on through their career trajectories in medicine and where we can improve in our day to day jobs. I left feeling reenergized and empowered to be able to use my career to promote health equity.