Senator Roland Burris Joins SNMA for the Annual Medical Education Conference

Online, March 18, 2010 (Newswire.com) - WASHINGTON, DC -- On Friday, April 2, Senator Roland Burris (D-IL) will address medical and pre-medical students of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) during the Annual Medical Education Conference. Sen. Burris will be a panelist for the plenary session entitled, "Advocacy and Health Care Policy, A New Era for Medicine." The plenary session will be held at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers in the Chicago Ballroom at 5:30 pm.

The plenary session will educate the students on ways physicians can take part in shaping policy and encourage their involvement. There will also be open discussion on current and future health policy, addressing the ongoing debate in congress now.

Panelist joining Sen. Burris include, Dr. Damon Arnold, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health; Dr. Cedric Dark, Founder and Executive Editor of Policy Prescriptions, an online news medium covering the politics of evidence-based health care; Dr. Mark Liebow, physician at Mayo Clinic and health policy scholar; and Dr. Linda Murray, President-Elect of the American Public Health Association and Chief Medical Officer at the Cook County Department of Public Health & Hospital System.

Themed, "Healthy Impact 2010: Educate. Advocate. Empower," the 2010 Annual Medical Education Conference will focus on providing members with the tools to bring about a healthier and more equitable health care system. Workshops and presentations will cover academic preparedness, in depth discussion on health care equality, and developing strategies to make an impact among other social/political topics.