AMSA teaches "LGBT Acceptance: 101" to New York Medical College

The American Medical Student Association (AMSA), the nation's largest, independent medical student organization, is outraged at the recent action by New York Medical College (NYMC) to ban a student group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students and has organized an on-campus "teach-in" entitled, "LGBT Acceptance: 101," on Thursday, January 27, 2005.

At the start of the academic year, the LGBT student group, previously named, Student Support Group, changed its name to the "Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender People in Medicine." Due to the modification, the NYMC administration revoked the charter, taking away funding and other benefits. Dr. Ralph O'Connell, NYMC provost and dean states, "�it was clear that the organization and its leader would advocate and promote activities inconsistent with the values of NYMC."

O'Connell has not responded to formal meeting requests from AMSA or the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.

Last week, Dr. Joshua Lipsman, Westchester County Health Commissioner and NYMC professor, resigned his faculty status at the college to protest the school's decision. Lipsman is invited to address the students at Thursday's event.

"The actions taken by NYMC are inconsistent with the goals of medical education. Instead of creating more discrimination, there needs to be awareness of the health needs of LGBT patients," says Dr. Brian Palmer, AMSA national president. "By disbanding its LGBT student group, NYMC harms both its own students and their future patients. Prospective students should seriously evaluate the quality of medical education they would receive at a school that openly discriminates."

AMSA consists of many subgroups, including a national committee for LGBT people in medicine. The organization's Student Bill of Rights includes both the right of students to organize themselves and the right to be free from discrimination based on sexual orientation, as well as race, age, religion, disability, gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

"Medical education must provide opportunities that reduce bias and enhance tolerance and understanding in order to eliminate health disparities," continues Palmer.

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Top School for Medical Assisting Degrees - Los Angeles, CA

Located about eight miles from Los Angeles in Monterey Park, California, East Los Angeles College offers a degree in Medical Assisting. Students may earn an Associate in Science or an Associate in Arts in Medical Assisting.

East Los Angeles College in Lost Angeles, California

East Los Angeles College is a two-year college serving the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley community. It offers courses that prepare students for admission to four-year colleges and universities and occupational programs that take two years or less to complete. The college's student body is multi-cultural and international. East Los Angeles College offers the following program in Medical Assisting:

• Associate in Science or Associate in Arts in Medical Assisting: East Los Angeles College's two-year Medical Assisting program prepares students for careers in hospitals, community medical facilities and doctors' offices. Students earn an Associate in Arts or an Associate in Science, depending on the option they pursue. The program offers three options: medical assistant, community health worker or medical secretary. The medical assistant and the community health worker options lead to an Associate in Science in Medical Assisting degree. The medical secretary option leads to an Associate in Arts in Medical Assisting degree. The medical assistant option prepares students for administrative tasks such as maintaining medical records, scheduling patients, dealing with insurance issues, assisting with medical exams and taking patients' histories. The community health worker option prepares students for careers in community health, acting as liaisons between patients and hospitals, clinics and community health agencies. The medical secretary option allows students to pursue secretarial positions in doctors' offices, hospitals and medical organizations. Typical courses for all options in East Los Angeles College's Medical Assisting Program are as follows:
  
  • Human Biology
  • Medical Terminology
  • Hospital Ethics and Law
  • Oral Communication
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School of Medicine

New York Medical College owes its founding in 1860 to the vision of a group of civic leaders in New York City who believed that medicine should be practiced with greater sensitivity to the patients. The group, led by William Cullen Bryant, the noted poet and editor of the Evening Post, was particularly concerned with the condition of hospitals and medical education. Bryant was zealously devoted to the branch of medicine known as homeopathy, which, among its tenets, advocated moderation in medicinal dosage, exercise, a good diet, fresh air and rest in treating illness. The school opened its doors on the corner of 20th street and Third Avenue as the New York Homeopathic Medical College.At the College’s first session, there were 59 students and a faculty of 8. By its fifth year of operation the College’s reputation had grown and the student body included representatives from 12 states and the Canadian provinces.

Today, the School of Medicine admits an average class size of 190 students each year. Our successful applicants have excellent grades and high MCAT scores, as well as a demonstrated commitment to medicine. We especially focus our academic efforts on Primary Care, empathy for the patient and basic medical research. There is much more to learn about both the School of Medicine and the University as a whole. Areas that might prove interesting for further reading are the School of Medicine's on-line publications and the University's welcome web pages.

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