This is an amazing group everyone. Many of the most influential black surgeons in the US are part of this group. You can check out the link below, but basically, SBAS is an amazing networking opportunity for URMs, and I would advise everyone that can make it to their conference at Rush University in April to go!

http://www.sbas.net/index.htm

Some members include:

Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall Jr, MD (many firsts to his name)
Dr. Derrick Beech (head of Dept. of surgery at Meharry)
Dr. Steven Stain (head of Dept. of surgery at Albany and Director of American Board of Surgery)
Dr Debra Ford (vice chair of the HU hospital dept. of surgery and chief of general surgery at Howard)

and there are many other good ones. They actually have a special day during their conference for undergrads to come, so take advantage of it!!!

P.S.- Make sure you dowload these PDFs to learn more about it:
http://www.sbas.net/pdf/SBASnwsltr_Fall06.pdf
http://www.sbas.net/pdf/SBASnwsltr_Fall06.pdf

I would like to go, but I will most likely be splitting my time between WDC and NJ that week and weekend.

Hey everyone. Check out my blog below to read about my experiences at SBAS this past weekend. EVERYONE interested in surgery should go next year!!!

http://doctajay.com/?p=142

Hey everyone. Check out my blog below to read about my experiences at SBAS this past weekend. EVERYONE interested in surgery should go next year!!!

Once again, I was socked in by weekend call. Just reading your blog brought back wonderful memories. Dr. Cornwell was the commencement speaker at my graduation. He graduated from HUCM in 1982 and is the chief of trauma surgery at Hopkins. He is also an innovator in trauma prevention (one of my interests).

Dr. Terrance Fullum is a pioneer in laparoscopic surgery. He is a Howard grad, former faculty member at Howard and a joy to work with. When I was a student, on rotation at Providence, he was my attending.

A key element in getting the best training possible is to network with people who are leaders in your specialty. Surgery is done by apprenticeship from mentor to apprentice. Finding a good mentor and staying in touch with a good mentor is key to professional development. Doctajay has outlined some of the first steps for any medical student and that is getting out to these types of meeting and meeting people i.e. networking.

As you are going through medical school, meeting like the SBAS keep your dreams alive. You see the possibilites and you see the tangible results of those endless hours of studing biochem, physio, path and anatomy. If you start out strong, you will finish strong.

When I started at University of Virginia, there were three black attendings in the entire hospital (none were female). There were three black residents with two of them being female. URM physicians make up a little more than 6% of the entire physician workforce in the United States currently. When you attend a meeting of a national organization like SBAS, you gain valuable insight and you can meet a future mentor.

Although I am not particularly interested in surgery it sounds like after leaving this conference I would be. Thank you for your insight into the program, I honestly did not know events like this existed until you posted. :D

This conference is being held in Cleveland, OH next weekend. The cost of registration for a student is $25. I have spoken with Dr. Anthony Stallion who is the coordinator of this conference. He will personally meet with any SDN students who are planning to attend and make sure that they meet all of the movers and shakers at this conference.

You will meet many of the outstanding leaders in surgery in this country today as they are slated to be speakers here. In addition, this conference is small enough that you will have personal one-on-one time with them.

I am going to be in and out as I am speaking at another conference in Cleveland on this weekend but I will definitely attend major parts of this conference.

Hotel rates in Cleveland are very cheap (you can stay at a Days Inn down the street from this conference site for less than $50 per night if you don't want to stay onsite.

This is a great opportunity to meet individuals such as Dr. LaSalle Leffall, Jr (first AA president of the American College of Surgeons), Dr. Eddie Cornwell, III (chief of trauma services at Hopkins), Dr. L.D. Britt (author of one of the top surgical texts in use today), Dr Clive Callender (transplant surgeon) and many others.

I don't need to tell anyone that a letter from physicians of this caliber would be a huge boost to any medical school application whether you are interested in surgery or not.

I hope to see some of you there. (Cheap flights in and out of Cleveland too).

This conference is being held in Cleveland, OH next weekend. The cost of registration for a student is $25. I have spoken with Dr. Anthony Stallion who is the coordinator of this conference. He will personally meet with any SDN students who are planning to attend and make sure that they meet all of the movers and shakers at this conference.

You will meet many of the outstanding leaders in surgery in this country today as they are slated to be speakers here. In addition, this conference is small enough that you will have personal one-on-one time with them.

I am going to be in and out as I am speaking at another conference in Cleveland on this weekend but I will definitely attend major parts of this conference.

Hotel rates in Cleveland are very cheap (you can stay at a Days Inn down the street from this conference site for less than $50 per night if you don't want to stay onsite.

This is a great opportunity to meet individuals such as Dr. LaSalle Leffall, Jr (first AA president of the American College of Surgeons), Dr. Eddie Cornwell, III (chief of trauma services at Hopkins), Dr. L.D. Britt (author of one of the top surgical texts in use today), Dr Clive Callender (transplant surgeon) and many others.

I don't need to tell anyone that a letter from physicians of this caliber would be a huge boost to any medical school application whether you are interested in surgery or not.

I hope to see some of you there. (Cheap flights in and out of Cleveland too).


Wow thanks for the info I wont be able to make it this year but is the conference every year in April??? if so i will definately plan on making it next year without a doubt.