Leadership Experience & Opportunities

[Yah-E]

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Ladies & Gents of Dentistry:

Have any of you heard of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) Leadership Training Program (LTP)? Well, please let me share with you what I have recently found and been accepted to. AMSA LTP is a week-long training program for dental and medical students. This year only 40 students will be accepted (20 dental and 20 medical). For more thorough info, please visit this site:

http://www.amsa.org/addm/#ltp

Applications are being accepted at this time and I applied about 10 days ago and was accepted last Friday. Here's the scoop:

1) you must be a current dental student
2) your Dental School Dean must nominate you and support your living and travel expenses
3) your Dental School Dean must write you a letter of recommendation
4) your Dental School Dean must complete a Dean Certification
5) you must complete the AMSA LTP application which includes answering to two essay questions:

Download the application here: http://www.amsa.org/addm/04LTPapp.doc

- Why is student leadership in primary care important? (500 words)
- Describe what you hope to learn about the health disparities through your participation in the Leadership Training Program. How will you share what you experience and learn with others? (500 words)

6) you must submit a copy of your current CV
7) The program is from August 2, 2004 through August 6, 2004
8) This year, the LTP program is hosted by University of Washington School of Dentistry and Univ. of Wash School of Medicine
9) This year's LTP theme is Achieving Diversity in Dentistry and Medicine (ADDM)
10) Your dental school will pay for everything PLUS you'll receive a $100 Scholarship from AMSA (I know, yep-de-do, $100, but hey it's money, right?)
11) This year is the first year that AMSA LTP opened up to dental students
12) Application deadline is June 4, 2004
13) The admission process is Rolling-Admission

I'm not sure how many spots are left, but it'll be cool if some of you get accepted and we can party SDN style (what ever that is)! Visit the site and apply now. What a great way to meet other dental and medical students, not mentioning a great CV booster!!

👍

 

[dientesfuertes]

Andy, I am working with my administration to see if they will sponsor me to apply for this. (It's all about the money, of course.) It sounds like a great opportunity. Hope to see you there!
-Andy

 

[drPheta]

NM, I read the application. Maybe I'll shoot for this year, if I can pump out those two essays and get a CV together soon enough.

 

[sxr71]

Thanks for the heads up! I will keep my eye out for this when I start school.

 

[ItsGavinC]

I'm applying 🙂

 

[Yah-E]

That's awesome that you guys are looking into this! When I first saw it, I thought this experience would be pretty cool! I got on the ball and contacted my Dean in regards to my intentions and he nominated me! Wrote my essays, submitted my application two days after I found out about the program, called up Angelia to get some questions answered, and next thing I knew I was selected to participate in the program!

Let me know if/when you guys are accepted!

👍

 

[Yah-E]

Have any of you applied to this program, meaning submitted your application and all?

 

[drPheta]

Yah-E, my administration just opened up some free time to get this thing expidited ASAP and before June 4. I'm working on it. Got 2 days of exams to go, and I'm going to overnight it to AMSA soon as we get all the paperwork put together.

Oh, should the letter of rec by the dean be sent separately by him to AMSA, or should I include it in my application?

 

[Yah-E]

Pheta:

When I applied, I wanted to get all my stuff in quick so I insured that I'm actually applying for a seat in the program. So I had everything done, but the Dean's recommendation letter. I met with the Dean at a 4 PM appointment and he said he'll write it, but it maybe a week later because he was leaving for a week that very evening! I'm thinking, ****, he's leaving...my application won't be complete until another week!? I called the LTP contact person, Angelia, and she told me that I could send my entire application in then and then fax her the Dean's letter when I get it. So I went home and mailed all the application materials in without the Dean's letter before 5 PM via USPS Priority Mail w/ Delivery Confirmation.

The very next day, Dean's secretary emails me and informed me that the Dean's letter is ready.....I was like....WHAT? I thought it wouldn't be ready until next week when the Dean return from his trip? I got the letter and I faxed it to Angelia right away and there and then my application for the LTP was complete.

So long story short, go ahead and send in your application in and fax the Dean's letter later when you get it. Be sure to call Angelia and inform her of what you're doing so she knows. Speaking of calling Angelia, you might want to give her a call anyways to check if the "Dental Student" seats have been filled or not (if there are already 20 dental students accepted to the program)!

One question, did you Dean sign and date the DEAN'S CERTIFICATION form yet? The LTP program will need both, the DEAN'S CERTIFICATION form and Dean's letter of rec.

Good luck, be sure to let us know of your outcome!

 

[Yah-E]

Just got an email from Angelia (program contact person) today and so far there are only 20 students accepted out of 40 seats! There's still room for dental students, but exactly how many, I have no idea!

If you wish to apply, then talk with your Dean and get in your application in ASAP! Good luck!

Here's her email to those of us accepted:

-----------------------------------------------------
Greetings,

Congratulations once again on being accepted as a participant for the 2004
Primary Care Leadership Training Program, we are very excited to have you
as part of this innovative experience and we are working hard on planning an
interesting, exciting, and eventful experience for you this August in Seattle.

As I stated in your letter of acceptance, I plan on sending you all the
information you will need to help you prepare for the LTP. However, since
the application deadline is not until June 4th and we are still accepting
applicants into the program, I wanted to send you an e-mail outlining some
basic travel information so that you can start making some definite plans.
Once we have selected all 40 of the participants, I will send you a complete
package of information that will fully describe all the logistics regarding
ground transportation in Seattle, housing, etc.

The LTP will begin on Monday morning with a keynote speaker, so you should
plan on arriving in Seattle sometime Sunday evening. Housing for the LTP
participants has been secured at the University of Washington, so you will
be able to check in at that evening. The LTP will end early in the
afternoon on Friday, so you should be able to catch late afternoon (say,
after 4 or 5) and evening flights from Seattle. In the event that you will
need to stay over Friday night and leave Saturday morning, we can arrange
housing for you that extra night, but we will have to know ahead of time if
you will need housing that extra night.

If you have any questions or concerns about any aspect of the LTP, please
feel free to contact me via e-mail or at the number listed below. Again, we
are very excited to have you on board and I look forward to meeting you in
August,

Sincerely,
Angelia

Angelia Bowman
AMSA Foundation
1902 Association Drive
Reston, VA 20191-1502
703.620.6600 ext 216
703.620.5873 (fax)
-----------------------------------------------------

Doesn't she sound nice? 😀

 

[djsux]

Just fyi - I emailed Angelia yesterday afternoon to see if there were still spots available, below is her reply.

- Thank you for your interest in the LTP. We still have a very limited number of openings available for the LTP. You are welcome to submit an application--with the understanding that you may be placed on a wait list to be offered a spot in the program if an opening becomes available.

Good luck to those applying!

 

[Yah-E]

DJ Sux:

Thanks for the update! I hope those of you that like to apply to this amazing opportunity have applied already. Since the deadline is tomorrow, it is not surprising that the available spots are coming to a close. I hope to meet some of my SDN fellow dental students in Seattle in August! 👍

Keep me updated on who's in and who's out!

Andy

 

[miravyn]

Yah-E, my administration just opened up some free time to get this thing expidited ASAP and before June 4. I'm working on it. Got 2 days of exams to go, and I'm going to overnight it to AMSA soon as we get all the paperwork put together.

Oh, should the letter of rec by the dean be sent separately by him to AMSA, or should I include it in my application?

Dr. Pheta,

I like your avatar (the doctor holding a tooth x-ray). Where did you get it?

 

[drPheta]

miravyn, I made it from the aol buddy guy. I took the body, gave him a labcoat, the headlight, and drew in the radiograph with a tooth.

Yah-E, how will we be notified if we're accepted or not accepted to the LTP and when?

 

[Yah-E]

Pheta:

If you are accepted, then you will be notified by letter or phone. Those that are accepted have gotten their notices. The program is rolling admission so acceptances are mailed out according to when you applies. I talked with Angelia last week and she told me that the dental spots (20) were all filled and she's really excited about our group. She also said that there will be a waiting list and she was going to send a round of acceptance letters that week.

Good luck, keep us updated!

 

[dientesfuertes]

Are there any SDNers besides Yah-E and me who know for sure they will be there? I can't wait.

 

[speter33]

Yah-E and others please update us on how it went. What did you get out of it? was it worth it? stuff like that. thanx

 

[speter33]

Yah-E i guess you weren't around here for labor day. Please post when you get back

 

[adamlc18]

He probably doesnt have any power since he is in the middle of a tropical storm/hurricane.

 

[Yah-E]

Speter:

Adam was right, I just got my internet connection back due to hurricane Frances' beautiful work. I'll answer your question later when I have more free time.

A

 

[speter33]

Speter:

Adam was right, I just got my internet connection back due to hurricane Frances' beautiful work. I'll answer your question later when I have more free time.

A

No problem. I haven't really been keeping up with SDN lately so I had no idea you'd be personally affected by the hurricane. Take your time answering. Best of luck!

 

[adamlc18]

Just bumping this in case it was forgotten. Still looking forward to hearing about this experience.

 

[Yah-E]

Sorry for the long wait...lots of stuff going on lately...

Well, basically this week long experience is to bring 40 dental and medical students around the country together and learn about Health Care Disparities and up rise the awareness there of. The heart of this leadership training program evolved around topics such as lack of health care to the under-privileged, lack of access to health care due to language barriers and many public health issues. It was pretty much a week-long motivational convention by day and parties by night.

Throughout the week, we discussed what is a leader, definition of being a leader, role or a leader, how to lead and orchestrate a team. We went rowing (olympic style - 9 men boats) in demonstrating team work efforts. Each position on the boat had its unique role and for the boat to glide on water, all members of the team must learn to collaborate and follow instructions. Man, that was a f@#king blast! Believe you and me, there were people/team that could not even get out of the marina/dock!

There were a lot of group interactions, small team exercises, leadership roles and role playing. A lot of idea sharing, brainstorming and "reflections".

Onto the 40 dental and medical students.....

We were represented all across the US, there were 20 dental and 20 medical students. I believe there were only 3 DO meds there and the rest were MD students. We have students from Harvard, U Conn, U Mich, U Alabama, Texas schools, UC Irvine, Kansas, NYU, Kentucky, U NJ, Iowa, U Miami, Nova, Puerto Rico, and many more. Like I said earlier, we would go 8 - 5 for lectures, conferences, guest speakers, clinic site visits, and other business stuff, but when the night rolled around, we partied like it's 1999!

The 40 of us with very diverse backgrounds, literately fall in love with one another. We laughed, talked, shared and I believe there were even a few tears as well. The group can not be any closer and tighter and the chemistry amongst us is pretty amazing. As matter of fact, there are two dental students on SDN that were participants of this amazing week with me, dientesfuertes (my roommate during the week) and SDN9876. Even to date, I still am in contact with several of the program participants around the country! We all learned something from one another and one thing for sure, the medical students learned so much more about dentistry than what they had expected. This year was the first time that dental and medical students have gotten together in this program.

Man, there just so much I can talk about here....

Lets move onto some of the things we did during the week.....

1) we lived in the dorms on UW campus
2) we went to Pike Place (where the throw fish - I was up there behind the counters and they threw me a fish and I caught it) and markets
3) we went to downtown Seattle almost every night (Bell Town, etc)
4) people went to the Space Needle
5) people went to museums
6) we had dorm parties
7) we drank a lot of beers
8) we went to some fancy restaurants (a guy in our group spent $230 on dinner on himself!)
9) we went worked out at the UW rec plex
10) we did oral cancer screenings/promote oral hygiene (meds even learned how - taught by dental) on children at 4 different school/clinical settings
11) we met State of Washington politicians, prominent business executives/CEO around Seattle (no Bill Gates though)
12) we were at the UW campus and saw everything and met all the deans from med and dent schools

Basically, that week was a week-long paid vacation by our schools to learn about health care disparities, make new friends, and party in Seattle. When you have 40 top students who either have leadership roles and/or have passion to serve their communities at their perspective dent or med schools, you're going to have this amazing dynamic atmosphere. We all contributed into this week-long fun and we all individually have definitely made an impact on one another. To sum up my experience with this program, my eyes have definitely opened to many health care issues facing us in dentistry and in primary care and I am now more aware of these issues. I've made some quality friends along the way whom I can see we'll be in touch for awhile if not for the rest of my life (it's funny how a week-long interaction can make life-long friendships).

Apply, apply, and apply to this program! I guarantee you that you will have an amazing rewarding experience. If you were to be so lucky, then you may be chosen to participate. Remember, you must be nominated by your dean and once you apply, you'll be going against hundreds of top notch applicants for one of 20 spot in your discipline.

BTW, there were some hotties in my group! 😍 You can't beat an attractive, driven, and smart lady, right?

Man, I typed enough, maybe my roommate from the program (dientesfuertes) can chime in a little as well! Any questions, feel free to ask, but I may or may not be able to answer it.

👍

 

[dientesfuertes]

Yah-E, I certainly can't top that summary. I think you hit the high points (and there were so many of them). I agree that I would wholeheartedly recommend this program to anyone interested in learning more about leadership and ways to become a leader in our profession.
The people I met in Seattle absolutely blew my mind! I learned so much from everyone... and it's always fun to spend time with students from other parts of the country and with different backgrounds. I am so grateful for the opportunity to make friends with future colleagues from around the country. I'd be happy to answer any questions with Yah-E.

 

[speter33]

It's great to hear that you guys had an awesome time and learned a lot. I was just wondering if this is something you can or intend to put on your resume when applying for residencies? and how valuable do you think it'll be?

 

[Yah-E]

I listed on my CV, but it's simply another line. As far as being valuable, I don't think it's anything big. It may be a conversational piece during interviews, it may not. Who knows, but like I said, it does take up another line on the CV which is nice.

Shoot, if I were to be a SDN Moderator, I would list that on my CV (hint, hint G-man).

 

[dientesfuertes]

Applying for residencies.... hahahahahah. That's a good one.

 

[toothcaries]

BTW, there were some hotties in my group! You can't beat an attractive, driven, and smart lady, right?

 

[Yah-E]

Hey ladies and gents: here's the program that I experienced last year (2004), it's absolutely amazing! be sure to check it out and apply this year!
-------------------------------------------------------------------

2005 Primary Care Leadership Training Program--SUMMER OPPORTUNITY

The American Medical Student Association (AMSA) Foundation is pleased to
announce the 2005 Primary Care Leadership Training Program (LTP). The
University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston will host the LTP from
July 25-29, 2005. The purpose of this weeklong, innovative institute is to
educate students about important issues in primary care, develop leadership
skills for future primary care physicians and dentists, and engage students
in curricular reform and health policy issues.

The theme of this year's LTP, "Serving the Underserved: Your Role," is
designed to educate students about the nation's Community Health Centers
(CHCs), their activities, and potential roles for students, physicians, and
dentists at the CHCs. Participants will meet individuals in the community
who have made a significant difference, learn how to develop and implement
projects for their own community, and explore a variety of topics in primary
care.

AMSA is seeking dental and medical students who have demonstrated leadership
abilities, commitment to primary care, and a strong interest in leadership
at their dental or medical school. Forty medical and dental students will
participate in the program and participants' medical and dental schools will
pay for their travel and housing. AMSA will pay for most meals and for all
materials. AMSA also will reimburse each school or student up to $100 for
travel and housing costs.

Applications are due Friday, May 6th, 2005 and copies of the application can
be found at www.amsa.org/addm.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact: Angelia Bowman at
(703) 620-6600 ext 216 or via e-mail at [email protected].

 

[dientesfuertes]

A big "amen" to what Andy said. This program was really worthwhile and a lot of fun, too! I would strongly recommend looking into applying. Plus you get a great trip at school expense! Let me know if you have any questions about the experience.

 

[Da ObtURator]

A big "amen" to what Andy said. This program was really worthwhile and a lot of fun, too! I would strongly recommend looking into applying. Plus you get a great trip at school expense! Let me know if you have any questions about the experience.

I have question....... was it hard to convince your dental school to foot the bill?

 

[dientesfuertes]

I have question....... was it hard to convince your dental school to foot the bill?

Not at all for me. The dean of my school saw it as a way to bring new ideas back to the school and as a good professional experience for me. Plus, you only have to pay for your plane ticket, so it isn't terribly expensive.
If the administration of your school is unfamiliar with the LTP program, just discuss it with them and/or show them the website or literature about it. I think it is somewhat prestigious to be a participant b/c they only take 20 dental students nationwide. I doubt you'll have a problem getting funding from your school.

 

[speter33]

I'm currently brainstorming on what to include in the essays. It'd be great if some of the past participants would share what they chose to include and write about in their essays.

Question #1: Why is student leadership in primary care important?

Question #2: Describe what you hope to learn about serving the underserved and community health centers through your participation in the Leadership Training Program. How will you share what you experience and learn with others?

 

[Yah-E]

I have question....... was it hard to convince your dental school to foot the bill?

That is one thing you must point out to your DEAN when you ask him for his support of your application. If (s)he nominates you, then (s)he has agreed to pay for your traveling expenses and room cost at minimum. My Dean/school was way too generous, they paid for my room, airfair, PLUS a car rental, and PLUS food expenses. Other participants had similar luxuries while others only had their airfair paid for.

If your DEAN does not know this program or have not been notified about this program, you must presented to him/her. Between this website, LTP application, and the AMSA LTP website, you should have enough selling tools to convince your DEAN. Remember, if he agrees to nominate you, then traveling and room costs will and should be covered by the school. POINT THIS OUT AND REMIND THE DEAN.

Remember, the program only accepts 20 dental students and hundreds will apply, I guarantee you. Apply early, apply early and apply early! Contact Angela, LTP director, if you have any questions. She is super nice and a great resource.

Andy, great to see you posting again. I'll give you a call soon! 👍