PHR Student Blog

Saturday’s National Conference was packed with memorable moments. Fortunately, many of these moments were broadcast on Twitter by PHR’s Deputy Director Susannah Sirkin. We’ve collected some of our favorite tweets from Dr. Robert Lawrence’s keynote address, a panel on Health and Human Rights Education, and the closing town hall with Rep. Jim McGovern. Follow us at phrTweets!

Keynote: Dr. Robert Lawrence

As one of PHR’s original founders and our current Board chair, Dr. Lawrence offers unique insight into the vision and purpose of PHR.

1. 
   phrTweets Dr. Bob Lawrence opens
   #phred conference on medicine and human rights education now at BU School of Medicine; pays homage to Carl Taylor 20 Feb 2010
2. 
   phrTweets Dr. Lawrence I was history major in 1959 studying #south africa under apartheid; no faculy to advise on thesis http://bit.ly/cGePmt 20 Feb 2010
3. 
   phrTweets “What do you do when you’re 20 years old and no one interested in your topic? You take your thesis and wrap it in front page of NYTimes” 20 Feb 2010
4. 
   phrTweets Dr. Lawrence, “You have to honor great people in history like Steve Biko and his wife, Dr. Mamphele Rampele…” #phrEd 20 Feb 2010
5. 
   phrTweets Lawrence “Those of you studying psychiatry, you know about denial.” Harvard tutor forgot he had opposed history thesis on apartheid #phrEd 20 Feb 2010
6. 
   phrTweets Lawrence to students: reframe issues, channel energy to engage in social issues while protecting time to be best clinician #phred 20 Feb 2010
7. 
   phrTweets Lawrence: Carola & Eleanor Roosevelt my heroes. Jack Geiger, who was first to look at social determinants of medicine in 1960s #phred 20 Feb 2010
8. 
   phrTweets Alma Ata conference principles of 1978 remain as true today as now. http://bit.ly/asdG5u 20 Feb 2010
9. 
   phrTweets Dr. Julius Richmond led US delegation to Alma Ata in 1978. Dr. Lawrence reminding med and ph students of important doc http://bit.ly/asdG5u 20 Feb 2010

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Welcome back! We’re excited to confirm several world-renowned speakers who will be presenting at the National Conference on February 20, 2010.

• Helen Potts, PhD, Chief Program Officer of Health Programs, Physicians for Human Rights. Dr. Potts will speak about the Right to Health on a panel entitled “Human Rights and Health Education: Dueling Frameworks or Essential Integration?”
• Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH, Professor of Epidemiology, International Health and Health, Behavior and Society; Director of Johns Hopkins Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Program. Dr. Beyrer will co-facilitate a Strategy Session entitled “Human Rights in Graduate Education.”
• Vincent Iacopino, MD, PhD, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School; Senior Medical Advisor to Physicians for Human Rights. Dr. Iacopino will co-lead the panel entitled “Human Rights and Health Education: Dueling Frameworks or Essential Integration?” and will speak about the urgency of incorporating a human rights approach in professional medical training.

The deadline to apply to the Conference is January 20, 2010, so start building a team from your chapter, and be sure to reach out to faculty members you would like to invite! Consult our Faculty Guide if you have any questions. We look forward to reading your application!

Less than two weeks until the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Regional Institutes on Saturday, November 7 — there is still time to register! You can register up until the night before, but we prefer that you do so as soon as possible to help us better prepare and provide the best Institute experience possible.

Help make sure we get a great crowd by inviting all of your friends who may be interested, via email or our Facebook group!

Here is some key information to help you prepare to for the Institutes:

Mid-Atlantic Institute (Washington DC)

The Mid-Atlantic Institute will take place in Ross Hall, 2300 Eye Street, at George Washington University. Make sure you’re there by 10:00am to hear the opening presenter, Leonard Rubenstein, JD, Visiting Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center for Human Rights and Public Health and former President of PHR!

• Mid-Atlantic Agenda
• Guide to Getting There, including helpful info on transit and accommodations.
• Address and Directions
• Sample Email Invitation to easily invite your friends

Northeast Institute (Boston, MA)

The Northeast Institute will take place by the Tosteson Medical Education Center (TMEC) at Harvard Medical School. Make sure you’re there by 10:00am to hear the opening presenter, Helen Potts, PHR’s Chief Health Program Officer and former Senior Research Officer UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health.

• Northeast Agenda
• Guide to Getting There, including helpful info on transit and accommodations.
• Address and Directions
• Sample Email Invitation to easily invite your friends

I also want to personally introduce the amazing Regional Training Coordinators, who made these Institutes possible and are a great resource to those who will attend:

• Regan Gage, George Washington University (M3). Regan has been actively involved with PHR since she began medical school in 2007and is also a part of the national leadership of Medical Students for Choice, a group working to preserve women’s reproductive rights. Her interests lie in advancing sex education and healthcare in the adolescent Latino and immigrant community
• Alexandra Coria, Dartmouth Medical School (M2). Alexandra is planning to pursue a career in pediatric infectious disease. Prior to medical school, she worked for three years as a consultant on high-level communications and advocacy surrounding global health issues, particularly focusing on malaria, childhood pneumonia and meningitis, and vaccine science and financing.

If you have more questions about getting to DC or Boston, or need further location-specific advice, contact me and I will put you in touch with one of these great coordinators.

See you there!

With the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Regional Advocacy Institutes just over a month away, here are some updates on the Institutes’ programs, logistics, and publicity. As you get ready for your region’s Institute, feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. And don’t forget to register for your Regional Advocacy Institute!

Mid-Atlantic Regional Institute

Hosted by PHR and the George Washington University Student Chapter
Saturday, November 7^th 9:30am-4:30pm
George Washington University, Washington DC (Directions)

Presenter Update: Leonard S. Rubenstein, JD, Visiting Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center for Human Rights and Public Health, was just confirmed to open the Institute with a session on “Advancing Human Rights in Health Practice.” Read about Leonard’s groundbreaking work on a variety of health and human rights fronts. Check out this Institute’s working agenda to learn more about this educational and engaging day.

Getting to George Washington University: Download information on how to get to Washington, DC, navigate the campus, and invite your friends to the Institute.

Help Us Publicize: With the team of PHR staff and student leaders working to provide a top-notch program, we now need your help to make the training a lively, rewarding experience. Help Publicize the institute to friends, colleagues and classmates:

• Send this email to other campus groups
• Hang up and distribute this flyer around your campus
• Join our Facebook group and invite others to join too

Read our Recruitment Plan and Tips. Remember that recruiting more students to attend the Institute also helps you to recruit new chapter members, build a presence on campus, reach out to other campus groups, boost chapter members’ enthusiasm and involvement, and ensure your chapter members receive great training.

Northeast Regional Institute

Hosted by PHR and the Harvard Student Chapter
Saturday, November 7^th, 9:30am-4:30pm
Harvard Medical School, Boston MA (Directions)

Presenter Update: Physicians for Human Rights’ CEO Frank Donaghue will open the day’s events. Read about Frank’s three decades of experience in the non-profit sector including his extensive work with the American Red Cross before coming to PHR. Helen Potts, PHR’s Chief Health Program Officer, will lead a session that will take attendees through a critical analysis of what the Right to Health means and how it should be applied to the health profession. Learn more about her landmark work as the Senior Research Officer to Paul Hunt, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and check out this Institute’s working agenda.

Getting to Harvard Medical School: Download information on how to get to Boston, navigate the campus, and invite your friends to the Institute.

Help Us Publicize: With the team of PHR staff and student leaders working to provide a top-notch program, we now need your help to make the training a lively, rewarding experience. Help Publicize the institute to friends, colleagues and classmates:

• Send this email to other campus groups
• Hang up and distribute this flyer around your campus
• Join our Facebook group and invite others to join too

Read our Recruitment Plan and Tips. Remember that recruiting more students to attend the Institute also helps you to recruit new chapter members, build a presence on campus, reach out to other campus groups, boost chapter members’ enthusiasm and involvement, and ensure your chapter members receive great training.