Annual Meeting w Held in October, ABSAME's annual meeting provides ample opportunity for formal and informal interaction, including plenary sessions, panel discussions, paper and workshop presentations. This year our meeting will take place October 17-20, 2007 in Copper Mountain Resort, CO The conference title is Behavioral Science Education: Bridging Bench to Bedside. Conference registration information will be mailed in late June and will soon be available online.
ABSAME at AAMC -- Each year ABSAME sponsors a lecture held in conjunction with the annual fall meeting of the Association of American Medical Colleges. It typically provides a preview of the theme to be considered at the following year's Annual Meeting.
ABSAME is also a constituent member of the Council of Academic Societies (CAS), one of the governing bodies of the AAMC. Through its CAS membership ABSAME seeks to foster:
Curriculum Task Force -- ABSAME published a Behavioral Science Curriculum Guide in October 1995, and was instrumental in publication of the book the Behavioral Sciences and Health Care edited by Drs. Sahler and Carr (Hogrefe & Huber Publishers, 2003). In May 2007 the second edition -a revised, updated, and expanded version - was published. The task force plans to continue to explore ways of promoting competent, inter-disciplinary teaching of behavioral sciences content in medical schools, residency programs, and CME programs.
Multicultural Task Force -- Since its inception, ABSAME has explored the challenges of teaching physicians to be sensitive to the needs of patients from diverse religious, social class, ethnic, and national origins. Equally of interest are the challenges physicians face when working on a health care team which reflects the increasing diversity of North American populations. The Multicultural Task Force meets in conjunction with ABSAME's annual meeting and communicates to the membership through the ABSAME newsletter.
Annals of Behavioral Science and Medical Education -- The Annals is the official journal of the organization. Your dues include a subscription to the valuable journal. This interdisciplinary forum encourages the scholarly exchange of ideas, research, and curriculum strategies. The content includes original articles, curriculum and evaluation programs, behavioral science teaching rounds, review of books and software, and a reflections section for a discussion of the roles of the healer within family, community, and professional contexts. Submissions to the Annals are peer-reviewed and guidelines for submissions can be obtained from the ABSAME office or on the ABSAME web site.
ABSAME Newsletter -- In the newsletter, members report "from the trenches" about their activities. The newsletter carries news concerning events of interest to ABSAME members, and reports on the Curriculum and Multicultural Task Forces.
Electronic Communication -- The organization supports a communication between members and other interested professionals on the internet. The list-serve discussion group encourages lively discourse on behavioral science topics or questions posed to members for a rapid response (ABSAME-L@msu.edu). A home page has also been developed that provides information about the organization and lists current activities (http://www.absame.org).