The University of Tampa’s Alpha Epsilon Delta chapter got the opportunity of a lifetime to help organize the national conference come to Tampa, Fla. on March 19-21.
Planning began several months ago for the conference that will bring members of the Pre-medical Honor Society from across the country to the Hyatt Hotel in Downtown Tampa.
UT’s chapter in coordination with Skull and Bones, UT’s pre-professional health society has organized different aspects of the event which include a large volunteer activity day on Friday, March 19.
They also made pink ribbons which will be sold at the convention to raise money and awareness for the Breast Cancer Foundation.
AED members will have the opportunity to help out with a Blood Drive, Metropolitan Ministries, Hyde Park Methodist Church, Potter’s House and New Beginnings which are all locally based here in Tampa.
Members are also collecting dental supplies to give at these locations.
Students will meet members from across the country and hear many dynamic speakers and attend several sessions.
“It’s a great opportunity for us as students to get out there and network,” said Aylin Saner, UT’s AED president.
Besides the break-out sessions and volunteering activities, Rear Admiral (RADM) David Rutstein, the Deputy Surgeon General will speak to convention delegates on Friday at 10 a.m. at the Hyatt.
Dr. Christine Laronga, Head of the Breast Cancer Program at Moffitt will also be speaking at 10 a.m. on Saturday as well as a Moffitt cancer screening workshop.
Other on-campus activities will be the Practical Anatomy Laboratory from St. Louise in Lecture Hall B on Saturday, March 20 from 2-4 p.m
Alpha Epsilon Delta
Alpha Epsilon Delta is the largest Honor Society that specifically serves premedical education, and has a membership exceeding 144,000 in 186 chapters.
It began as a small group of fifteen premedical students and Dr. Jack Montgomery at the University of Alabama in 1926.
Membership is open to undergraduate students who achieve at least a 3.2 GPA, three semesters of credits or pre-professional health word, a good standing with their University’s chapter, and, according to the chapter, a certain number of volunteer hours sometimes.
They are affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Association of College Honor Societies.
UT’s chapter has about 4 members.
The Skull and Bones Chapter has about 50 members.
Rear Admiral David Rutstein
Rear Admiral (RADM) David Rutstein is the current Deputy Surgeon General.
Deputy Surgeon General is a post dedicated to aiding the acting Surgeon General in conveying to the public the information of their respective office and overseeing the USPHS (United States public health service commissioned corps).
Rutstein has a BA in psychology from Hamilton College, in Clinton, N.Y. He attended Morehouse School of Medicine; obtained his MD degree from Brown University Medical School.
He later earned his MPH degree from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
He completed residency training in family medicine at the University of California – San Francisco’s Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, Calif. and is a diplomat of the American Board of Family Medicine.
He further trained for 13 years as a family physician in the Federated States of Micronesia with the national health service corps, and was in charge of many health initiatives taking place there.
He has been adorned with many awards and honors, the majority of which are, also, in the public sector, but there are private honors (such as an honorary medical degree plus a distinguished alumnus award from the Morehouse school of medicine.)
While serving as the Deputy Surgeon General, David Rutstein also is an instructor of Advanced Trauma Life Support at the Defense Medical Readiness and Training Institute.
He continues his service as an instructor of Tropical Medicine/Public Health at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science.