Stories from the Field   One of the most important lessons I learned as a medical student is that a physician does not have to cure an ailment to help a patient. Health is more than curing disease - it also involves meeting your patients' social and developmental needs. Three years ago while volunteering in a free clinic, I was pleased to discover that Reach Out and Read understands this concept. It seemed only natural to contact ROR when I began organizing an event designed to improve the health of preschool-aged children. I currently serve on the Governing Council of the American Medical Association - Medical Student Section (AMA-MSS), an organization of about 50,000 medical students who advocate for issues pertinent to our education and the patients we will serve. As part of each of our national meetings, we organize a local service project. At our Interim Meeting in Las Vegas on November 10, 2006, fifty medical students worked with several local organizations at a Head Start Center. Through this project we were able to provide 120 children with health screenings required for enrollment in the Head Start program. In addition, the event featured several fun activities, one of which was storytelling using books generously donated by ROR. The event was a great success and was featured in the Las Vegas Review-Journal and on Las Vegas Eyewitness 8 television news. On Friday, June 22 the AMA-MSS had another national meeting, this time in Chicago. We worked with several local and state organizations to provide similar screenings to children and adults in the Hermosa neighborhood of Chicago. The event targeted those children who are eligible, but not yet signed up for, the State Children's Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP). Once again, ROR helped a group of dedicated, compassionate future physicians show that the health of a child can be improved not only with health care coverage, but with something as simple as a book. On behalf of the members of the AMA-MSS and those we serve, thank you. John Vasudevan, M.D., graduated from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in May 2007. He will be training at Tucson Medical Center in Tucson, AZ and Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA for a career in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. He is an At-Large Officer on the Governing Council of the AMA-Medical Student Section. View the Las Vegas Review-Journal article about the event here. Return