In the warm spring of March, as flowers bloom, the Association of Chinese American Physician (ACAP) Career Development Conference was held on March 31st, 2024, at the Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel in Flushing, New York, coinciding with Easter Sunday.
The conference commenced with a passionate opening speech by the current chairman, Dr. Jin Li, who briefly reviewed ACAP’s 29-year history. The organization’s purpose is to serve Chinese physicians in the United States, and the conference aimed to provide information and assistance to colleagues at different career stages in their medical practice in America.
The morning session was chaired by Dr. Fangming Deng, the treasurer of ACAP and a professor of pathology at New York University School of Medicine. Our first speaker Dr. Jorge Con, Program Director of the surgical residency program at New York Medical College Westchester Medical Center and a board member of the Chinese American Medical Society (CAMS), shared his personal experiences and detailed data on how to stand out in the highly competitive surgical residency application process. Following him, Dr. Zimei Zhou from the Bronx Care Health System discussed from a Program Director’s perspective how international medical graduates (IMGs) can enter the highly coveted field of Ophthalmology Residency.
Dr. Li Lu from Rendr Medical Group spoke about navigating the major trend of Value Based Healthcare to provide the best medical care. Dr. Hai Xu, a third-year cardiology fellow at Staten Island University Hospital Northwell Health, shared insights from his real-world experience working as a Hospitalist while preparing to apply for cardiology and compared the pros and cons of working as a Hospitalist versus in a specialty.
During lunch, attendees listened to Dr. Helen Chen from Rendr Medical Group, who introduced a new healthcare model based on evidence-based medicine, big data analysis, and multi-team cooperation aimed at enhancing healthcare services for the Chinese community.
The afternoon session was led by ACAP Secretary Dr. Yulin Wang. Gastroenterologist Dr. Kevin Tin analyzed the pros and cons of group practice, blending his personal experiences with insights from the latest AI technology, including ChatGPT. On March 15th, as many residency applicants received good news about their Match results, the focus shifted to surviving residency training. Dr. Zhimin Xu, a second-year neurology resident at Westchester Medical Center, shared her experiences surviving two internships in internal medicine and neurology, sparking lively discussions among attendees. Dr. Duo Jin, having become a fan of ACAP after attending the Resident Reunion last year, drove over four hours from Maryland to share his experiences as a Hospitalist in a rural hospital and discuss the challenges and joys of serving in underserved areas, as well as issues related to visa and labor certification applications which concern many colleagues
Finally, ACAP’s vice president, Dr. Ziqiang Zhu, thanked everyone for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend this meaningful event and expressed gratitude to the speakers, volunteers, sponsors, and all attendees. As a non-profit organization, ACAP relies on everyone’s support, participation, and contribution for any of its activities, looking forward to starting, continuing, and maintaining collaboration with everyone.
The rich content of the conference made time fly unnoticed, and spending this Easter with ACAP was a special experience. Whether you are a Christian, celebrate Easter or not, the people you meet and the experiences you gain during this holiday might just be an unexpected bonus in your long journey of practicing medicine in the USA!
阳春三月，春暖花开，又值复活节周日，美国华人医师会ACAP医学职业研讨会Career Development Conference在纽约法拉盛喜来登大酒店举行。
会议在现任主席Dr. Jin Li医生热情洋溢的开幕致辞中拉开帷幕，李医生简短地回顾ACAP 29年的历程，其宗旨即为服务于在美国的华人医师，此次会议即旨在为在美行医之路不同职业阶段的同行提供信息和帮助。
上午的会议在ACAP执行董事纽约大学医学院病理科教授Dr Fangming Deng的主持下，来自New York Medical College Westchester Medical Center外科住院医培训项目的Program Director同时也是美洲中华医学会CAMS董事会成员Dr Jorge Con以自身经历为例、以翔实的数据展示了如何在竞争剧烈的外科住院医申请中脱颖而出；随后，BronxCare Health System眼科住院医培训项目的Dr Zimei Zhou从Program Director的角度详细地讲述了作为外国毕业生IMG如何才能进入有着“金眼科”之称的Ophthamology Residency。
做完培训，需要进入现实世界，来自RenDr医疗集团的Dr Li Lu则是从Value Based Healthcare这个大时代趋势下讲述如何才能运筹帷幄，将医疗做到最好。
目前尚还是Staten Island University Hospital Northwell Health第三年心内科Fellow的Dr Hai Xu则从现实出发，在做Hospitalist的同时准备申请心内科以及比较了Hospitalist工作和专科工作之间的利弊，大家受益匪浅。
中午，在大家享用午餐的同时，聆听了来自仁德RenDr医疗集团的Dr Helen Chen关于这个崭新的Healthcare model–Rendr集团，RenDr医疗集团以循证医学为基础、根据大数据分析、多团队合作以提供一种崭新的医疗模式，意在为华人社区的医疗服务更加提高一个层次。
下午的会议在ACAP执行董事Dr Yulin Wang的主持下进行。首先由肠胃专科医生Dr Kevin Tin分别结合自己经历和目前最火的AI ChatGPT对于Group Practice利弊之分析，所谓“青菜萝卜、各有所爱”，知己知彼，方能知道自己是否适合Group Practice。
今年3月15日，喜闻很多申请住院医的小伙伴Match的好消息，在经历半个月的激动后已经恢复平静心态，如何Survive住院医培训才是接下来的最最需要考虑的，来自Westchester Medical Center神经科第二年住院医Dr Zhimin Xu尚在短暂的休假之中，她以分别Survive了内科和神经科两个Internship的切身经历和与会者分享，大家问题不断、讨论热烈。 Dr Duo Jin医生自从去年第一次参加ACAP的Resident Reunion活动已来，显然已成为ACAP的粉丝，为支持ACAP本次Career Development Conference，特地从马里兰州驱车4个小时多前来，和大家分享了作为Hospitalist在大农村医院行医的挑战和乐趣以及在Underserved的地区服务以及关于签证和劳工卡申请PERM的一些讨论也是很多小伙伴都十分关心的问题。
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最后，ACAP现任副会长Dr Ziqiang Zhu感谢大家从百忙之中抽出时间来参加这个有意义的活动，同时感谢我们的speaker、volunteer、sponsor以及所有前来参会的。ACAP作为一个非盈利组织，我们的任何一个活动都离不大家的支持、参与、贡献，我们期待和大家开始合作、继续合作、一直合作。
精彩纷呈的内容总是让时间在不经意之间溜走，在ACAP和大家一起共度的这个复活节里，无论您是否是基督徒、是否庆祝复活节，您所见所闻所遇到的人也许正是在这个复活节假日您在美行医漫长历程中的一个彩蛋！
