Group Wins Medical Student Research Competition for Poster

For their research poster on how debt affects the specialties that medical students choose, AUA clinical students Raynata Ramkhelawan, Salam Hawa, and Ravneet Randhawa placed first at the New York Chapter of the American College of Physicians (NYCAP) Scientific Meeting. The conference took place on June 3rd in Rochester, New York. Raynata, who presented the research at the event, and her classmates found that while most of those surveyed “indicated debt was not a factor in [the specialty they chose to pursue,]” there were a substantial number (39.77 percent) who said they were not able to cover their financial obligations with their loans.  Fifty-two percent of those surveyed said their choice of specialty did not change after taking out loans to pay for medical school. The advisor for the project was Niket Sonpal, a doctor at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, where many AUA students participate in clinical rotations. Congratulations Raynata, Salam, and Ravneet! Thank you for making AUA look great and for research that will help move the discussion about financing medical school forward!