Nation's largest annual gathering of internal medicine doctors meets in San Diego

Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is keynote speaker at Internal Medicine Meeting 2017

More than 6,000 internal medicine physicians, subspecialists, medical students, and allied health professionals from around the world will gather in San Diego for the American College of Physicians’ (ACP) Internal Medicine Meeting 2017 from Thursday, March 30 through Saturday, April 1 at the San Diego Convention Center.

ACP is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States. ACP members include 148,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness.

Internal Medicine Meeting 2017 features more than 200 sessions covering a broad array of clinical and health care policy topics. Anthony S. Fauci, MD, MACP, will deliver the keynote address, "AIDS to Zika: The Enduring Challenge of Emerging Infectious Diseases," at the Opening Ceremony on March 30 at 9:30 a.m. Since his appointment as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health in 1984, Dr. Fauci has overseen an extensive research portfolio devoted to preventing, diagnosing, and treating infectious and immune-mediated diseases.

The meeting also showcases three competitions:

  • Doctor's Dilemma. Up to 50 teams of residents from around the world compete in a fast-paced, Jeopardy-style medical knowledge competition. The “Final Four” teams face off in the championship round on April 1 at 5:15 p.m. The winning team takes home the Osler Cup -- ACP’s coveted trophy.
  • Dragon’s Lair: Breathing Fire into Health Care Transformation. The Grand Prize winner of this a "Shark Tank"-style competition will receive $7,500 in funding for project development. An Audience Choice prize of $2,500 will also be awarded.
  • National abstract competitions for Medical Student and Resident/Fellow members. Finalists will compete onsite in five categories: Basic Research, Clinical Research, Clinical Vignette, High Value Care, and Quality Improvement-Patient Safety.

This year’s “In the Patient's Voice” session features Lucy Kalanithi, MD, FACP, the widow of the late Dr. Paul Kalanithi, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir, When Breath Becomes Air, for which she wrote the epilogue. At the cross-section of her career as a medical professional and her personal experience standing alongside her husband during his life, diagnosis, treatment, and death, Dr. Kalanithi has special interests in healthcare value, meaning in medicine, patient-centered care and end-of-life care.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Jack Ende, MD, MACP, will become president of ACP and Susan Thompson Hingle, MD, FACP, will become chair of ACP’s Board of Regents. Both terms are for one year.

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