SOSA Conference Held During the 2015 ACA

Abhiram Kondajji, OMS-III, MS - SOSA Chairman

The Student Osteopathic Surgery Association (SOSA) Fall Meeting held in conjunction with the 2015 Annual Clinical Assembly of Osteopathic Surgeons (ACA) meeting in Chicago was another successful event for SOSA with over one hundred students in attendance. This year’s conference focused on navigating the new graduate medical education pathway, developing local leadership, and developing skills for surgery rotations. Students attended sessions covering the Single Accreditation System, general surgery, and topics on health-care advocacy.

ACOS members and leadership are always very involved at our conference. We were honored to have ACOS President, Valerie Sheridan, D.O., FACOS, FACS open the conference for us and welcome many new SOSA attendees. We were also pleased to have several program directors attend a panel discussion to answer students’ questions. Their feedback was very helpful. Several practicing surgeons provided mentorship at our annual speed-mentoring session. This annual event allows students to find mentors and network with surgeons from all fields. This session is the highlight of our fall conference and would not have possible without ACOS’s support. Thank you to everyone who contributed!

We always welcome residency programs to show-case their strengths and recruit students. This year we have fifteen programs display their programs and we welcome additional programs to join future fairs.

As SOSA grows, we look to our mentors in ACOS for continued support in developing programs and projects that make SOSA members the best students prepared for surgical internship and residency. If you are interested in participating or volunteering for the next conference, please contact any of our leaders with the information provided here.