Welcome to the Home Page for the Creighton chapter of the Student National Medical Association.  I am excited to start off the year with a mix of officers and members from last year and new first year medical students!  We have already hit the ground running with an officer retreat planned for September 4th.  The goals and objectives of Creighton SNMA mirror those of the national SNMA which include:

• To serve the health needs of under-served communities in Omaha and educate people about important health matters.

• To assure that medical education and services are culturally sensitive to the needs of the diverse populations.

• To assist under-represented students in enrolling and successfully completing their medical studies.

SNMA is off to a great start in accomplishing these goals during the 2010-2011 school year through the following activities: 

• Elections were held for our remaining officer positions during the first week of school.  Please see our Contacts page for a list of the new officers. 

• We also started the year with a Beginning of the Year Kick-Off Barbeque at Bemis Park.  You can check out   highlights from this event on our Events page. 

Our first service project of this year is the BET Wrap it Up event, where we will be testing Omaha teens for Gonorrhea and Chlamydia.  Omaha has a disproportionately high rate for Gonorrhea and Chlamydia.   This project aligns with National SNMA protocol for Sexual Awareness.

The Youth Health Extravaganza, an event that SNMA has participated in for over eight years, has been cancelled this year.  There are still many areas in which the community can benefit from our help, so we will continue on in the spirit of service. 

 As president, my goal for this year is to continue to build on the strong foundation created by past presidents and members of SNMA while improving for the future.  More specifically my goals for the year are:

• Increase participation amongst multicultural and 3rd and 4th year students.

• Incorporate more national projects and participate in regional and national events.

• Collaborate with UNMC's chapter of SNMA, the Minority Health Sciences Student Organization, and the Minority Association of Pre-Health Students.

 As immediate past president Antonio Betanzos stated, “Our success begins now, with each other”.  Along with our new leadership team I hope to carry this spirit into the 2010-2011 year.  For more information please see our national website at www.snma.org. 

Yours in SNMA,

Natasha Pyfrom

MD Candidate Class of 2013

Creighton University School of Medicine

Creighton Student National Medical Association Chapter President

natashapyfrom@creighton.edu