Media Release

Medical Students' Convention in Adelaide

More than 1,000 medical students from across Australia and New Zealand will hear from some of the biggest names in Australian medicine and other internationally prominent speakers at the National Convention of the Australian Medical Students' Association [1] (AMSA) in Adelaide next week.

Organised by University of Adelaide students, the 48th annual National Convention [2] will be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre [3] from Monday to Friday, 2-6 July. Speakers include celebrated medical scientist and humanitarian Sir Gustav Nossal [4], anti-nuclear activist Dr Helen Caldicott [5], health communicator and general practitioner Sally 'Dr Feelgood' Cockburn [6], Cancer Council of Australia [7] Chief Executive Officer Professor Ian Olver, adventurer Duncan Chessell [8] and dancer/author Li Cunxin [9] (Mao's Last Dancer).

Other speakers include:
● Coopers Brewery Managing Director Dr Tim Cooper
● University of Adelaide Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) cardiologist Stephen Worthley
● University of Adelaide Professor of Surgery and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Deputy Head of Surgery Guy Maddern
●University of Adelaide Professor of Pathology and Chief Forensic Pathologist at Forensic Science SA Roger Byard
●Dr David Caldicott, RAH emergency doctor and adviser to government and police on illicit drug use.

Convention academic co-convenor and University of Adelaide student Ross Roberts-Thomson said: "Essentially the Convention aims to connect medical students from across Australia and New Zealand, to inspire them and to challenge them.

"This is the biggest medical student convention in the Southern Hemisphere and it offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear some of the best speakers in Australia and to get involved in a variety of activities."

Over the weeklong program, students will also participate in the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Student Research Poster Prize. One of the highlights is Thursday's 'Emergency Challenge' where medical school teams will pit their emergency skills against each other in a variety of different trauma scenarios at Adelaide Oval.

The Convention is on at the Adelaide Convention Centre from 2-6 July. The full program for the Convention can be found at http://www.adelaide2007.com/day/websitetimetable.pdf