Physician Scientist - American Association of Physicians of Indian ...
Physician Scientist - American Association of Physicians of Indian ...
Physician Scientist - American Association of Physicians of Indian ...
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AAPI Journal • June 2009<br />
President-Elect’s Report<br />
by Vinod K. Shah, M.D.<br />
I would like to express my<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>ound gratitude to the entire<br />
membership for giving me the<br />
opportunity to serve our<br />
organization as President-Elect for<br />
the year 2008-09. The year started<br />
on a very positive note and I am<br />
honored to represent you during<br />
these exciting years.<br />
After a long tenure, Ambassador<br />
Ronan Sen left Washington D.C. He<br />
was gracious to invite us for a<br />
farewell party that was held on<br />
March 28th. It was my pleasure to<br />
represent AAPI at this occasion. We<br />
have been closely in touch with the<br />
Embassy <strong>of</strong> India who has always<br />
been supportive <strong>of</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> Diaspora<br />
and we recently met our new<br />
Ambassador – Madam Meera<br />
Shanker. Our meeting was attended<br />
by President Sanku Rao, Past<br />
President Navin Shah, Suvas Desai<br />
and our incoming secretary,<br />
Narendra Kumar. The Ambassador<br />
was complimentary <strong>of</strong> AAPI’s<br />
contribution for the betterment <strong>of</strong><br />
Indo-US relationship.<br />
As a special guest <strong>of</strong> House<br />
Majority Leader, Honorable Steny<br />
Hoyer, it was my pleasure to attend<br />
the Democratic National<br />
Convention. The Convention gave<br />
me an opportunity to network with<br />
many senior members <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Democratic Party and I learned a lot<br />
about the healthcare agenda which<br />
will be an extremely important issue<br />
during this administration. It was<br />
also my pleasure to participate in<br />
the swearing in ceremony <strong>of</strong> our<br />
new president, President Obama, a<br />
historic event which was a<br />
breathtaking experience which I will<br />
cherish for years to come.<br />
Recently we completed our<br />
Legislative Conference which was<br />
very well attended, and many<br />
Congressmen and Senators<br />
participated in our event. During the<br />
conference, we addressed the issues<br />
that are extremely important for our<br />
organization such as:<br />
A. Healthcare initiative <strong>of</strong> the new<br />
administration.<br />
B. <strong>Physician</strong> shortage and role <strong>of</strong><br />
international medical graduates.<br />
C. <strong>Physician</strong> reimbursement and<br />
impact <strong>of</strong> the current economic<br />
climate on physician practices.<br />
D. J1 Visa Waiver program.<br />
E. TORT Reform.<br />
<strong>Association</strong> with other Organizations:<br />
1. Attended the Legislative<br />
Conference held by Asian<br />
<strong>American</strong> Hotel Owner’s<br />
<strong>Association</strong> (AAHOA) on<br />
Wednesday, September 10th at<br />
Capitol Hill. It was also my<br />
pleasure to attend the annual<br />
conference <strong>of</strong> AAHOA on April<br />
24 & 25, 2009.<br />
2. Attended the annual meeting<br />
held by <strong>Indian</strong> Medical<br />
<strong>Association</strong> <strong>of</strong> Central Florida.<br />
AAPI Events:<br />
1. Participated in the CME<br />
program conducted in the last<br />
week <strong>of</strong> September, 2008 under<br />
the leadership <strong>of</strong> Dr. Sanku Rao<br />
on a cruise to the Greek<br />
Islands. Members who<br />
participated in the CME<br />
enjoyed the visit to the Greek<br />
Islands and the entire event was<br />
very exciting.<br />
2. Attended the Fall Governing<br />
Body meeting at Oklahoma City<br />
on October 25th.<br />
3. Attended the Ohio Chapter<br />
annual meeting. The group in<br />
Columbus is dedicated,<br />
energetic and focused. I was<br />
impressed with their event and<br />
friendship.<br />
4. Also participated in Women’s<br />
Forum in New Jersey, and<br />
Spring<br />
Governing<br />
Body meeting<br />
in Boston.<br />
Constitution &<br />
Bylaws Committee:<br />
As a Chair <strong>of</strong> the Constitution &<br />
Bylaws Committee, the first Bylaw<br />
committee meeting was held on<br />
October 8, 2008. Existing revision <strong>of</strong><br />
the Bylaws was reviewed which was<br />
proposed and approved at the<br />
Spring Governing Body meeting<br />
held in Michigan in March 2008<br />
and subsequently forwarded to the<br />
General Body. No objections were<br />
received from any members. We<br />
also discussed extensively how<br />
modifications to the Bylaws can be<br />
made to improve membership, to<br />
create a strong and positive image<br />
and to develop member satisfaction.<br />
I have worked very closely with Dr.<br />
Ajeet Singhvi, our new incoming<br />
President-Elect, to work diligently to<br />
propose a revision to the Bylaws to<br />
achieve those objectives.<br />
Orlando Convention:<br />
Vinod K. Shah, M.D.<br />
President-Elect, AAPI<br />
I had several meetings with the<br />
Chair <strong>of</strong> the Orlando Convention,<br />
Dr. Ravi Jahagirdar and his team.<br />
Under his leadership we will have a<br />
fantastic convention. I would like to<br />
compliment the entire convention<br />
team who is working so hard to<br />
make the annual event a big<br />
success.<br />
I would like to express my<br />
gratitude to our President Dr. Sanku<br />
Rao for his leadership and tireless<br />
work. I also would like to<br />
compliment his wife, Dr. Sanku<br />
Rohini for her generosity and<br />
support for this entire year. I am sure<br />
that the entire Executive Committee<br />
shares my sentiments.<br />
Continued on page 11<br />
www.aapiusa.org<br />
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