VCU School of Medicine Presents Pediatric Spring Student Conference

By Malorie Burkett

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics is holding a spring conference for first and second-year medical students that will include a workshop presented by Patch Adams, M.D., social activist and founder and director of the Gesundheit Institute.

The conference is for students interested in a career in pediatrics and will be held Saturday, April 30, in the Hermes A. Kontos Medical Sciences Building, 1217 E. Marshall St. Adams’ workshop “Medicine for Fun, Not Funds,” will take place at 10:30 a.m.

The conference will include 100 student attendees coming from Virginia, Washington, D.C., North Carolina and Maryland.

Adams is best known for his work as a medical doctor and a clown, and he also is a social activist who has devoted 40 years to changing America’s health care system. He believes that laughter, joy and creativity are an integral part of the healing process.