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The Somali Medical Association was formed in 2004 at its first meeting in Columbus, Ohio and held its second annual meeting here in Minnesota.
The Somali Medical Association has chosen St. Paul to be its headquarters. The third annual conference will be hosted again in the State of Minnesota, thanks to HealthPartners hospitality. Participation of the 2005 Conference was unexpectedly good with over 50 participants from different parts of the United States. There are about 100 Somali born medical doctors in the United States and Canada, the majority of whom are immigrants who are struggling through their resettlement. Most are in the process of taking the US medical licensing exams. The majority were trained in languages other than English. They need to learn English as a well as prepare for exams and compete for highly competitive residency programs. They need the guidance of the few who are practicing in the US. The Somali Medical Association was formed to respond to the growing needs of the Somali Physicians and medical students. During the second annual meeting a Board of Directors and important commitees were formed. The vision of the Somali Medical Association: •To support the foreign medical graduates from Somali Speaking countries in their struggle to obtain licenses in the United States and Canada •To educate the Somali communtiy in Minnesota and other cities about their health problems •To cooperate with the Somali Medical Association in Somalia in their endeavor to adress the huge health problems that Somalia faces today. Most Somali physicians need information about US licensing exams.
They lack English language proficiency, test taking skills and training in the American system. They need to enroll into special schools like Kaplan to gain the needed knowledge for the exams. Often they need to share resources including information about books and they also need to know each other. The Somali Medical Association would be the key in organizing meeting and disseminating information by developing a database for the physicians part of which has been successfully collected during the annual meeting of 2005, held at the HealthPartners Corporate Building, thanks to Mary Brainerd and Patricia Walker's efforts and generosity. The Somali Medical Association will build partnerships with other agencies that are engaged in educating the Somali community in the areas of health and immigrant adjustment related issues. The Somali speaking physicians will address the community thorugh television networks, local newspapers, and community meetings.
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