Touro University Nevada Heads to Carson City for Legislative Day
Nearly 20 representatives from Touro University Nevada, including students, faculty, staff, and Advisory Board members, traveled 400 miles to the state capitol in Carson City for Touro Day at the Legislature.
The experience was enthralling for students specifically, who had the unique opportunity to meet state lawmakers while learning more about the legislative process.
Students from both the College of Osteopathic Medicine and College of Health and Human Services met with lawmakers to urge them on the importance of needing more funding for graduate medical education (GME) for Nevada, among additional bills working their way through the legislature. Funding for more GME will help alleviate the physician shortage in the state by allowing more local medical school graduates to stay in Nevada to do their residencies.
“During Legislative Day, we saw that we had a lot of support for the bills we discussed,” said Amir Harb, a third-year student in the College of Osteopathic Medicine. “We hope to see the issues that we brought forth resolved in the future.”
“I feel so happy and blessed to have been able to learn about Nevada’s legislature and pushing for more residency spots here in Nevada,” said Grace Souad Cheetany, a second-year student in the College of Osteopathic Medicine.
The ability to learn more about how legislation affects students’ roles as future healthcare professionals was an eye-opening experience.
“I was able to see and learn about so many things behind the scenes that affect us and our patients,” said Judith Flores, a Family Nurse Practitioner student. “This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m incredibly grateful to have been able to be a part of Touro Day at the Legislature.”
In addition to touring the state capitol building, students learned more about the legislative process from Shelley Berkley, Senior Vice President of the Touro University System, who began her work in the Nevada Legislature in 1983.
“Touro Day at the Legislature is a wonderful opportunity for our students to gain a better understanding of our state government and how laws affect them as future physicians and healthcare professionals,” Berkley said. “In turn, our lawmakers were able to hear directly from our students who educated them about the critical work Touro University Nevada is doing to improve healthcare in our state.”
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