Wednesday, July 31, 2013

AAIP Pre-Admissions Students

Please see the below picture from the 42nd Annual Association of American Indian Physicians Meeting and Health Conference in Santa Clara, CA. 

On the Agenda for the meeting: “Promoting Wellness in Native American Communities Through Exercise, Disease Prevention and Traditional Healing”

The Association of American Indian Physicians maintains its headquarters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; however, educational forums, workshops and conferences are hosted throughout the year in different regions of the United States.
AAIP’s membership is made up of American Indian and Alaska Native physicians who are at least 1/8 American Indian or Alaskan Native, and who are licensed to practice medicine in the United States. AAIP also offers an affiliate level membership for American Indian or Alaskan Native physicians who are unable to meet the 1/8 blood quantum requirement.
A major goal of AAIP is to motivate American Indian and Alaskan Native students to remain in the academic pipeline and to pursue a career in the health professions and/or biomedical research, thereby increasing the number of American Indian and Alaskan Native medical professionals in the workforce.
AAIP strives to improve the overall health of American Indian and Alaskan Native Communities through a variety of programs. AAIP has fostered several programs that directly address widely acknowledged disparities in American Indian and Alaskan Native health.

Assistant or Associate Professor - American Indian Public Health

We are very excited to be hiring for a full-time faculty to teach, research, and advise within the American Indian Public Health track at the North Dakota State University Master of Public Health program!

More details for the job can be found here and below:
The Department of Pharmacy Practice, Master of Public Health (MPH) Program, North Dakota State University, is seeking a full-time faculty member for a 12-month position in American Indian Public Health. This position is housed in the MPH Program of the Department of Pharmacy Practice in the College of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Allied Sciences. The position requires developing a teaching/research program with a focus on American Indian health at the graduate level; In addition, the position requires the development of courses with a focus on American Indian Public Health content, specifically in the area of American Indian Health Policy and Public Health Research, graduate student mentoring, serving on graduate committees, demonstrated understanding of contemporary American Indian populations in relation to relevant health services, and documented skills in organization, administration, and management in regard to academic programs. The position also calls for the development and implementation of on-going relationships with American Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban American Indian communities in relation to the American Indian Public Health track.

Applicants are required to submit a letter of interest with a statement of their career goals and a description of how their research background fits into the Master of Public Health Program. Please upload this to “Other Document 1”. A presentation on the topic of Public Health Implications of Health Policy for American Indians will be required at the time of interview. Three professional references are also required.

Screening begins 09/02/2013

Monday, July 29, 2013

Native Sun News: Donald Warne pushed for Surgeon General

By Karin Eagle
Native Sun News Staff Writer

FARGO - Living up to his Lakota name, Pejuta Wicas (Medicine Man), Dr. Donald Warne, MD, MPH, has made the medical field his avenue to improving the lives of the people across Indian Country.

His pay off is a nod from two prominent Native organizations, who have recently pushed his name to the top of a list of nominees for the post of US Surgeon General. Both the National Indian Health Board and the National Congress of American Indians have endorsed Warne for the post.

Warne is a member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe with family roots in the Medicine Root District of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

Warne received his Medical Degree from Stanford University in 1995 and his Master of Public Health from Harvard University with a focus on health policy in 2002. Warne is currently the Director of the Master of Public Health Program at North Dakota State University, and serves as the Senior Policy Advisor to the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Health Board.

Warne specializes in Public Health Policy, Health Disparities, American Indian Health and Family Medicine. His training includes a fellowship in Minority Health Police, 2001, at Harvard Medical School in Boston; and training in Medical Acupuncture for Physicians, 1998 at the UCLA School of Medicine in Los Angeles; and a Residency in Family Medicine, 1998, Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix.

Awards Warne has received during his career include the Mary J. Berg Distinguished Professorship in Women's Health, NDSU, 2012 and the Josiah N. Moore Native American Alumnus of the Year (2008) Arizona State University Alumni Association.

Boris D. Lushniak, is currently the acting US Surgeon General since July 17, 2013 following the departure of Regina M. Benjamin, who had been appointed by President Barack Obama as the 18th United States Surgeon General in July, 2009 and served a four-year term.

(Contact Karin Eagle at staffwriter@nsweekly.com)
Full article can be read at this location: http://www.indianz.com/News/2013/010591.asp
See print article here: http://www.nsweekly.com/

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Will an Oglala Lakota Doctor Become the Next U.S. Surgeon General?

Article by: Tanya Lee  
July 23, 2013

 

Dr. Donald Warne, Oglala Lakota, sees his nomination to serve as U.S. Surgeon General as an opportunity—not for himself personally, but rather to bring American Indian health issues to the forefront of national consciousness. "It is a tremendous honor to be part of the conversation. This is an opportunity to include American Indian health issues in the national discussion, to raise those issues to a national level," says Warne, who was nominated by the National Indian Health Board and the National Congress of American Indians.
Under his leadership, Warne says, one part of that discussion would be about diabetes, a disease on which Warne has done considerable work. "American Indians have a higher incidence of diabetes and a higher rate of complications from the disease, including heart disease and amputations, than does the general population," he says. The reason? Poverty.
"The Indian Health Service is underfunded. Many American Indians don't have access to healthier food, exercise opportunities and wellness programs, nor to the newest and best medications," he explains.
A priority for Warne would be reducing this and other health disparities. "Impoverished people get sick, suffer and die at a much earlier age than others. Many people within this nation do not have access to health care. I see a terrible disparity and would work to achieve health equity, to make sure every population has the opportunity to live in a healthy way."
Warne says the U.S. Surgeon General is the "nation's doctor," with the responsibility of leading the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and identifying the best scientific data to prevent and treat disease. He mentions two instances in which the surgeon general has had a profound impact on the health of the nation. The report of the Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health in 1964 led to warning labels on cigarette packages and other anti-smoking measures, which are still being initiated by states almost 50 years after the report came out. Cigarette smoking, says Warne, is a major contributor to the damage diabetes does within the American Indian community. In the second instance, Warne cites Dr. C. Everett Koop's role in changing public attitudes about HIV and AIDS.
Warne, born and raised on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, comes from a family of medicine men and traditional healers, and, with his mother serving as a public health nurse with the IHS, he became interested in cross-cultural medicine even before going to college. He earned his M.D. from Stanford University and his Masters in Public Health from Harvard University. Warne is currently director of the Master of Public Health Program at North Dakota State University, an adjunct professor at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, and a senior policy consultant American Indian Health & Management Policy, a firm that he founded to advise tribes on health care management, as well as being involved in a raft of medical research initiatives.
At 46, Warne describes himself as on the "younger side of the equation" among the nominees, but, he says, "so is President Obama."
Please return to Indian Country Today Media Network for more coverage of American Indians nominated for U.S. Surgeon General, including Lori Arviso-Alvord, Navajo, and Charles Grim, Cherokee.
Read more athttp://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/07/23/will-oglala-lakota-doctor-become-next-us-surgeon-general-150545

Thursday, July 18, 2013

NDSU’s public health program director nominated for U.S. surgeon general

The news is spreading! Congratulations to Dr. Warne!

Published: 15 July 2013 09:17 AM
The director of NDSU’s Master of Public Healthprogram has been nominated by two Native American organizations to become the next U.S. surgeon general.
Donald Warne, associate professor and Mary J. Berg Distinguished Professor in Women’s Health, was one of four nominees the National Indian Health Board and the National Congress of American Indians presented to President Barack Obama on July 3.
A native of Kyle, S.D., Warne is a member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe, which is based on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He helped establish the NDSU Master of Public Health program and his areas of expertise include public health policy, health disparities, American Indian health and family medicine.
“It’s a tremendous honor to even be mentioned as a potential nominee,” Warne said. “I’m thankful to have national organizations have the confidence in me and my abilities.” 
Surgeon General Regina Benjamin announced in mid-June plans to step down this month from serving as the nation’s leading spokesperson on matters of public health. The surgeon general serves as “America’s doctor” by providing Americans the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce the risk of illness and injury.
Appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate for a four-year term, the surgeon general also is the operational head of the 6,500-member U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
“My priorities always will be to ensure everyone has access to the public health and medical services necessary to keep our population healthy,” Warne said. “Unfortunately, many segments of the American population simply do not have access to services, and as a result suffer from significant disparities and preventable illness.”
Warne earned his medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine and a master’s in public health from Harvard School of Public Health. He serves as a senior policy consultant for American Indian Health Management and Policy, where he previously served as president and CEO. He also is a senior policy adviser for the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board.
He became interested in health care as a child. Warne’s mother was a public health nurse in the Indian Health Service and several uncles were Medicine Men in Pine Ridge, S.D. “As a result, cross-cultural medicine and working with underserved communities has been my focus for several decades,” Warne said. “I became interested in public health because my experience as a primary care physician revealed that the chronic health issues people deal with begin long before they get to the doctor or clinic.”
Warne also serves on numerous boards, including the national board of directors for the American Cancer Society and the National Advisory Council on Breast Cancer in Young Women with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
NDSU’s Master of Public Health program features the nation’s first American Indian/Alaska Native specialization. “The activities within the program and the support from the university have strengthened me, personally and professionally, and helps contribute to this nomination,” Warne said.
Other names nominated by the two organizations include Lori Arviso-Alvord, the first Navajo woman to become a surgeon; Charles Grim, the immediate past director of the Indian Health Services; and Rear Adm. Craig Vanderwagon, former U.S. assistant surgeon general.
 The National Indian Health Board is a not-for-profit charitable organization serving and advocating for all federally recognized Tribes to advance the health care service, public health and health status of American Indian and Alaska Native people. The National Congress of American Indians is the oldest and largest American Indian organization in the United States. It has fought to preserve treaty rights and sovereign status of tribal governments, while also ensuring Native people may fully participate in the political system.
“All four individuals possess the exceptional intelligence, expertise, personal gifts and national standing that qualifies each of them to provide leadership to all of our nation’s citizens,” said the nomination letter.
For more information on NDSU’s Master of Public Health program, visitwww.ndsu.edu/publichealth. More information on the National Indian Health Board is available at www.nihb.org. More information on the National Congress of American Indians is available at www.ncai.org.
This great piece of news is all over the web:
And the list goes on and on...all over the country!