Rashad Momoh

DOS 772 - Clinical Practicum II

August 7, 2021

Professional Service Learning Journal

Attending conferences is an important way to stay current within the field of radiation
oncology. Conferences provide a way for professionals to network and share ideas that translate
to patients receiving the current best practice. Each year the American Association of Medical
Dosimetrists (AAMD) puts together an annual conference, available exclusively to registered
members. Typically, the annual conference meeting is hosted in a different state around the
country. Due to the current global pandemic, this year’s AAMD 46th Annual Meeting was held
virtually from June 6th to June 10th, 2021.
As it is for many large scale community events, there is always a need for volunteers at
the AAMD Annual Meeting. With such a strong student presence, this presents a wonderful
opportunity for myself and fellow students to get involved and play a role in the medical
dosimetry community. Again, as the AAMD Annual Meeting members gathered virtually, the
opportunity to participate in shared learning through reflection via social media arose.
There were two specific Facebook student volunteer roles available which were Student
Lead and Student Support. For the Student Lead, they were instructed to generate a discussion
post on the Student AAMD Facebook group for their assigned topic. Among the things the
Student Lead was asked to address were new concepts and techniques learned, didactic concepts
that had been reinforced by the lecture, surprising or interesting information, and asking
questions to get clarification on confusing or unclear concepts. The secondary student volunteer
role was as the Student Support. As Student support, volunteers would select a session and
respond to the lead’s post with their own comments, thoughts or questions from the session. By
both the Student Lead and Student Support doing this, it initiated important and interesting
conversations among members within the Student AAMD Facebook group. I myself signed up to
be a Student Support in two different topics that I found to be incredibly interesting.
I am truly grateful for not only the opportunity to attend the AAMD Virtual 46th Annual
Meeting, but also to assist as a volunteer. This was a rewarding experience which opened many
new doors for future volunteer activities in my profession. Interacting with several students and
colleagues in the field has encouraged me to attend more meetings as well as participate in
volunteer committees in the future.