News Archive Featured in the Media JeffNEWS

Kavita Shah, a student at Jefferson Medical College, has been elected to a two-year term on the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA).  She is the only medical student in the nation serving in this capacity.

“Kavita Shah’s appointment to the AMA’s Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs is a well-deserved honor.  Ms. Shah exhibits exemplary commitment to the values of the ‘virtuous physician’ that Jefferson Medical College works to develop through our programs and through the example of our faculty.  I am proud to have Ms. Shah among our student body,” says Thomas J. Nasca, M.D., MACP, Senior Vice President and Dean of Jefferson Medical College.

CEJA members are nominated by the AMA President and elected by the House of Delegates.  CEJA consists of seven physicians, one resident and one medical student.  The council develops ethics policy for the AMA and maintains and updates the 160-year-old AMA Code of Ethics, widely recognized as the most comprehensive ethics guide for physicians.  In addition, the Council has judicial responsibilities, which includes appellate jurisdiction over physician members’ appeals of ethics-related decisions made by state and specialty medical societies.

Ms. Shah graduated from the Pennsylvania State University as part of the six-year accelerated medical program with Jefferson Medical College.  She has completed her second year of medical school at Jefferson and is concurrently earning her Master’s in Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania.  She expects to graduate with her dual degree in 2009.

She previously served in various AMA positions such as AMA regional vice-chair of the medical student section, the state legislative chair, and the chapter chair.  She is currently a member of the Pennsylvania delegation to the House of Delegates.

Her research interests include pediatric endocrinology.  She is also studying medication compliance in the homeless population in Philadelphia.

Ms. Shah is extremely involved in the Jefferson student community through a variety of student groups with diverse focuses such as literacy, prospective student interviewing and performance dancing.