The Reporter: February 1996, Vol.7, No.1
PSR Chapter Organized

The busy and often hectic life of a medical student leaves little time for community involvement. But Andrew Coates, a second-year student, felt uncomfortable with that, so he and several fellow students organized a local chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR).

"During my first year in medical school," says Mr. Coates, "I realized that medical students need to work harder to become active participants in their community." With that in mind, the PSR chapter became reality in 1995.

To inaugurate the chapter of PSR, the students, along with the Goods for Guns Foundation and the NYPD, sponsored a gun exchange drive during the December holiday season. The drive encouraged Washington Heights residents to exchange firearms for $100 gift certificates redeemable for toys at a variety of merchants.

PSR saw the event as a way to begin reaching out to the residents of Washington Heights. "As members of PSR, we are committed to the broadest definition of the physician's role," says Mr. Coates. "Physicians must attempt to prevent the diseases of societ y as well as cure them."

For 1996, says Mr. Coates, the local chapter of PSR plans to continue its successful lecture series that focuses on the physician's role in society. The spring project, yet to be determined, will continue in the spirit of the Goods for Guns drive althoug h it will be less symbolic. "It will have a more measurable or direct effect on the community," he says. In addition, the group aims to put together a non-

violence training program for second- year students as part of their spring humanities elective.

PSR is a national organization that has taken an active stand against violence and its causes. That effort gained the organization the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985.