Hundreds of future physicians are meeting to improve health care access and equality. The American Medical Student Association's (AMSA) regional convention will focus on "The Faces of Health Care Disparities" and will take place Oct. 1-3, 2004 at Detroit's Cobo Hall.

AMSA chapters from Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio will meet with today's health care leaders to discuss improvements in future health care delivery systems. The meeting is hosted by the Wayne State University School of Medicine and will offer solutions for patients who are underinsured, uninsured or who lack adequate access to care.

Conference highlights include:

• Healthcare Disparities Panel including James Haveman, senior advisor to Iraqi Ministry of Health, and Michigan Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, moderated by Herbert Smitherman, M.D., associate chairman for the WSU Department of Community Medicine (Oct. 2 from 2-4 p.m.)

• Universal Health Care Discussion led by Ken Frisof, M.D., national director of Universal Health Care Action Network (Oct. 3 from 9:40-10:30 a.m.)

• Anti-Tobacco Rally in Hart Plaza (Oct. 2 at 5 p.m.)

• Urban Health Discussion by John Flack, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Center for African-American Urban Health at Wayne State University (Oct. 2 from 10-11 a.m.)

• Art Exhibit Debut- "People of Detroit: A Living Project" A photography collection depicting the faces and stories of Detroiters and their health concerns will be on display. Amateur photographer and second-year WSU medical student John Stasko and Marilyn Zimmerman, WSU associate professor of photography, will discuss photography for societal change. (Oct. 2 from noon-2 p.m.)

More information on programming and registration for the AMSA Region 4 +6 Conference can be found at: http://www.amsa.org/region/46conf.cfm.

With more than 1,000 medical students, the WSU School of Medicine is among the nation's largest institutions of its kind. Together with its clinical partner, the Wayne State University Physician Group, the school is a leader in patient care and medical research in a number of areas, including cancer, genetics, neuroscience and women's and children's health.