Texas A&M Doctor-to-Be Named TMA Student of Year

May 18, 2018  

Sinan Bana, a third-year medical student at Texas A&M College of Medicine (Texas A&M), received the Texas Medical Association Medical Student Section (TMA-MSS) Student of the Year Award. The Sugar Land medical student received the award today at TexMed, TMA’s annual conference, in San Antonio.

“I am honored to receive this award,” said Mr. Bana. “The great thing about TMA is that, even as students, we can contribute to the process of improving the lives of patients and preserving the medical profession.”

Since 1998, TMA-MSS has recognized an outstanding student member who excels in furthering the section’s goals and policies to improve Texas’ health care system. The chapter aims to engage students in organized medicine by encouraging their involvement in local county medical societies, TMA, and the American Medical Association (AMA).

Mr. Bana joined both TMA and AMA when he started medical school in 2015. He serves as an alternate delegate for AMA’s Region 3 in its House of Delegates, the organization’s policymaking body. Mr. Bana also represents the MSS on the board of the TMA Foundation, the association’s philanthropic arm, and has served on the TMA Board of Councilors, the association’s ethical policymaking body.

At Texas A&M, Mr. Bana has served as president and treasurer of the TMA student chapter. During his tenure as TMA chapter president, Mr. Bana encouraged fellow medical students to get involved in organized medicine and prioritized helping them attend TMA and AMA events and conferences, such as First Tuesdays at the Capitol lobbying days.

Christian Beltran, vice president of the TMA chapter at Texas A&M, nominated Mr. Bana for the award because of his outstanding leadership, including his commitment to having Aggies represented at all levels of medicine, from local to AMA. “As chapter president, Sinan created and facilitated opportunities for members to engage in policy development and community service,” he said.

Mr. Bana and other students collaborated to write resolutions about newborn safety in hospitals and veterans’ access to health care. “Through TMA, I have gained an understanding of the policymaking process,” he said, “and have learned to communicate with congressional leaders about important issues in medicine.”

Mr. Bana organized naloxone training sessions for Texas A&M students and helped develop the Aggie Health Project: Hepatitis C, an initiative that provides screening for the disease at the Texas A&M student-run medical clinic in Bell County.

“Sinan’s collaborative and inclusive style set a precedent that will be hard to match,” said Mr. Beltran.

Other students agreed. “He had the ability to really make you want to represent TMA, AMA, and Texas A&M in the best light,” said one, in Mr. Bana’s nomination letter.

Mr. Bana, a 2014 graduate of The University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting, will graduate from medical school in 2019.

TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than 51,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 110 component county medical societies around the state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans.

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Contact:  Brent Annear (512) 370-1381; cell: (512) 656-7320; email: brent.annear[at]texmed[dot]org

Marcus Cooper (512) 370-1382; cell: (512) 650-5336; email: marcus.cooper[at]texmed[dot]org

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Last Updated On

May 17, 2018

Originally Published On

May 17, 2018