The third annual Reproductive Health Symposium is a conference planned for students of all healthcare disciplines at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) and across the United States. This year, we will have a hands-on ‘preview’ workshop on November 9, 2022 from 6-9pm that includes education on pelvic floor physical therapy, IUD placement, and birth control counseling. Spots for this workshop are limited and will be available on a first come, first serve basis!
The conference itself is scheduled to take place entirely over Zoom on Saturday, November 12, 2022. This conference will be a joint effort between the Medical Students for Choice, Lumina (LGBTQ+ group), Student National Medical Association, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Building Understanding of Maternity and Pregnancy registered student organizations at OUHSC and OU Tulsa’s Medical Students for Choice chapter. The conference is scheduled to start at 10 am and wrap up at 2:30 pm with a 30 minute lunch break from 12-12:30 pm.
The virtual conference will start out with a one-hour keynote speech discussing the two-spirit identity and history of sexuality within Native American populations . The keynote will be followed by three hour-long sessions, with two sessions running concurrently each hour. Conference attendees will have the option to choose which of these sessions they would like to attend. Sessions will be recorded with permission of the presenter(s) and distributed to conference attendees after the event so they may view sessions that they were unable to attend. Current sessions planned include a Post-Roe Oklahoma panel, rural reproductive health, reproductive healthcare in patients with disabilities, reproductive health inequities within minority populations, home births and midwives, and perinatal substance use.
Due to the legal restrictions in Oklahoma, we are taking extra measures this year to ensure everybody’s safe attendance now and in the future. In collaboration with the advice of professionals and our speakers, we are permitted to discuss educational aspects of abortion (ex: history, language of current laws, barriers to care) but cannot provide any information within the bounds of “aiding and abetting” (ex: resources, identifying clinics in neighboring states, etc.). We thank you for your understanding as we continue to navigate this new landscape together while maintaining the core mission of the Reproductive Health Symposium.
Thank you for your interest in helping us create a conference that is both meaningful and inclusive, creating a safe space for students to learn about disparities and sensitive topics in reproductive healthcare.
Sincerely,
The Reproductive Health Symposium Planning Committee