Hub Day: Meds and Eds

We love our city. Philadelphia is architecturally gorgeous, has beautiful green spaces, terrific eateries, and flat-out amazing history.
But there's even more to it than just what meets the eye: It's by far the most impressive gathering place for folks in both the medical and academic professions.
One organization, the Meds and Eds Alliance, is giving back to our great city by paying direct attention to the workers who make up the two largest industries in Philadelphia. "We have 92 colleges and universities in the greater Philadelphia area," said Kate Bay, Director of Member Services for the Meds and Eds Alliance, "and 75% of the world's pharmaceuticals are manufactured within a 50-mile radius of here."
The alliance is one of The Hub's newest clients, and their mission to establish a strong membership organization for the workers who make up so much of what Philadelphia's about is going strong.
Members of the group, who must all be professionals in academia or medicine, can learn from each other and from the resources and events the alliance gathers and creates for them. It's the first support network of its type.



Bay says that its best asset is its members. "No generalists are allowed to join," she said, "and all of the events are driven by members. They're living in this world every day, so it makes sense for them to be creating the content of the events."
So how exactly do the arguably different worlds of academia and medicine meshing? The question's a moot one, since both academics and medical practitioners are constantly learning. And the Meds and Eds Alliance will ensure that both fields are tied together with one simple step. "The moderators for each event are college professors," Bay said. "They're speaking to highly educated audiences. Professors are educated enough to drive discussion, and eloquent, and they know which questions to ask."
So what's on deck for Meds and Eds? A meet-and-greet happy hour for nurses August 11 is a good example of one way the alliance brings professionals together. And Meds and Eds will be making a concerted push to address the needs of health information management professionals, too. The alliance is also establishing a foundation that will aim to provide scholarships for those in the medical and academic professions; the first scholarship will be announced for 2012.
And as part of its ongoing effort to shore up both professions, Meds and Eds is planning on a mentorship program that will help young medical practitioners and academics to navigate their professions.
The Alliance's ongoing relationship with The Hub means that it will always have a good place to hold its events, whether they're continuing-education classes or social mixers, in any of the three Hub's three conveniently located centers.
"The idea is to go nationwide," said Bay. We can easily see cities all over the country getting behind this effort.
We're happy and proud to work with Meds and Eds. What better gift than academic brotherhood to give the city of brotherly love?
Click here to learn how to join the Meds and Eds Alliance.