Students from the UAB School of Medicine take the stage Friday, Jan. 30, 2015 at the Boutwell Auditorium for The Best Medicine Show, an annual philanthropic event showcasing the students’ creative sides with short digital films, music and dance. Proceeds from the event go to Equal Access Birmingham, a student-run program that operates a free primary care clinic for underserved people in the Birmingham area.
The Best Medicine Show, hosted by the School of Medicine Student Senate, is an opportunity for students to use their ideas poking fun at medical student life and turn those ideas into live acts, songs and videos. Live talent for the show includes dance groups, bands, singers, comedy acts and more.
“The Best Medicine Show is an evening of fun, laughter and entertainment,” said Sima Baalbaki, a fourth-year medical student and one of the show’s producers. “We all excel at studying, but our other talents are diverse, and the Best Medicine Show proves just that. The show provides students with the opportunity to share their creativity and originality with the entire Birmingham community through this fun-filled evening.”
And though the performers may be poking fun at their own lives, the show’s organizers say there will be acts anyone can enjoy.
“Remember that friend or relative in the medical profession who likes to talk about things that no one understands but is completely oblivious to it? Or that doctor you see who just seems a little bit quirky at times? If so, then you’ll appreciate everything The Best Medicine Show is about,” said James Earl Corley, a fourth-year medical student and Best Medicine Show producer. “It’s our chance to show everyone that we can laugh at ourselves and have a good time poking fun at some of the sometimes odd and peculiar things we go through on our way to becoming doctors.”
The show’s organizers say that in addition to being a creative outlet, the show allows medical students to give back to Birmingham. Last year, the Student Senate donated more than $16,000 to Equal Access Birmingham, an initiative created in 2005 to both improve healthcare access for underserved populations in Birmingham and provide UAB medical students with service learning experiences.
“We use the show as an opportunity to give the proceeds we raise back to the Birmingham community in a meaningful way,” said Omar Ahmed, a fourth-year medical student and producer of The Best Medicine Show.
The show begins at 7 p.m. inside Boutwell Auditorium, 1930 Eighth Ave. North, Birmingham. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Advance tickets are $7 for students and $10 for general admission. Tickets purchased at the door are $15. The online student price extends to students from other colleges and universities.
Visit www.bestmedicineshow.com to purchase tickets or find more information.