Media contact: Bob Shepard
The Best Medicine Show is back for the 10th year in a row, and this year, it is bigger than ever, expanding to the BJCC Concert Hall.
Students from the UAB School of Medicine will take the stage Friday, Feb. 28, for the annual show, a night showcasing the students’ creative sides with short digital films, music and dance. Proceeds from the event benefit 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 poke fun at medical student life with live acts, songs and videos. Live talent for the show includes dance groups, bands, singers, comedy acts and more.
“Medical school is a challenging time for everyone, between coursework, studying and stress,” says Gill Garver, third-year medical student and assistant producer for the show. “The Best Medicine Show is a way for us to get out of our medical school bubble, to share our talents and passions with others, and to help the broader Birmingham community.”
The show’s organizers say that, in addition to being a creative outlet, the show allows medical students to give back to Birmingham. Through The Best Medicine Show, students have raised almost $60,000 for EAB, an initiative created in 2005 to both improve health care 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 Josh Bell, a fourth-year medical student and producer of The Best Medicine Show.
“What started as Skit Night hosted in one of the lecture rooms in Volker Hall on campus has grown into one of the biggest student traditions in the School of Medicine,” Garver said. “It’s a great night and a great showcase of the heart of the SOM.”
The show begins at 7 p.m. BJCC Concert Hall, located at 2100 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. North, Birmingham. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Tickets are $27, including fees, and can be purchased online.