Who We Are
The American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) is the only multi-specialty medical organization that advocates for the advancement of womenʼs health and women in medicine.
AMWA's student members number in the thousands, and AMWA student branches are based at allopathic and osteopathic medical schools as well as undergraduate institutions throughout the nation. AMWA is dedicated to ensuring that content on the unique health needs of women is incorporated into medical school curricula, and to creating opportunities for leadership development, fellowship, and mentorship for women at all levels of medical education and practice.
From the President
As National Student President, it is my pleasure to welcome you to a new year of AMWA leadership. Being a medical student truly encompasses many areas: learning, patient care, and additional pursuits such as research, leadership, and service. Trying to do a great job in most or all of these areas and also maintaining your personal life is exhausting and especially difficult without mentorship and strong support from a network of peers.
AMWA exists to provide that support.
Women in medical school face additional challenges relative to our male peers. Nationally, a relatively small proportion of our full professors are women (18%), and the increase in women at higher academic ranks has not kept pace with the number of women graduating from medical schools. Several studies have shown that women in medicine are paid less than their male colleagues, and that this disparity has grown over time. Finally, certain residencies within medicine continue to be predominantly male, and overall attrition is greater for women medical students and physicians than for men.
A key part of AMWA’s mission is to create and foster attitudes, programs, and environments that allow women to fully succeed in their educations and careers, and thus to make the most of women's contributions in medicine and to improve medical education and the workplace for all students and physicians. But succeeding in medicine, like almost any field, depends in part on access – not just “being allowed in,” but having a mentor who will actively support you. A mentor can provide guidance, recognize your efforts, coach you through your weaknesses, and put you in the way of opportunities. AMWA members can expect to be both mentored and to mentor others.
AMWA’s brand new Carter Global Health Fellowship, which integrates mentorship, leadership development, and meaningful service, is just one example of how AMWA meets your needs. The Bed and Breakfast program, where students and physicians host AMWA members interviewing for residency, is another key AMWA initiative that combines mentorship and “inside access” to an academic community with reducing the cost of residency interviews. Regional Conferences and events like the Annual Meeting provide further opportunities for you to network, meet role models, and grow as a physician in training. And local AMWA branches generate thousands of opportunities each year for leadership, mentoring, and fellowship through formal mentoring programs, speaker events, and opportunities for meaningful service.
Female medical students and physicians are wonderful, strong, smart, talented individuals who can truly make a difference in medicine. It is such a pleasure to have the opportunity to communicate with you, and I personally invite you to contact me if you would like to get more involved with AMWA. After all, AMWA exists to support you and to give us all more opportunities to make a difference in medicine!
Warmly,
Adrienne Clark
2011-2012 National Student President
