Initiatives

Medical student initiatives are divided into the following key areas: Global Health; Engagement; Professional Development; Philanthropy; and Advocacy. Don’t forget to sign up for our monthly Student Newsflash to receive updates on current local and national student initiatives!

Global Health

The mission of our Global Health division is to connect AMWA medical student members with resources for service and advocacy in global health.

According to the World Health Organization, Global Health implies “consideration of the health needs of the people of the whole planet above the concerns of particular nations.” We at AMWA Global Health are committed to empowering women medical students to aid underserved communities throughout the world and to advocate for better health practices in any community where there is a need. AMWA provides many opportunities for students to engage with global health, from Overseas grants to a Global Health Fellowship. Please visit the Global Health webpage here. If you have any questions, please email our Global Health Chair.

Engagement

Information about Medical Student Mentorship activities can be found on this webpage.

Faces of AMWA

AMWA is developing an online exhibition, Faces of AMWA, to chronicle the achievements of notable AMWA members past and present. Be involved and receive credit as a contributor! We need your help to research the personal lives and professional accomplishments of these inspiring  women physician-leaders!

Direct Benefits:

• Recognition at AMWA Annual Meeting
• Name listing as contributing researcher for the exhibit

Requirements:

• Interest in the history of AMWA and women in medicine
• Commitment to writing a one-page biographical sketch of historic female physicians, with appropriate citations.

All work will be computer-based and can be done from home or your campus library. Would you like to be involved? Please contact our National Medical Student Program Chair for more information!

Professional Development

IGNITE: Let us empower YOU

Created by women physicians for women medical students recognizing the unique challenges they will face. IGNITE is a program curated for the current medical student with interactive lectures, brief high-yield topic discussions, and one-on-one coaching from national experts on issues not addressed in traditional medical school curriculums. For more information, or to register for this free program, please visit the AMWA Ignite webpage here.

Philanthropy

AMWA Students have a long history of serving their communities. Check out the list below for national and international volunteer opportunities for medical students!

• Underdocs Mentorship Program
• Translators Without Borders

For more information on these opportunities, please visit this link. If you have any questions, contact our Philanthropy chair at philanthropy@amwa-student.org

Physicians Against the Trafficking of Humans (PATH)

Physicians Against the Trafficking of Humans (PATH) was founded by AMWA in 2014 in order to educate physicians, residents, and medical students about issues surrounding human trafficking. Visit this webpage to learn more about our work or engage with our Learn to Identify and Fight Trafficking (LIFT) curriculum. There are many opportunities for medical students to be involved in research, advocacy, education, and social media. Get involved today!

Advocacy

AMWA is dedicated to the advancement of women in medicine and to improving women’s health via advocacy for women in the legal, social, and educational realms. AMWA provides a voice and an outlet for us as future physicians to make an impact on our role as professionals within our national healthcare system, as well as the health and well-being of all of our patients, especially the unique concerns of women.

The goals for Advocacy are focused around three principles: awareness, discussion, and action.

• Awareness: AMWA Advocacy will serve as a major information outlet for members, providing education on current events surrounding advocacy for women in medicine and women’s health, in addition to updates on healthcare reform, healthcare disparities, and advocacy events occurring regionally and nationally.
• Discussion: Often times as a medical student it may feel as though you are merely a spectator of the legislative process and any reforms enacted that will affect both you and your patients. AMWA Advocacy seeks to generate discussion among its medical student members about issues that concern us and stimulate a call to action. Specifically, AMWA Advocacy will work to develop an easily accessible forum where members can feel free to raise awareness in their peers and generate brainstorming on ways that AMWA can help make a difference.
• Action: Most importantly, Advocacy looks to get medical student members involved. Medical student members will be able to use AMWA to easily contact their respective members of Congress and make their opinion heard. AMWA Advocacy facilitates this process through Letter-Writing Campaigns that focus on particular issues throughout the year. Advocacy will motivate and support regional and local student leaders in the education of their colleagues on activist issues and the organization of events that stimulate activism in our communities. Advocacy will also recruit student members to AMWA projects that focus on issues of national importance.

Please send any comments, questions, or concerns to advocacy@amwa-student.org. Visit the Medical Student Advocacy webpage to learn more. Thank you!