Dear International Chapter Member,
Welcome to the American Medical Student Association (AMSA)
and congratulations on choosing to charter a new AMSA International
Chapter at your school.
AMSA is the largest independent association of physicians-in-training.
AMSA is a national organization, but our core is our local chapters.
AMSA was founded with a spirit of grassroots activism and service
that continues today—AMSA chapters provide over one million
hours of community service. By choosing to found an international
chapter, you are joining over 55 years of working for change
in medical education and health care. You also join an organization
that recognizes the importance of international collaboration
in building the physicians of tomorrow.
There are a large number of activities and services open to
your AMSA chapter. Check out our Introduction
to AMSA to learn all about what AMSA has to offer. There
is information on our Web site about membership
benefits and services, local
projects, action committees and
interest groups, our annual
convention, a section just for chapter
officers and much more!
If you require assistance in completing this application,
or have any questions, do not hesitate to contact AMSA's
International Trustee at intlt@amsa.org.
Good luck and welcome to the AMSA family!
Dear International Medical Student,
Welcome to AMSA and congratulations on either chartering an
AMSA international chapter or taking the steps to do so! The
history of AMSA dates back to 1950, when AMSA was affiliated
with the American Medical Association. The Student American Medical
Association soon became its own entity and dissociated from the
AMA to become AMSA in 1975. Since then, AMSA has become the largest
independent medical student organization composed of more than 68,000 members consistently representing the interests and needs
of medical students. Throughout the years AMSA has been a diverse
organization, with many opportunities to enrich and widen the
boundaries of our medical education, but our foundation has always
been local chapter members. AMSA was founded in the spirit of
grassroots activism, community service, political activism and
medical education reform-a spirit that continues to thrive today.
This tradition is carried on by all our local chapters, including
U.S. & Canadian allopathic and osteopathic medical schools,
international medical schools and U.S. premedical programs.
AMSA medical chapters are broken up into 10
regions, each with one to two regional trustees. Three years
ago, the international chartered chapters formed the International
Members Caucus (IMC) with an International Trustee to represent
their interests on the Board of Trustees. Today, the IMC is a
cohesive block much like a region within the U.S. and is composed
of nearly 3,400 international medical students from 39 international
chartered chapters. Many of the IMC members are U.S.-IMGs
who, through AMSA, stay active and informed about their country's
health care and medical education system. We are very much a
part of the AMSA family: as international members, we engage
in similar services and activities in our schools and communities
that other AMSA members do, as well as spend significant amounts
of clinical time in the U.S. It is our hope that by joining AMSA's
long history of advocacy, your values and passions will be supported-they
will stay with you throughout your professional career and help
you become a socially responsible physician.
AMSA is continually defining the role of the IMC, but I argue
that much of this lies in our own hands. We all come from unique
backgrounds and can offer the AMSA community an immeasurable
amount. By virtue of our geography, we are often immersed in
the disparity and international health issues that AMSA so fervently
combats. Are we not experts in these fields? AMSA recognizes
our value and it's time for the international membership to shine.
It is fitting that AMSA has created an Educational Commission
on Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG)
National Liaison position. Liaisons represent AMSA to other organizations
and enable us to be a visible and outspoken organization. The
ECFMG is the organization that assesses the credentials and skills
of our international members in order for them to practice medicine
in the U.S. By creating this position, it assures that AMSA is
an integral part of maintaining the traditionally high standards
of American medicine. As your International Trustee, I am pleased
to represent AMSA and the IMC as the ECFMG liaison for the duration
of my tenure.
There are many ways to integrate yourself into AMSA and participate
at the local and national levels. Here are just a few suggestions
on how you can get more involved:
Once again, I would like to welcome you to the AMSA community
and to what I hope will be an enriching and exciting experience
for you and your chapter. If you require assistance in completing
this application or have any other questions, please do not hesitate
to email me. I am privileged to be your representative to
National AMSA and look forward to working together in helping
you charter an international chapter at your medical school!
