Advocacy & Action is central to AMSA.
For over seven decades, we’ve stood up for equity, social justice and inclusion in health care — by banding together as a unified force for positive change. Together, we’ve moved legislators and key influencers to create a more human, just and accessible realm of medicine. And we’re gaining even more momentum.
This is what distinguishes AMSA from any other student organization: you lead the way. As a student-run organization, members, like you, are afforded the opportunities to lead, advocate and influence change. Moreover, we are independent — this means we can advocate for change with no conflict of interest from corporate, governing bodies — unlike many other student organizations.
This independent vision first began due to students just like you. In the 1950’s, AMSA, then known as the Student American Medical Association (SAMA), made the courageous decision to break away from the American Medical Association (AMA) due to a clear misalignment in values & central orientation. Our students were emboldened and ready to advance civil and human rights, social justice, and equity for all. They were unwilling to go quietly into the dark and so are we.
We refuse a medicine that judges worthiness or denies wholeness. Health is multidimensional, woven from a sense of belonging and shared safety.
We believe that health is a human right- much like access to the very things that make health possible and give it its best chance to flourish. Embedded in this belief is the understanding that health is multidimensional-a living tapestry woven from a shared sense of belonging and safety. Where legality is not a term used to define a living person. Where compassion is not a privilege but an extension of human dignity- owed to all. In short, human rights is a nonpartisan issue.
To reflect this, we have intentionally restructured the Advocacy arm of our organization as a renewed path- Advocacy & Action. This division of our organization will serve, with revitalized energy and purpose, and be clearly focused upon uplifting the democracy we believe in through three core pillars:
