AMSA Calendar

The AMSA Residency Prep Series is a comprehensive, multi-session program designed to support both international and domestic medical students as they navigate the residency application and Match process. Through expert-led workshops and practical guidance, the series covers every major step of the journey—from securing U.S. clinical experience and strong letters of recommendation to crafting compelling personal statements, mastering ERAS, preparing for interviews, and building effective rank lists.

With sessions tailored to the unique needs of International Medical Graduates (IMGs) and U.S. medical students, participants will gain essential insights into visas, ECFMG certification, USMLE planning, program selection, and Match strategies. The series also emphasizes professional development, wellness, and resilience to help students prepare confidently for a successful transition into residency.

Program Details:

• Registration Deadline: February 20, 2026

• Start Date: February 21, 2026

• End Date: January 2027

• Meeting Times: Saturdays, 10:00 – 11:00 AM ET

• Cost: $25 for AMSA members | $75 for non-members

Register here: Home | Residency Prep Series: Guide to Crushing the U.S. Residency Match

For more details on session dates, topics, and program content, please visit the Residency Prep Series page: Residency Prep Series - AMSA

Join us for this step-by-step guide to position yourself for success in the residency match — whether you’re applying from the U.S. or abroad. Don’t miss this chance to learn from experts and set yourself up for match success!

Day 1: Opening Plenary


Session 1: The House of Medicine & Moral Imagination: Repairing Trust, Restoring Justice

Time: 6:00 PM ET

Meet the Speakers: AMSA’s national learners and staff, trained with a long-range of unique lived experiences, spanning those of educators, advocates, and beyond, will frame this introduction to the week. Sharing key elements from AMSA’s long and not forgotten history in Health Justice work, building from the “Story of Us” to the “Story of Now,” and introducing, in community discussion, our renewed and reinvigorated approach towards advocacy in a time such as this.

What to Expect: In this session, we will explore the utility of moral imagination- to see beyond the narrow story of medicine that we were given- and to envision a house rebuilt with justice, repair, and collective safety at its foundation. Together, we will explore how future physicians can truly be for change- how we can confront historical and ongoing harms, listen deeply to communities’ visions for care, and more from performative “trust-building” to concrete practices of care, accountability, redistribution, and repair. We will further explore these frameworks through story-telling and hear from your very own National Leaders and AMSA staff.

Session 2: AMSA Community Building: Connection, Community & Care 

Time: 8:00 PM ET

What To Expect: After the close of each evening’s session, AMSA national leaders and staff will offer a space to gather in community, reflecting jointly on the themes of the night and holding sacred space to simply be together. There is no programmatic agenda for this space- and purposely so. This hour is designed for connection, grounding, and honoring the lived experiences of our members- building a core of care in a world that can make gentleness and community feel out of reach. All are welcome and all are deeply celebrated.

Day 2: Moral Distress & Institutional Harm: When the Systems Meant to Protect Us Let Us Down


Session 1
Time: 5:00 PM ET 
Meet the Speaker: Dr. Anu Gorunkanti, MD (she/her) with Introspective Spaces

Session 2
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Meet the Speaker(s): Marielle Vaugn-Hickman, MA (she/her) and a team of panelists from Stop Stigma Sacramento.

Session 3
Time: 8:15 PM ET

Day 3: Protecting Abortion Care: Fighting Stigma & Attacks on Autonomy


Session 1
Time: 6:00 PM ET
Meet the Speaker: Aviva Abusch (she/her), Executive Director of the Congressional Reproductive Freedom Caucus 

Session 2
Time: Time to be made available soon.
Meet the Speaker: Sofia Braunstein, MPH (she/her/ella) at Ibis Reproductive Health & the DC Abortion Fund (DCAF)

Session 3
Time: 8:00 PM ET

Day 4: Standing Against Tyranny: The Physician’s Role in Defending Human Rights


Session 1
Time: 7:00 PM ET 
Meet the Speakers: Matthew Hing (he/him), PhD/MS4 at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA); Sami Haraguchi MS4 at University of Southern California (USC); & Dr. Abhinaya Narayanan, Family Medicine Fellow at Harbor-UCLA

Session 2
Time: Time to be made available soon.
Meet the Speakers(s): Key activists and clinicians from Doctors Against Genocide (DAG)

Session 3
Time: 8:00 PM ET

Day 5: From Reflection to Reconstruction- Strengthening Our Collective Voice


Session 1
Time: 4:00 PM ET
Meet the Speaker(s): Community Catalyst key staff, Dr. Sheree Keitt, DrPH, MPH & Daisha Bonhomme, MS  

Session 2
Time: 5:00 PM ET

• Hands-on Clinical Skill-building

• Thought-provoking, Dynamic Conversations

• Gain Knowledge & Build Connections in a Supportive, Nurturing & Love-centered Community

Open to All U.S. based AMSA medical student members
Scholarships Cover All Expenses

Seats Limited - Apply HERE Today!
Deadline - Sunday, March 29 at 11:59pmPT

4 Date Options for 2026 Summer Institutes 

• Summer A: May 14 – 17, 2026

• Summer B: June 11 – 14, 2026

• Summer C: July 30 – Aug 2, 2026

• Summer D: August 20 – 23, 2026

Questions: Email rhp@amsa.org