The Healthcare and Wellness Career Community has some of the most involved and helpful student organizations on campus. This article will cover four of those organizations and provide detail about them, including their mission, events, and resources they offer. Check out the article “Student and Professional Organizations” to find out more about our organizations in general and the benefits to joining them.
The first organization we’ll look at is the UConn chapter of the American Medical Women’s Association. The American Medical Women’s Association works at the local, national, and even international levels, making it a worldwide organization with influence in many places. The Association’s goal is to improve women’s health while simultaneously empowering women in medicine. The organization works to combat systemic gender bias and discrimination, promote unity and connection through service projects, and give women’s healthcare accomplishments a spotlight. At the UConn chapter, the Association educates its members and connects them with a wide range of opportunities. Members will be assisted and supported in securing mentorship, volunteering, research, advising, shadowing, and networking opportunities in order to better prepare them for medical school and the application process. Some benefits that members are eligible to receive include leadership positions, a mentor who is a medical student, up to $250 off of MCAT preparation, application review, trips to medical conferences, free textbooks, and scholarships. The chapter also aims to support members in the here and now, not just for their future endeavors. Despite being the American Medical Women’s Association, anyone interested in furthering women in healthcare can join, regardless of gender identity. The Association is also open to both graduate and undergraduate students. If you’re interested in joining UConn’s chapter of the AMWA, you can check them out on UConntact or email them at amwa.uconn@gmail.com.
The second organization we’ll dive into is the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students, also known as MAPS. Their goal is to educate and support pre-health students of color. The Association provides an array of opportunities to increase its members’ knowledge and skills. They host events such as involvement fairs and suture workshops and even travel to conferences. The Association recognizes the competitiveness of applications for postgraduate education, as well as the varied experiences students will have in the field, and work to prepare members for such challenges. The Association also works to prepare students for experiences that they will have as well as situations that they will encounter that are specific to minority health professionals. Their goal is to reduce ethnic health disparities that marginalized communities face by increasing the number of minority health professionals and helping them develop through support and mentoring. You can find more information about MAPS on UConntact, the Healthcare and Wellness Career Community’s homepage, or by emailing them at uconnmapschapter@gmail.com.
The third organization we’ll discuss is the Health Care Management Society (HCMS). This association is open to those majoring in Healthcare Management or anyone interested in the administrative aspect of the healthcare field. HCMS offers presentations from professionals in many different industry areas, including consulting, technology, and hospital administration. Members also have the opportunity to attend networking events to advance their careers, and they can attend conferences and workshops pertaining to developments in the industry. If you are interested in learning more about the Health Care Management Society, you can find them on UConntact, the Healthcare and Wellness Career Community’s homepage, or email them at uchealthcare@gmail.com. You can find out more about meetings and reach out to organization officers through their LinkedIn, UConn Healthcare Management Society. They also have an Instagram, @uconnhcms.
The fourth and final organization we’ll cover is Exercise in Medicine (EiM). This organization aims to encourage and promote interactive as well as accessible exercise throughout campus. They aim to change the culture of chronic disease prevention and management through hosting exercise-related events and activities. EiM also collaborates with Student Health and Wellness to promote their goals, which includes establishing physical activity as a vital sign of health. The organization aims to accomplish this by incorporating movement into campus culture, assessing physical activity levels at student health visits, and educating students about how to create and maintain healthy habits that will last over their lifetime. You can find more information about Exercise is Medicine on UConntact, the Healthcare and Wellness Career Community homepage, their Instagram or Facebook @huskyeim, and Twitter @UCONNEiM.
