Latino Medical Student Assoc. - National (Thoughts/Suggestions)

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Friends,

I was curious to see what u guys think are important services, items, programs, that you would like to see in associations such as the Latino Medical Student Assoc. at a national level and regional level. What would you consider priorities...scholarships vs. discounted books vs. mentors, etc.

At the moment there is a national network that serves as an umbrella organization to the 5 major regions that represent Latino medical students. The 3 major entities are:
- National Network or Latin American Medical Student (umbrella organization) http://www.nnlams.org
- Latino Medical Student Association http://www.lmsa.net
- National Boriqua Latino Health Organization http://www.nblho.org

This probably sounds very confusing... all these names. Starting July 1 the regions and national umbrella will work under one unified name "Latino Medical Student Assoc." Sorry for the tangent but wanted to provide some background information.

Originally Posted by FullThrottle

Friends,

I was curious to see what u guys think are important services, items, programs, that you would like to see in associations such as the Latino Medical Student Assoc. at a national level and regional level. What would you consider priorities...scholarships vs. discounted books vs. mentors, etc.

At the moment there is a national network that serves as an umbrella organization to the 5 major regions that represent Latino medical students. The 3 major entities are:
- National Network or Latin American Medical Student (umbrella organization) http://www.nnlams.org
- Latino Medical Student Association http://www.lmsa.net
- National Boriqua Latino Health Organization http://www.nblho.org

This probably sounds very confusing... all these names. Starting July 1 the regions and national umbrella will work under one unified name "Latino Medical Student Assoc." Sorry for the tangent but wanted to provide some background information.

I can't believe no one responded to this.
I think this is still very relevant. The major priorities, in my opinion, are scholarships. One of the major barriers to URM students getting to the point where they can apply to med school is money. Perhaps partial or full scholarships for Kaplan/Exam Crackers/Princeton Review courses are especially needed because these are often big expenses that pay off with higher scores. On top of that, giving a student a scholarship really sends home a psychological message that s/he is supported by those who have gone before.

Mentorship is also a big vacuum that needs to be filled. I would like to see more undergrads linked (via email or even in person) with med students. Again, this kind of thing sends a positive psychological method, while at the same time creating networking opportunities.