Advocacy & Community Outreach

The WUSM student chapter of the American Medical Association (AMA) serves as a patient and medical student advocate, supports volunteer work in the St. Louis community and sponsors educational events to foster creative discussion among medical students.

WUSM’s chapter of the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) is an organization which functions from the local to international level to advance women in medicine and improve women’s health.

The Asian-Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA) is dedicated to advocating quality health care for the Asian-Pacific American (APA) community, increasing awareness of APA health issues, providing outreach opportunities for APA med students, and celebrating diversity of Asian cultures.

CHOICES (Choosing Healthy Options In our Community, Environment, and Schools) for Youth in Detention is an innovative outreach effort dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of incarcerated teens.

The Geriatrics Outreach Group fosters interest in geriatric medicine, engages in community outreach with local older adult organizations, and partners with the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center for the Dementia Understanding Opportunities program.

The Mission of the Health Career Collaborative is to provide mentorship, engaging health curriculum, and exposure to health careers to high school students from underrepresented minority communities.

Health Outreach Programs (HOPs) are committed to advocating for and partnering with the St. Louis community to improve health care outcomes, particularly among the underserved, by providing community-based health screenings and nutrition education course.

The Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) is a national student group whose vision is to unite and empower medical students through service, mentorship and education, advocating for the health of the Latino community.

The mission of the LGBTQ Med group is to improve health care for LGBTQ patients. We work toward this goal by educating medical students on health disparities in this population and the factors that affect LGBTQ access to care and quality of care.

LouHealth partners with local organizations in support of their ongoing advocacy efforts. Specifically, we focus on advocacy related to three areas: Health access and equity, criminal justice reform, and intimate partner violence survivor support.

Medical Students For Choice is an organization that aims to educate WUSM students about contraception and abortion, as well as encourage them to explore their personal beliefs about the full range of reproductive rights.

Pediatric Life Savers teaches CPR classes to the families of infants in the NICU of St. Louis Children’s Hospital so that these primary caretakers learn how to respond to certain medical emergencies prior to taking their infants home.

The goal of the Perinatal Project is to provide opportunities for interested students to explore the fields of obstetrics, maternal-fetal medicine, and the patient experience through relationships with expectant mothers staying in the antepartum unit.

Originally founded as the Saturday Neighborhood Health Clinic (SNHC) in 1997, the Interprofessional Pro Bono Clinic provides compassionate and skilled care to uninsured and underinsured residents of the greater St. Louis community. Led by Washington University School of Medicine health professional students and supported by current faculty, individuals receive temporary medical care from interprofessional clinical teams while consulting with our clinic’s community referral coordinator for assistance in finding affordable and quality primary care.

Science and Healthcare Abilities Coalition (SHAC) aims to create a community by and for students with disabilities and chronic illnesses and their allies.

The Student National Medical Association (SNMA) is the nation’s oldest and largest student organization focused on the needs and concerns of medical students of color.

The Sun Protection Outreach Teaching by Students (SPOTS) group works with SLU med students to teach local middle- and high-school students about early detection of and preventative measures against skin cancer.

WUSM Sustainability works to promote and achieve greater sustainability in WUSM and the greater medical school community through initiatives (e.g. reusable anatomy gloves), educational interventions (e.g. Climate Change series), and collaboration.

WashU Student Health Educators (WSHE) provides comprehensive health education to St. Louis high school students. We use a near-peer teaching model to cover topics such as mental health, nutrition, substance abuse, sexuality, STIs and contraception, and relationships.

WUSM Sustainability works to promote and achieve greater sustainability in WUSM and the greater medical school community through initiatives (e.g. reusable anatomy gloves), educational interventions (e.g. Climate Change series), and collaboration.