Medical Student Affinity Groups

We are an organization of Asian American and Pacific Islander American (APIA) medical students committed to addressing the unique health challenges of APIA communities through education, outreach, advocacy, and service, and to providing support, mentorship, and community for APIA students at the Yale School of Medicine.

The Latino Medical Student Association exists to unite and empower current and future physicians through service, mentorship, and education to advocate for the improved health of the Hispanic & Latina/o/x community in the United States.

MSDCI at Yale School of Medicine is an official chapter of Medical Students with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses National (MSDCI National). This organization shall advocate for a medical field that is inclusive to care providers with disabilities and chronic illnesses and empower people with disabilities and chronic illnesses to pursue careers in the field of medicine. The group aims to:

• Educate future healthcare workers on the experiences of people living with disabilities and chronic illnesses, with an aim to promote the dignity, agency and individuality of each person’s lived experience.
• Promote the dissemination of information relative to disability issues in the field of medical education;
• Explore and possibly resolve the unique challenges, obstacles, and responsibilities specific to medical students and physicians with disabilities and/or chronic illness;
• Provide opportunities for disabled and chronically ill medical students to learn about and give back to local communities through service.
• Represent people with disabilities and chronic illnesses within the health care community at Yale School of Medicine.
• Be a resource for information on matters related to disability and chronic illness.
• Provide a forum for discussion of issues concerning the health and rights of people with disabilities and chronic illnesses.
• Provide a link between students and faculty with disabilities and chronic illnesses.
• Support intersectional advocacy efforts at Yale School of Medicine.
• Create a community for Yale School of Medicine students living with disabilities & chronic illness.
• Advocate for increased representation of and education about disability and chronic illness in the Yale School of Medicine curriculum and clinical training opportunities.

OutPatient is the student group that brings together the LGBTQIA+ community and allies at the Yale Health Professional schools. At YSM, OutPatient has dedicated its efforts to LGBTQIA+ community building, healthcare issues, visibility, and education. Our events and programs seek to engage the LGBTQIA+ community from discussions about being an LGBTQIA+-identifying health care practitioner to engaging students in training opportunities about the specific concerns related to LGBTQIA+ patients. We work to organize speaker series, support conference attendance, contribute to LGBTQIA+ curricular material, and facilitate networking and social events. We also collaborate with LGBTQIA+ organizations in New Haven and with YSM faculty interested in LGBTQIA+ issues.

SAMoSA aims to both highlight South Asian culture and discuss medical challenges faced by South Asian health care providers and patients alike. While it primarily focuses on the medical field, this group is open to any member of the graduate community.

Student National Medical Association (SNMA) is committed to supporting current and future underrepresented minority medical students, addressing the needs of underserved communities, and increasing the number of clinically excellent, culturally competent and socially conscious physicians. SNMA is dedicated both to ensuring that medical education and services are culturally sensitive to the needs of diverse populations and to increasing the number of African-American, Latino, and other students of color entering and completing medical school.

The Mission of the Yale First generation/Low Income is to build a more welcoming community, to advocate for mentorship, to help first generation American/college students and low-income students navigate medical school and the medical profession, and to promote a more diverse recruitment of future medical students.