Three Reasons to Join us at AMSACon

This past year, 2020, has certainly been a challenge for those of us on our medical education paths. You might be a pre-med student going through the application cycle and suddenly navigating a world of Zoom rooms; or maybe you’re in your preclinical years without the automatic camaraderie that comes from sitting in classrooms with your classmates; what about being in rotations and watching the COVID-19 pandemic unfold in real-time in the hospital systems that you’re training in? Regardless of what stage of your medical training you’re in, we all still found ourselves worrying for the health of our society, our loved ones, and ourselves.

At the start of a new year, with so much in flux, it’s time to take a moment to reflect, to reimagine, and to recharge. AMSACon 2021 provides a space to do just that. This annual convening convenes medical students, health care experts and trailblazers for a 3-day hive of networking, training and activism — as we’ve done for the last 70+ years. This year, AMSACon will be all-virtual, accessible and super-charged — just right around the corner March 6-8. 

As a medical student myself, I wanted to share a few reasons why I’m excited about what’s in store. 

Community

AMSA is a group of passionate activists who want to make healthcare better for their future patients. Joining us at AMSACon provides us all with the chance to reconnect and dream together about what we can do to change medical education for the better.

Learning

I can’t think of another place that offers such a wide variety of important content to explore. This year, we’ll get the chance to learn from leaders like Dr. Josh Sharfstein,  associate Dean at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Toyese Oyeyemi, Director of the Beyond Flexner Alliance, Kris Brown, President of The Brady Campaign, and many more. And we’ll talk about topics like environmental health, reproductive justice, immigrant health rights, burnout and wellness, and preparing for residency and medical school applications. This is a prime spot to engage with leaders in healthcare and learn about topics that you won’t get exposed to in a traditional medical school classroom.

Opportunity

Outside of just delivering educational material, AMSACon provides a space to take our knowledge and do something with it. After we’ve engaged with AMSACon content throughout the weekend, we’ll take on Advocacy Day – a chance to speak with our elected officials and push for legislative change. I can’t wait for this chance to lift up my voice with the rest of my fAMSA!

Mattie Renn

AMSA Education & Advocacy Fellow

Columbia University