Student Groups in the School of Medicine

The following Student Groups in the School of Medicine are service-based.

Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA)

The Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA) is a national organization that aims to address health issues important to Asians and Asian Pacific Americans. The Johns Hopkins chapter serves primarily medical students of the JHUSOM although involvement from nursing, public health, and other students is welcome. The mission of APAMSA is to unite students who are interested in health issues that affect Asian Americans in order to create a strong, collective, public voice. Focus areas include direct promotion of the well-being of the Asian community through service as well as helping health care workers serving these communities to understand how best to care for their patients in a culturally sensitive manner. APAMSA provides a forum for APA medical students and faculty to meet, exchange information and experiences, and develop professionally. National APAMSA goals include Hepatitis B education and immunization and bone marrow donor registration. The local chapter offers unique opportunities such as blood pressure screenings, medical Chinese classes, and various social and cultural events. For more information, visit the website: www.jhu.edu/~apamsa/index.htm.

  • 2023-2024 Contact: Erica Lin, President
     

Bamboo Sprouts

Bamboo Sprouts is a novel program aimed at providing cultural engagement, health education and mentorship to trans-racial adopted children from Asian countries living in the greater Baltimore area. The fundamental goal of the program is to allow Asian adoptees to gain an appreciation of their own unique hybridity through an understanding of their Eastern heritage in a Western environment while exposing them to innovative ways for healthy living that stem from Asian culture. Participants will also be able to meet and share experiences with older Asian American mentors and explore psychosocial topics that will help them grow and learn in their unique environments.

 

Helping Out at HUM

This group is for coordinating students who are interested in learning about and supporting people going through addiction recovery. We are partnered with Helping Up Mission (HUM), a local Christian nonprofit that provides longitudinal housing and support for people who are recovering from addiction. Medical students can volunteer on-site with programs such as tutoring, arts therapy, and meal delivery, with an emphasis on sustaining long-term relationships with residents. Our two partnered facilities will be the main Helping Up Mission center (Baltimore Street) and the new Women and Children’s Center (Chase Street).

 

Hopkins Dance Collective

Hopkins Dance Collective (HDC) is a JHMI affiliated organization of medical students passionate about dance! By hosting monthly dance workshops and showcases, our organization strives to make dance fun and accessible to all, regardless of experience level. Using dance, we hope to promote a healthy and active lifestyle as well as to build a community of support. Our newest initiative aims at bringing dance and health education to schools across Baltimore in order to empower youth through dance. 

  • 2023-2024 Contact: Wei Wen, Outreach Coordinator

 

Hopkins Med Against Gun Violence

Hopkins Med Against Gun Violence provides JHUSOM students with opportunities related to gun violence education and involvement in gun violence prevention efforts. Despite living in a city with one of the highest burdens of gun violence in America, we are the first organization at JHUSOM whose official mission focuses on gun violence education, advocacy, and prevention strategies both at Hopkins and within our surrounding community. A core pillar of our mission is community engagement, wherein we are working with SOURCE to develop strategic partnerships with grassroots gun violence prevention organizations in Baltimore for student involvement.

 

Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA)

The Latino Medical Student Association unites and empowers medical students through service, mentorship and education to advocate for the health of the Latino community. Our vision is "Unifying medical students to promote Latino health." We aim to increase community involvement with the minority population and foster professionalism in the Hispanic medical school program. Some projects we are currently working on are with Esperanza Center, as well as mentorship programs with the undergraduate campus, and education focusing on Hispanic students in elementary/middle schools. 

 

Refugee Health Partnership

Refugee Health Partnership (RHP) is an organization within the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine focused on education, community outreach, and clinic work with refugees and asylum seekers. We partner with the HEAL Refugee Health & Asylum Collaborative to assist with asylum evaluations. We also maintain a partnership with a local community organization, Asylee Women Enterprise (AWE), to serve as patient navigators for their clients. Internal to the School of Medicine, we teach a course on refugee health and host regular workshops related to working with the forced migrant community. Through our work, we hope to both meaningfully engage with forced migrants in the Baltimore area as well as equip medical students with the skills required to provide high-quality care to this patient population in their careers. 

 

SOOTHE (Students Offering Optimism to Help)

SOOTHE (Students Offering Optimism To Help) is a program where Hopkins students provide comfort, distraction, and support for patients in physical or emotional distress. SOOTHE serves to foster connection between empathetic and enthusiastic students with patients to alleviate their suffering. The Johns Hopkins Hospital is an asylum for those seeking respite from their pain. These experiences can be healing, but simultaneously isolating. Through this organization, the plethora of students seeking to gain confidence in comforting these patients can do so while providing them with companionship and solace. Looking for interested students to serve as volunteers! Open to SOM and SON students.

 

Student National Medical Association (SNMA)

The following are community service activities of the Student National Medical Association:

SNMA Brotherhood Alliance for Science Education (BASE)

The BASE Program is an initiative run by medical students in the Johns Hopkins Student National Medical Association (SNMA) chapter. BASE is devoted to working with young men from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine who demonstrate the potential to improve academically and grow personally and professionally with the support that we offer. We meet weekly on Hopkins’ medical campus for events including, but not limited to: tutoring, PSAT/SAT prep, leadership skill development, college and scholarship searches, and college and scholarship essays. In addition to our weekly 4-hour academic enrichment/social engagement sessions, we also provide supplementary activities that expand beyond the classroom, such as trips to the annual medical education conference (AMEC).

 

SNMA Community Adolescent Sex Education (CASE)

The Sexual Health Awareness program is designed to educate teenagers at Dunbar Middle School about their bodies and about the positive use and expression of sexuality. It is intended to increase self-esteem, improve relationships, and decrease the incidence of teen pregnancy and the spread of STDs. This program, coordinated by SNMA, includes non-SNMA members from all classes at the School of Medicine. Leaders of the CASE program coordinate activities with the administration of Dunbar Middle School and recruit SOM students to serve as instructors/mentors for the program.

 

SNMA Health Professions Recruitment Exposure Programs (HPREP)

HPREP continues to expose inner-city high school students to science-related activities while introducing them to careers in the health professions. Students in this program have received talks from Hopkins doctors, mentorship and guidance on college essay preparations, and SAT workshops. The HPREP coordinators organize recruitment of high school students into the program, recruitment of School of Medicine volunteers to serve as mentors, and communication with Hopkins and faculty that participate in the program.

Thread

Thread is weaving a new social fabric in Baltimore and we are looking for volunteers to join our community. Thread disrupts the pattern of social isolation by enrolling 9th-grade students who rank in the lowest 25 percent of their class academically and who face additional challenges outside of the classroom. These students and volunteers form Thread families where they build reciprocal and transformative relationships to help each other through the ups and downs of life. Our students consistently defy the odds: 85% of our students have graduated from high school within six years and 83% of our students have completed a college degree or certificate program. Thread currently works with 527 students and alumni and 1300+ volunteers, with plans to reach 7% of Baltimore’s entire 9th-grade class. We can’t do this without your help! We are looking for volunteers to work with students, lead a team of volunteers, or support our organization as a resource team member based on your skills and expertise. Thread’s work is getting national recognition for its unique approach to connecting people across lines of race, class, and zip code. For additional information, visit Thread's website, www.thread.org/volunteer.

ViSION (Vision Screenings in Our Neighborhoods)

ViSION consists of a group of medical students under direct supervision of a Wilmer Faculty member who go out into the East Baltimore community approximately once per month to conduct vision screenings. All students are trained in the vision screening process. All community members who are screened through this program requiring follow-up ophthalmological care are provided an appointment in a Wilmer faculty member clinic regardless of their ability to pay. They are also eligible for ophthalmological surgery that is covered by a fund for indigent patients and can obtain a free pair of prescription glasses through the Wilmer optical shop.