AWS National Medical Student Committee

I served on the Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) National Medical Student Committee for two years as the New England Regional Representative (2019-2020) and as the Chief of Chapter Development (2020-2021).

As the Chief of Chapter Development, I unified our twelve regional representatives and oversee regional projects. My main goal for the year was to expand our international network of medical student chapters. Our AWS chapters grew from 81 to 130 (60% increase), including a significant expansion within international regions from 11 to 29 international chapters and the establishment of the first chapters in the Asia/Australia region.

In collaboration with the Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator, we established the first AWS Day of Service in which chapters across all of our US and some international regions participated. The initiative focused on engaging high school students under-represented in medicine (UIM) and exposing them to the field of surgery.

I also spearheaded an initiative to offer virtual panels for medical students interested in surgery named the “Medical Student Quarterly Events.” The goal was to create a way for Regional Representatives to work with and get to know each other, have opportunities to take on leadership roles, and provide helpful content to AWS medical student members. The series was successful, with all zoom recordings posted to the AWS YouTube channel.

In my previous position as the New England Regional Representative, I worked with AWS chapter leaders at medical schools in the region on regional events. In this role, I chaired a conference in New England that was attended by over 50 medical students and faculty.