How medical students develop leadership skills on campus

Medical students have a voice. Honing it can start on your medical school campus.

That’s what Anneli Shah, a sophomore medical student at the Midwestern University Chicago School of Osteopathic Medicine, discovered. Shah is the president of his AMA chapter of the school and the Outreach Coordinator of the AMA Medical Student Outreach Program. This dual role has allowed her to understand how the physician landscape changes beyond the clinical realm.

“Being a student leader at this level definitely opened my eyes,” she said. “Her two roles go hand in hand and are the most substantial leadership position I have ever held.”

Shah provided some insight into how his work at the AMA has helped him grow as a leader and how it will affect his future career path. Here are some important points.

In his role as Midwestern AMA Medical Student Outreach Leader, Shah has brought important events to campus and helped develop the relationship between the medical school and organizational medicine. This included her event marquee speech with Ilse R. Levin, DO, MPH&TM, talking about the keys to navigating a medical career as an osteopathic physician.

“Hearing Dr. Levin talk about what her career has been like, even at M2, was really inspiring,” Shah said. “We lose sight of why we are doing this when we feel stuck in the academic world. Learning from his PhD experience reminded us of all that we can achieve in the future.

To coordinate the event, Shah worked with AMA staff, faculty, and other staff at Midwestern campuses. The logistics that went into that effort were significant.

“As a medical student outreach coordinator, this is different from my role as an undergraduate leader,” she said. “At university, being on the board meant primarily communicating with university administrators. I knew all the difficulties.

In comparison, in her role as an outreach leader, Shah “learned how to coordinate efforts with the AMA while addressing the needs of CCOM students. , helped us a lot.”

The AMA Succeeding in Medical School series provides tips and other guidance on a wide range of important topics such as USMLE exam preparation, navigating clinical rotations, publishing scientific research, and maintaining optimal health and wellness.

As president of the Midwestern AMA chapter, Shah works to make student voices heard.

“We knew that students could try to influence change, but we didn’t know how far our voices would reach until we attended the AMA,” she said. “One of the things that really drew me to her was that medical students actually put together a resolution banning smoking on airplanes. It became a pretty significant piece of legislation.

“Being a DO in the Midwest, we have access to many resources that support our careers, and the AMA is one of them. It’s very important.”