Doctor of Medicine (MD) section navigation

Student Organizations and Activities

Dancing, community service, human rights advocacy, music, mentoring, gardening, athletics — Emory medical students do it all. We encourage students to take time outside of classes and clinics to do things they love. We have more than 70 student organizations, and students start new ones every year. All organizations are open to all medical students. Find one that speaks to you, or create your own.

Medical students also gather for annual events such as society picnics, 5K Fun Run, Art Gala, Passover Seder, Medishare Date Auction, World AIDS Day, Match Day, Halloween Ball, Thanksgiving Potluck, Service Day, Doctoberfest, Kwanzaa, and the infamous Cadaver Ball.

First-year students and families participate in the White Coat Ceremony each fall, when students don their physician’s garb for the first time and are welcomed to the medical community. The Senior Banquet tradition is a night for soon-to-be-graduates to lampoon and say thanks to professors.

Student Organizations & Activities

Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA)

The Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association exists to disaggregate Asian American identity and to have conversations on how acknowledging heterogeneity within API spaces makes us better doctors.

Association of Women Surgeons (WISER)

Established by medical students in conjunction with Emory surgical residents to promote women becoming surgeons. Our WISER podcast series focuses on spreading the stories of women surgeons at Emory, and now has expanded to surgeons across the United States and internationally. Our group is also active in the local mentorship of Emory medical students through longitudinal mentorship partnerships along with mentorship events. 

Big Sib/Little Sib

This program is designed to help incoming first-year students by pairing them with rising second-years. A meet-your-sib dinner is held each year in the fall.

Culture & Community

In addition to APAMSA, SNMA, EMPA, and LMSA, our medical students belong to the Emory Muslim Medical Association, Military Medical Students, Medical Mensches, Disabled Medical Student Association, MD/PhD Student Association, MD/PhD Women’s Association, Emory Medical Student Parents, and the Christian Medical and Dental Association.

Curriculum Committee

Responsibilities include curriculum coordination, ongoing review and oversight of curriculum, analysis and solutions for problems arising in the curriculum, and development of policy for medical student education.

Community Service and Activism

Groups include Atlanta Student Covid Response Team, Emory Health Against Human Trafficking, Emory Medical Students for Disability Advocacy, Project Medishare, Physicians for Human Rights, Medical Students for Choice and Health Students Taking Action Together (H-STAT).

Students participate in service trips to rural Atlanta and international destinations, such as  Haiti, Thailand, and Vietnam.  Students also volunteer at Atlanta-area clinics serving refugees, those experiencing homelessness, and the working poor.

Other areas of activism include healthy living, refugee and immigrant advocacy, voter mobilization and climate action.

Education & Humanities

Clubs include the Ethics Student Council, Medical AI, Medical Student Journal Club, The Styloid Process literary magazine, Medical Humanities, Teddy Bear Hospital, and the Global Health Organization of Pediatrics.

Emory Medical Pride Alliance (EMPA)

The Emory Medical Pride Alliance (EMPA) student organization provides support and community for classmates who identify as LGBTQ+. EMPA is supported by the School of Medicine Office of Multicultural Affairs. EMPA is dedicated not only to creating a visible community within the medical school, but also to educating all medical students to best serve the LGBTQ+ patient population. Members of EMPA frequently work with the administration to improve LGBTQ+ visibility in our curriculum and around the school. An LGBTQ Healthcare Week is hosted by EMPA and provides education, mentorship, and service opportunities for medical students. Numerous student organizations across the University support LGBTQ+ students and provide networking and support for medical students.

First Gen/Low Income in Medicine

First-Generation, Low-Income in Medicine is an affinity group for students who self-identify as a first-generation college student, a student from a low-income background, or both! We have mentorship, professional, and social aspects to our organization, and its purpose is to uplift students from these backgrounds as they traverse medical school.

Language Groups

Medical Spanish, French, and Swahili interest groups help students develop language skills for clinical service in Atlanta and around the world.

Medical School Admissions Committee

Senior medical students are selected to serve on the Admissions Committee as interview panelists and tour guides.

Medical and Surgical Specialty Interest Groups

Current groups include anesthesiology, cardiology, dermatology, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, neuroscience, ob/gyn, oncology, ophthalmology, pediatrics, psychiatry, public health, and radiology. The Aspiring Surgeons group brings together students interested in all surgical specialties and sub-specialties. New groups form each year to represent the interests of current students.

Emory Pipeline Collaborative

A multi-tiered, interdisciplinary mentorship and health science education program connecting Atlanta Public Schools students with Emory University undergraduate, graduate, public health and medical students.

Sports Clubs

Cycling, tennis, and racquetball are popular groups, as well as the fiercely competitive IM sports teams in basketball, softball, and soccer. The Wilderness Medical Society enjoys all things outdoors. Weekend trips include whitewater rafting, canoeing, kayaking, camping, and hiking.

Student Officers

Each medical school class elects a cabinet, representatives to university councils, social chairs, IM sports reps, transcript service officers, honor council reps, course reps, and IT reps. Elections are held annually.

University Chorus

This campus-wide chorus includes students, staff, and alumni from all nine schools at Emory University. This diverse and talented group rehearses weekly and gives many performances within the Emory community.

For a list of organizations, please click here. 

National Organizations - Emory Chapters

American Medical Association - Medical Student Section (AMA-MSS)

Membership allows participation in national legislative decisions through state and national conferences. Emory’s chapter also works to benefit the school and the community through sponsorship of annual fundraisers for various causes.

American Medical Student Association (AMSA)

Run by and for medical students, local chapters sponsor lectures and community projects. The New Physician magazine is distributed by the national organization and focuses on topics geared toward medical student concerns across the nation.

American Women's Medical Association

AMWA works to further the careers of women in the medical field, from pre-med to attending, acknowledging the specific strengths that women bring to the field as well as challenges that they continue to face in a traditionally male-dominated profession. The chapter at Emory is dedicated to creating mentorship opportunities that connect students to faculty and peer mentors, developing networking opportunities for students, and fostering a community in the medical school across classes.

Black Men in White Coats

The Black Men in White Coats chapter (BMIWC) aims to bring physicians and students together to address the issue of declining black male applicants through a pipeline of mentorship, community outreach and advocacy for pre-medical students.

Disabled Medical Student Association

The Disabled Medical Student Association at Emory University is a chapter of Medical Students with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses (MSDCI).  We are an affinity group that supports, represents, and connects disabled, chronically ill, and neurodivergent medical students.  In addition to increasing disability visibility and accessibility on campus, we aim to shift the narrative of disability in medicine and improve patient care by challenging the medical model of disability, dismantling ableism and promoting disability pride.

Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA)

The purpose of Latino Medical Student Association is to promote the visibility of Latino students in the medical profession, empower Latino students and engage with the greater Atlanta community through community service and advocacy efforts.

We are involved with community health clinics such as Jornada de Salud and Familias Saludables which primarily serve the Hispanic/Latinx community. We also partner with the Spanish Medical Interpreting Group here at Emory.

Student National Medical Association (SNMA)

The organization was established in recognition of the need to increase medical student awareness and sensitivity to health care issues of the nation in general and of minority and indigent communities in particular. The Emory Chapter 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.