""

about | Maps & Directions | contact | admissions | faculty | alumni & development | library | Tech Support Center | dean's office | Policies & Procedures

Medical students in classroom The White Coat Ceremony Dr. Carson Schneck with Anatomy students

student affairs and resources

Student Organizations and Activities - 2011-2012

Temple University School of Medicine has many very active student and community oriented service and activity groups. Below is a list of some of the available groups. For more information please contact the office of Student Affairs and ask to contact the Student Government president. There is also an opportunity to start new groups if there is sufficient student interest.

 

American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin-Medical Students / Residents (AAPIO).  Introduces the Cultures and traditions of India to Temple’s Health Sciences Campus. In addition, we provide guidance and support for academic social and cultural inquiries. Our goal is to develop a strong collaboration other schools and departments at Temple University’s Health Science Campus. Meetings will be held throughout the year. New members are always welcome.

 

Al-Shifaa Muslim Students Organization. Sponsors talks and is involved in a range of community-service activities from tutoring to assisting older adults. It also provides information on Muslim cultural events and resources.

 

American Medical Association/Pennsylvania Medical Society (AMA/PMS. Provides medical students updates on medical issues and techniques both in Pennsylvania and nationwide. We participate in national meetings of the American Medical Association (AMA) and sponsor various activities and lectures from current issues to career considerations for medical students.

 

American Medical Students Association (AMSA). Is national organization run for and by medical students, dealing with both medical and political issues. AMSA offers national, regional and local chapter activities for its members. Our local project STATS: Students Teaching AIDS to Students is a program to teach high school students about AIDS. It also sponsors a lunchtime lecture series at Temple as well as several publications, insurance programs and loan funds.

 

American Medical Women's Association (AMWA). Is a national organization dedicated to focusing attention on women's health issues and promoting mutuality among female professional assistance. The local chapter provides a big sister mentorship program, community education on breast self-exam and speakers and social events throughout the year.

 

Asians in Medicine (AIM). Creates an atmosphere of mutual support among Asian-American medical students. AIM encourages networking between Asian-American students at Temple and nationwide and gives students the opportunity to explore Asian-American issues. AIM also provides community service in local ethnic areas. Contact person: Man Shim, ‘05.

 

Babcock Surgical Society. Is the longest-running student group at Temple SOM provides opportunities to shadow surgeons and participate in surgical skills training labs alongside surgery residents and attendings. Upcoming events for the year include General Surgery, Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery shadowing programs and a variety of guest lecturers from the Department of Surgery. Babcock will also hold surgical skill workshops to teach suturing, knot tying and other valuable surgical skills to students.

 

Basketball. Temple University Medical School Basketball Team playing in the Philadelphia Professional School Basketball League. Representatives from Philadelphia area in a ten game schedule beginning in January.


Big Friends. Is a tutoring program which aim is to provide 4th and 5th grade students of Kenderton Elementary School with assistance in various academic areas as well as social and cultural areas. Tutors donate two hours every other week for two months.

 

Catholic Medical Student Association (CMSA). Invites students who wish to learn more about the Catholic faith, and how to live faithfully as medical professionals, while upholding principles of social justice. Activities of the group include engaging dialogue and debate on various medical ethical issues, outreach service endeavors, and participation in the events, and liturgies of the Temple University Newman Center.

 

Christian Medical and Dental Society (CMDS). Meets weekly year-round to learn from the Bible, pray, and enjoy fellowship with one another. This fellowship may take the form of song, food, special guest speakers, or just sharing life's victories, defeats, and challenges with each other.

 

Community Service Outreach (CSO). Is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the community/hospital service activities performed by medical students. This organization was also established to be a resource center for people interested in starting new service activities. The organization's responsibilities grow and change along with the community service activities at the medical school.

 

Curriculum Committee (SGA Elected Committee). Is for students interested in learning about and participating in decisions affecting the TUSM curriculum. Each class selects a representative to serve as voting committee members together with faculty representatives from all Basic Science and Clinical departments. Decisions made involve curricular philosophies, content and scheduling.

 

Emergency Medicine Interest Group. Exposes pre-clinical medical students to the field of Emergency Medicine, since students do not otherwise have the opportunity to do so until their fourth year. Activities include: guest speakers, an Emergency Room shadowing program for first year students and an Emergency Room volunteer program for second year students.

 

Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG). Serves to encourage interaction between residents, faculty, practicing physicians and students who are interested in the specialty. There are formal events such as speaker series and meetings. There are also informal ones such as potluck dinners and an end of year reception for graduating fourth years entering into Family Practice residencies. All are welcome to attend the events.

 

Honor Board (SGA Elected Committee). Is responsible for providing information about and upholding the TUSM Honor Code. It is composed of an elected board of 20 students (five from each class) and six faculty members who deal with educational and administrative aspects of Temple's Honor System.

 

International Health Organization. Provides information and education about international health as well as helping students to prepare for experiences international health. IHO provides talks, distributes information, and works with the faculty to ensure that TUSM offers a range of international health opportunities. Website

 

Internal Medicine Interest Group (IMIG). Focuses on providing opportunities for those interested in internal medicine to learn more about the field. IMIG sponsors lunch lectures with guest speakers and offers a mentorship program in which students are paired with an Internal Medicine Physicians.

 

Jewish Student Union (JSU). Provides a forum for social activity, cultural awareness and community service. Guest speakers, lunches and other activities are scheduled periodically throughout the year. JSU is open to all members of the Temple community

 

Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People in Medicine. Is a Standing Committee of the American Medical Students Association (AMSA) that was formed in the mid 1990’s to improve the quality of health care for lesbian, gay and bisexual patients, and to improve conditions for lesbian, gay and bisexual medical students, physicians and health care workers. LGBPM welcomes all allied health students, faculty, staff and administrators who are interested in gay, lesbian and bisexual issues. LGBPM Local and National sponsors educational workshops on homosexuality, disseminates research and materials on gay health issues, coordinates gay and lesbian preceptor-electives, reviews gay friendly residency programs, holds networking and social events for gay, lesbian and bisexual people in medicine and their friends and bisexual people in medicine and their friends.  Website

 

Medical Students for Choice. Was founded in 1993 by students concerned about the practitioner shortage, the lack of abortion education in medical school and escalating violence against abortion providers. Today it represent students at more than 100 medical schools across the country. It sponsors lunch time sessions featuring speakers, debates, and opportunities to exchange ideas.

 

Medical Ethics. What can we do? What should we do? Two very important and yet inherently different questions. In Medical Ethics we learn about and debate some of the pressing ethical issues facing doctors and patients today. This semester we will host respected guest speakers and debates about the ethics of research, from allocation of funds, to test subjects' rights, to distribution of medical advances gained from this research. The ethical implications of what we will do as doctors are extraordinarily important but are often not given enough attention early in a medical student's career.

 

Organization of Student Representatives (OSR) of the AAMC. Is a nationwide network of students whose purpose is to facilitate communication between the AAMC and the student bodies of medical colleges and universities across the United States. While the OSR will continue to concern itself with matters such as government legislation, loan repayment policy, and medical insurance, the organization looks forward to involvement in issues such as health care reform, and topics concerning study abroad.

 

Orthopedic Interest Group (OIG). Organizes discussions and speeches by orthopedic surgeons specializing in a range of fields from sports medicine to trauma surgery. Members collaborate with residents, attendings and chiefs from several local hospitals in order to develop a network that can provide information and resources for those interested in orthopedic surgery.


Pediatrics Interest Group. Focuses on providing opportunities to learn more about the field and participate in care-giving. Through it, students can volunteer in a resident-run pediatric clinic working alongside residents to gain clinical exposure beginning during their first two years of medical school. We also have a variety of speakers and participate in health fairs and immunization drives taking place at a local elementary school.

 

Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). PSR believes that physicians have a unique opportunity to affect the lives of their communities. PSR approaches socio-economic-cultural issues from the special perspective that a profession in health care provides. Originally founded to address the catastrophic health problems associated with nuclear weapons (for which PSR eventually won the Nobel Peace Prize), PSR now confronts many other social issues with similarly devastating consequences to society including the environment, domestic violence and the proliferation of handguns. Lobbying, activism and community outreach are just a few of the things PSR does on both a notional and local level. National membership includes over 30,000 physicians and other health care professionals, with the Philadelphia chapter representing one of the largest chapters in the country.

 

Prevention Point. Is the city’s needle exchange program. Temple students staff the Thursday site which provides basic medical care such as blood pressure screenings and flu shots, advice on care and avoidance of infection, and referral to other health care providers.  Website

 

The Pulse. Is TUSM’s literary magazine providing medical students with unique opportunities to explore their creative abilities and publish essays, poetry, prose, drawings, photographs, etc. Submissions are not limited to medically related topics. Published 2-3 times per academic year.

 

Radiology Interest Group. Provides talks and networking opportunities for students interested in Radiology.

 

Student Nutrition Advocacy & Community Wellness (SNACWell). Aims to increase awareness amongst medical and health professional students about the issues of personal wellness and nutrition within both the Temple School of Medicine/Hospital and the North Philadelphia communities. It explores ways to integrate a healthy lifestyle into a busy student schedule (produce tastings, cooking clinics, group runs, etc.), as well as examine the barriers to a nutritionally balanced diet within urban communities such as North Philly. Students provide community health education and develop service opportunities that highlight the potential role that medical students and professionals have in public health nutrition and preventative medicine.

 

South Asian Health Student Organization (SAHSA). Represents medical students of South Asian origin to promote awareness of South Asian culture. SAHSA invites you to celebrate South Asian culture and to promote unity in our community by working together and learning about the issues pertinent to South Asian health professionals. Members are eager to provide academic and social support for all of our members. SAHSA aims at expressing the goals and aspirations of students of Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi and Nepalese origin, but highly encourages everyone, regardless of ethnic background, to take an active role in learning, sharing, and appreciating South Asian culture.


Student Council. The objectives of Council shall be to act as a liaison between the individual student and the faculty and administration of Temple University School of Medicine, to act as a liaison between individual classes and other elements of the Health Sciences Center, to contribute to the welfare and education of the student body, and to promote activities for the academic, social, professional, and administrative welfare of the entire student body. There will be an opportunity to run for student council positions during the fall semester.

 

Student Health Advocacy Committee (SHAC). SHAC is a collaboration of students, faculty and staff that provides resource information in addition to programming on student health and well being. Students have the opportunity to provide input and help shape how wellness should be addressed at TUSM.

 

Student Interested in OB-GYN. Provides opportunities for students to observe labor and delivery as well as to participate in a mentorship program with doctors and residents. In addition, the group sponsors monthly noontime speakers.

 

Student National Medical Association (SNMA). Is committed to developing a network of traditionally underrepresented minority medical students and to improving health care conditions of the underserved community. Nationally, SNMA has over 3100 members and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1989. Examples of programs at Temple are as follows: blood pressure screenings in the surrounding community, AIDS awareness workshops in elementary and high schools, seminars on opportunities in medicine, and the chance in interact with colleagues from other institutions. Chapters and regional projects are designed to address the concerns of minority medical students.  Website

 

Student Surgical Society. Is for students interested in surgical sub-specialties. Student members sponsor lectures throughout the year. Opportunities also are available for first and second year students to gain clinical exposure in various surgical fields.

 

Soccer. The Soccer Team practices weekday afternoons and plays on Sunday mornings.

 

Student Council. The objectives of Council shall be to act as a liaison between the individual student and the faculty and administration of the Temple University School of Medicine, to act as a liaison between individual classes and other elements of the Health Sciences Center, to contribute to the welfare and education of the student body, and to promote activities for the academic, social, professional, and administrative welfare of the entire student body.

 

Temple CARES. Is a student-run health clinic, staffed by medical students and clinicians. Members are involved in developing health awareness, resources, education and service with members of the local community.

 

Temple Emergency Action Corp (TEAC). TEAC trains medical students in disaster response and will be able to mobilize quickly in the event of a local, national, or international disaster to provide basic medical care to those affected. Website


Temple Musicians in Medicine (TMIM). Is a group of medical students with an interest in music. We provide performance opportunities for students who play any instrument (including voice) in any style. For those interested in forming ensembles, we provide a directory of musicians whom you can contact. TMM has held successful annual charity concerts to benefit research on Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). Additional concert going and performance opportunities may also be available. There are no auditions or other membership requirements.

 

Transplantations. Is the TUSM a capella group. Take a study break by singing and getting to know other Temple classmates in a relaxed and informal setting. Join the Vocal Cords, the only a capella group this side of Broad and Ontario.

 

Volunteer Opportunities in Interpreting and Communicating in Existing Health Care Services (VOICES). Offers volunteer opportunities in Interpreting and Communicating in Existing health care Services. This organization provides translation services on a part-time basis at Temple Hospital.