PRIDE Campaign

Does your SNMA chapter have PRIDE?

• Albert Einstein College of Medicine
• Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
• Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
• Stanford University School of Medicine
• SUNY – Downstate Medical Center
• University of Maryland at Baltimore School of Medicine
• University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
• University of South Carolina School of Medicine
• University of Southern California School of Medicine

• Spearheaded the city’s first student-driven minority medical retreat, Rebuilding Bridges, in the fall of 2005. The retreat not only addressed issues regarding the maintenance of interpersonal relationships while pursuing one’s passion, mental health amongst minorities in healthcare, and the manner to properly build professional relationships, but it served as a means for medical professionals from vastly diverse educational and cultural backgrounds to truly fellowship with each other.

• Host of the 1st Annual SNMA Obesity Walkathon in Prospect Park for Region IX. SNMA Downstate was credited by Region IX as the “Best Fundraiser” of the 2005 Walkathon!

• Performed its long-standing Community Adolescent Sexual Education (CASE) program, focusing on a local middle school that lacks the resources to teach a sexual education course.
• Actively celebrated Native-American History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month.
• Spent Spring Break in New Orleans helping Hurricane Katrina victims.

• Stanford regularly organizes educational programs, participated in community service, excelled academically, recruited minority students to Stanford, mentored pre-meds, and still had time to kick back and relax at community building activities such as jazz shows in Oakland.
• Stanford continues to host the successful SUMMA Pre-medical Conference, inspiring minority pre-medical students.

• Since April 2005, the USC chapter has instituted a number of new service projects including: Healthy People 2010 Health Fair, their First Annual Minority Pre-medical Conference, TODER, a clothing drive for Hurricane Katrina Victims, and two new MAPS Chapters!

Perseverance is a virtue which implies persistence, endurance, hardiness, fortitude, stamina, robustness and tolerance. We as medical students already have demonstrated this virtue by overcoming the challenge of getting into medical school. Now as medical students and SNMA members, we must demonstrate our desire and drive to succeed. If we as medical students of color do not withstand all of the struggles and obstacles presented to us, then who will be there to make sure that the health of our communities is a priority? In order to accomplish this, we must excel academically and collectively. We must be committed to obtaining as much knowledge as possible so that we can become competent physicians who will positively contribute to society. SNMA has shown its perseverance by being the nation’s oldest and largest student organization focused on the needs and concerns of medical students of color. As SNMA members, we must remember that we have to have courage and faith within ourselves. Chapters that demonstrate this virtue will be recognized for their achievements.

Recruitment and retention of underrepresented minorities in medicine has been a continuing obstacle. Therefore, it is our duty as medical students to withstand the adversity of the current statistics so that we may be able to help those that come after us. SNMA has been dedicated to making sure its members have the opportunities to establish relationships with those who have succeeded as well as those who are just starting their journey. We must be proactive in seeking out possible avenues that will ensure our success. We have to remain resilient in the face of adversity. It is the responsibility of SNMA chapters to provide an outlet for members, both future and current, to come together, uplift and empower one another.

Our jobs as medical students only just begin in the classroom. As leaders of tomorrow and public servants of our communities today we must dedicate efforts to help those around us. SNMA has a long history of mentoring, leadership, and advocacy both for medical students and the community. SNMA members have protested on the steps of the Supreme Court, have visited their state legislatures, have written letters to their Senators, and have met with local administrators in the hope of promoting an agenda of equality and diversity. Through this principle we would like to recognize those chapters and members that show us this with intensity.

The very definition of physician is serving mankind. As students in the vast field of medicine it is often easy to forget the need for humanism in our daily activities. However, SNMA has long strived to encourage its members to serve their communities in ways that uplift their fellow man. SNMA also purposely seeks to bring focus on those healthcare issues that disproportionately affect underserved patient populations. We are now looking to celebrate those chapters that have shown true dedication humanism in their activities and ingenuity in their efforts to educate and serve.

The epitome of having pride in all that is performed is to have enthusiasm for both the process and the end result. As a student-run organization, SNMA has an unbelievable energy and is only successful when that energy is felt at every level – national, regional and the local chapter. Our individual members, chapters and our regions are our strength, and by utilizing our common interests as current and future colleagues, our outreach and our internal support continue to grow. Through enthusiasm for SNMA as an entity, our successes will only continue through our collective efforts. SNMA members should be proud of all that we do, as individuals and within our special group dynamic. No other organization encapsulates such wide-spread national programming that focuses on personal academic achievement and a selfless commitment to others as SNMA does. We would therefore like to recognize chapters that have a special drive – to fulfill the mission of SNMA with a spirit of excitement and a sense of the larger picture outside of the chapter's local environment.

Download the application form and mail to SNMA National Headquarters.