• Gryphon Login
  • MyCourses
  • Alumni
  • UCLA Health
  • Contact Us
Prospective Students

Prospective Students

Prospective Students
  • Admissions
    Procedure & Timelines
    • Admissions Timeline
    • Admissions Procedure
    • Basis of Selection
    • COVID-19 Impacts on Admissions
    • Housing Information
    • Interview Process
    • Prerequisites
    General Information
    • Statement of Diversity
    • Mission Statement
    • Curriculum Resdesign
    • Honor Code
    • FAQs
    • Admissions Brochure
    • Admissions Timeline
    • Admission Procedure
    • Basis of Selection
    • Competencies
    • COVID-19 Impact on Admissions
    • DACA Applicants
    • DGSOM Mission Statement
    • FAQs
    • Honor Code
    • Housing Information
    • Interview Process
    • Statement of Diversity
    • Virtual Events
  • Outreach & Pipeline Programs
    Summer Pre-Health and Postbaccaluareate Programs
    • UCLA SHPEP
    • UCLA PREP
    • UCLA RAP
    Outreach and Recruitment
    • Conferences and Events
    • Stay Connected!
    • Contact Us
    • Conferences & Outreach Events
    • Summer Pre-Health and Postbaccalaureate Programs
    • Contact Us
    • Stay Connected
  • Financial Aid & Scholarships
  • Degrees & Programs
  • Curriculum
  • Student Life
    Why Choose UCLA
    • Research
    • Clinical Work
    • Service Opportunities
    • Global Health Impact
    • Why You'll Love LA
    Campus Life
    • Student Organizations
    • Annual Events
    • Day in the Life
    • Around Campus
    • Photo Galleries
    • Medical and Research News
    • Medical Student Council
    • Geffy Guide
    • Search Campus and Health News
    • Service Opportunities
    • Global Health Impact
    • Why You'll Love LA
    • Photo Galleries
    • Day in the Life
    • Around Campus
    • Medical and Research News
    • Search Campus and Health News
  • How to Apply
  • Gryphon Login
  • MyCourses
  • Alumni
  • UCLA Health
  • Contact Us

Prospective Students

Search Campus and Health News

Search Campus and Health News

Search Campus and Health News

  • Health News
  • A Day in the Life
  • Around Campus
  • Medical and Research News
  • Health News
  • A Day in the Life
  • Around Campus
  • Medical and Research News
  1. Home
  2. Prospective Students
  3. Student Life
  4. Search Campus and Health News

Search Campus and Health News

Share this

Around Campus

Title

Organization of Student Representatives: Sharing best practices for med school experience

Around Campus

Date
08/10/2018
Article
Gold Humanism Honor Society Members

Gold Humanism Honor Society Members

Medical education evolves with new technology and training methodology. To facilitate innovation in this area, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) brings together stakeholders from top schools around the country to share best practices for improving the medical school experience.

The student branch of the AAMC — the Organization of Student Representatives (OSR) — comprises representatives from each member school, including 138 LCME accredited U.S. medical schools and 17 Canadian schools. OSR reps travel to AAMC meetings, communicate school concerns and bring back ideas.

Amelia Goodfellow, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (DGSOM) class of 2017, was an OSR rep and held both regional and national leadership positions. She discusses her experiences below.

"The great thing about the Organization of Student Representatives is that we're gathering information from around the country," Amelia explains. "We're learning innovative approaches and seeing what's a good fit for our program. We also share the amazing things happening at UCLA. It's an opportunity to make an already incredible medical school even better while networking with amazing and inspiring people."

Fourth-year medical student Amelia Goodfellow talks about being part of the Organization of Student Representatives.

Amelia Goodfellow talks about being part of the Organization of Student Representatives.

About AAMC meetings

AAMC holds national meetings each fall and regional conferences earlier in the year. OSR reps attend these meetings along with deans, student affairs leaders, financial aid staff and other "cohorts" of stakeholders.

The national meetings feature plenary sessions with keynote speakers chosen to reflect that year's conference theme. For instance, the 2015 meeting in Baltimore focused on race and diversity in medicine, while the 2016 meeting in Seattle focused on resilience and wellness for medical students.

There are also breakout sessions for each cohort. For example, student affairs representatives attend sessions on counseling students, while OSR reps attend sessions focused on the student experience.

OSR reps also meet with other students from their region, Amelia says. "We share ideas and brainstorm about specific challenges. We also create physical resources. For example, I helped create an ultrasound interest group at UCLA where students learn how to do scans in various scenarios. In one regional OSR business meeting, we had a round table about technology, and we talked about what we've done at UCLA. Some people liked the idea and asked us to make a toolkit for other schools."

Finally, there's a poster session where medical students present research on best practices from their schools. "It's a forum for students to share their work at a professional conference, which is always exciting," Amelia says.

Leading change

After AAMC meetings, OSR reps meet with deans, faculty, and student affairs representatives to discuss what they learned and how to put ideas into practice.

For example, after a recent OSR leadership forum on wellness and physician burnout, OSR reps met with school leaders to share strategies and resources for improving student resiliency.

OSR reps also helped start a Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) chapter at UCLA. "This honor society recognizes students and doctors for their humanistic qualities. Another OSR rep and I learned how other schools implemented the GHHS and then helped bring it to David Geffen. We've now inducted our second group of honorees. This is a nationally recognized honor and something students can put on residency applications."

Getting involved

The AAMC allows member institutions to select up to four OSR reps. At UCLA, interested medical students complete essay-based questionnaires, which are reviewed by standing OSR reps. Top candidates go on interviews with deans and student affairs officers, who select new reps.

"We have a first-year, second-year, third-year and fourth-year rep," Amelia says. "This helps ensure each class has a representative to advocate for them."

By Taylor Mallory Holland

Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest Follow us on Flickr Follow us on Sharecare
Top 10 U.S. Medical Schools
  • Giving
  • Publications
  • Newsroom
  • Weekly Digest
  • Directory
  • Contact Us
  • Diversity
  • Emergency
  • Maps & Directions
  • UC Regents
  • Abuse Free
  • Volunteer
  • Biomed Library
  • Disability Resources
  • UCLA Health
  • Smoke-Free
  • Sitemap
  • Terms of Use
Top 10 U.S. Medical Schools
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest Follow us on Flickr Follow us on Sharecare