Advocacy

Connecting the Dots: AIDS Advocacy at Home and Abroad

By: Mariah Gray I met the little orphan boy in his home in an Addis Ababa slum. He lived there with his older sister – or maybe she was just a kind town girl that took him in. Regardless, she was young, she was his caretaker, and she was living with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)....

Healthcare for All Virginians: VCU SOM Students Support Medicaid Expansion

By: Kevin Kurack Medicaid expansion has always been an issue very close to my heart as a future health care professional. Over the past few summers, I volunteered at Remote Area Medical (RAM) – a traveling free health care clinic in Wise County, Virginia—the heart of Appalachia coal-country. Thousands of uninsured Virginians come to RAM...

Reflecting on AMSA Advocacy Day on The Hill: New skills, new bridges

By: Frances Gill Last year in 2017, as the Tulane University AMSA chapter Advocacy Chair, I flew to Washington, D.C., for the AMSA National Convention’s Advocacy Day to lobby Louisiana’s representatives—Senators Cassidy and Kennedy, especially—in favor of preserving the Affordable Care Act. Lobbying? The Hill? Arguing with an authority figure? All this was brand new...

Lessons from Puerto Rico: We’re stronger together

By: Tanisha Rivera I was born and raised in Puerto Rico. I’ve experienced firsthand the devastating effects Hurricane Maria has had on my local community and the Caribbean as a whole. In life, there will inevitably be highs and lows that point out our fragile stability. Sadly, this catastrophic event was a startling reminder of...