AMSA Premed Officers

If you are a chapter officer at your school, we would first like to offer our deepest gratitude to you for working to make a differences in the lives of your fellow premeds. Your efforts are truly appreciated! Now, in order to for you to be as effective a leader as possible, please follow the links below to help your AMSA chapter run smoothly.

If you are at a school without a current AMSA chapter, would you be interested in leading the effort to get one started? Medical schools aren't the only only ones looking for motivated students who aren't afraid to step forward and be leaders; so is AMSA! Please read our information on chartering an AMSA chapter and feel free to follow the links below to help get your chapter going strong.

Guides for Officers

AMSA has compiled 2 great resources to help you be an outstanding AMSA chapter officer. First, there is the Premedical Chapter Officer's Guide (PDF) to help you understand all of the duties that a chapter officer is responsible for. Second, read the Chapter Officer's Handbook for more tips on being a great chapter officer, as well as information on the nuts and bolts of AMSA. Both resources are must-reads for any chapter officer! Additional information can also be found on our medical chapter officer pages.

Chapter Officer Lists

Has your chapter submitted its list of officers yet? AMSA cannot send your chapter important newsletters and other information unless we have your contact info. Please take 2 minutes and update your chapter officer information today! As a CO, you can also request lists of members in your chapter. Email membership for the current list of members.

Help with Chapter Recruitment

Want some free help with recruiting at your school for next year? Well, all you have to do is ask :-) AMSA will gladly send recruitment information either directly to the premeds at your school (if you provide completed mailing labels) or in a bulk shipment to one of your officers so that materials can be handed out at your first meeting. It's never too early to start planning ahead, and signing up is easy! You don't need to provide mailing labels or any of that just yet, but you must at least sign up for this service.

AMSA Membership Timeline

This timeline is a quick outline of what activities are most important for a chapter officer to remember each month. It's easy to lose track of what needs to be done when, but hopefully this resource will help.

Important AMSA Listserves

As a chapter officer you probably already know that "Communication is key." Therefore, we strongly urge you to subscribe to 2 very important AMSA listserves: the premedical listserve and the chapter officer listserve (you will automatically be subscribed to the chapter officer listserve when AMSA receives notification of your position). Subscribe now, though, to the premed listserve.

Fundraising Ideas

Fundraising for your chapter is always a chore, but we have some ideas to help. A variety of great ideas can be found in the Chapter Officer's Handbook, plus more here specifically for premeds.

Stay in Touch with the AMSA National Leadership

In addition to the Premedical Trustee, there are 10 Premedical Regional Directors, each of whom is responsible for keeping in touch with the chapter officers in their region. If you haven't heard from them, it's probably because they don't know how to reach you. Please contact the Premedical Regional Directors for your region. They are great resources for help and ideas!

AMSA Speakers Bureau

Looking for some great, free speakers for your meetings? AMSA alumni around the country have volunteered to speak at local chapters on a variety of topics. Check out the online directory now!

Why should you charter your chapter?

Starting an AMSA chapter is one thing, chartering that chapter is another. By having an AMSA chapter at your school you have taken the first step to combine students and work toward a change in medicine and the health of your future patients. As you know AMSA offers students opportunities to not only learn more about the broad topics in medicine (Legislative issues, Disparities in medicine, Student well-being to name a few) but AMSA also provides the "how to": as a chartered chapter of AMSA you are eligible for funding to make your ideas, sessions for other students and community projects happen.

AMSA has long been known for informing students of the aspects of health care, and at the premed level AMSA has become known for being the place for students to not only learn about current issues but also to do something about them. We have the resources, the ideas, the power-points, the projects in a box for you to teach other students. By being a chartered chapter you can apply for Local Project Grants for funding for these projects. Plus, learn how to earn even more money from AMSA!

A chartered chapter is also officially recognized as a part of AMSA. When your chapter is chartered, you become eligible for the Golden Apple Award to be sent to your chapter, so your chapter can present a professor/administrator at your school with a tangible token of your appreciation as students.

AMSA chapters are chartered once a year at the AMSA National convention, however you can submit your paperwork to be chartered at any time throughout the year. There is a January deadline for chartering chapters-this deadline is the last date to get your paperwork in to be chartered at the National Convention in March.

What happens if my chapter doesn't submit the paperwork in by the deadline?
Your chapter will be chartered at the next AMSA convention the following year. if you miss the deadline, you can still participate in AMSA events (and are highly encouraged to do so), as a chapter "petitioning to charter in 200_". AMSA creates strong bonds between students, and the national office is here to help. If you have any questions on the chartering process please email membership or the premed trustee.