LMSA provides the following checklist to start new chapters.
If you already have a chapter at your school and want to be actively involved with the network, email us at contact@nnlams.com.
If you would like to take this opportunity and register your chapter online: CLICK HERE.
We are more than happy to help!
PHASE I
1. The primary contact to start a chapter will be the national membership chair. You can email us at membership@nnlams.org to get things started.
2. Familiarize yourself with your school’s protocol regarding student organizations.
3. You will need the LMSA Constitution and your Region’s constitution.
4. Create by-laws for your chapter. (To the right you can download a sample by-laws document)
5. Registering your chapter with your school’s student organization section. Usually you will need the National and Regional Constitution, chapter by-laws, school registration forms, and a faculty adviser.
PHASE II
6. Creating Officer positions: (Suggested positions; you can modify to best fit the needs of the chapter.) - Co-presidents - Treasurer - Secretary - Parliamentarian - Regional Delegate - Membership Chair - Fundraising Chair - Community Service Chair - Publication Chair - Mentorship Chair - Webmaster 7. Don’t forget to designate a faculty adviser if you have not done so already 8. Assemble a general meeting to assess interest in the chapter 9. Hold elections to fill officer positions 10. Register Chapter and individual members with LMSA
For individual registration CLICK HERE For chapter registration CLICK HERE
PHASE III
At this point the following items should be completed: - Chapter registered with the school - Faculty Advisor appointed - Officers appointed - Members and chapter registered with LMSA
The next step is to set a yearly and monthly agendas. It is important to hold a general assembly meeting to gather input from all interested individuals.
Monthly Meetings: You can format meetings to best fit your chapter’s need. Some examples: - Monthly General Assembly meetings - Officer only meetings - Special events meetings
Regional House of Delegates Meeting (Regional delegate position): Once a year the appointed LMSA delegate for each chapter travels to the regional house of delegates meeting to discuss regional/national issues. This position ensures your chapter’s voice at the regional and national level. An alternate delegate should be in place in the event the designated delegate can not attend. In the event that neither of the delegates can attend, the chapter’s co-president(s) should make the regional meeting.
Regional and National Conference: Every year the 5 regions of LMSA hold an annual regional conference with their respective agendas; primarily to promote medical student leadership, networking, and educational opportunities. The regional conference also gives you the opportunity to run for regional positions, including regional board member. The regional board members are comprised of 2 individuals per region. These 10 individuals (2 X 5 REGIONS) make up the voting entity of LMSA at the national level.
Additionally, LMSA National has its own independent National conference. All medical students from all 5 LMSA regions are invited and encouraged to attend the national conference. Students usually have good support from their schools to attend this event. The national conference is time when all the national policies and programs are discussed and also an opportunity to run for a national officer position and assume a broader role among the Latino(a) medical student community. Attendance is also encouraged at the annual National Hispanic Medical Association conference which is an allied organization of Latino physicians.