Leadership should not be an elective endeavor for medical students, according to Charlie Adams.
Instead, this AMA member and fourth-year Kansas City medical student views medical student advocacy as a requisite activity to move medicine forward.
“As a first-year medical student, I stayed on the sidelines,” said Adams, who recently completed his terms as an alternate delegate to the AMA House of Delegates for the Missouri State Medical Association in addition to a position on the AMA Medical Student Section (AMA-MSS) Governing Council. “I did well in school, but I felt such a lack of purpose and I felt a lack of community. And I'm in medical school because I want to make change.”
As a second-year medical student, Adams got involved. First, that involvement was with organizations on campus, then with his school’s AMA chapter. From there, he got involved with his state medical society.
Looking back on his growth as a medical student leader, Adams offered a few tips on the importance of getting involved.
For medical students looking to hone their leadership skills, the AMA offers the chance to distinguish yourself through more than 1,000 leadership opportunities and skill building through online training modules, project-based learning and more.
Ample opportunity
With his state medical association, Adams found that medical students may overlook the possibilities.
"A lot of med students just don’t really look outside the activities on campus, and that’s why they’re kind of missing a lot of opportunities," said Adams, who is set to graduate from Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine in the spring.
The fear of failing to land a leadership position—regardless of the organization—should not deter medical students from taking a chance, Adams said, noting that he’s “applied for some really cool opportunities to lead” but did not land all of them.
Those setbacks were followed by later successes, which would not have come out “if I hadn’t put myself in a bunch of situations and applied to a bunch of different opportunities.”
The AMA Medical Student Leadership Learning Series offers practical education to help medical students lead effectively. These 20-minute, interactive modules offer advice, realistic scenarios and printable resources to help medical students become skilled in core competencies of leadership. This series is an AMA members-only resource.
Dive deeper:
- 3 keys to boosting your medical student leadership skill set
- She grew her leadership acumen as a medical student. Here’s how.
Show up
To gain respect within a medical association or other health care organization, Adams said that medical students must show that they are willing to put in the time and effort.
“To be a leader, in any of these organizations, you just have to do the work. Be kind and show up and put your best foot forward,” Adams said. “And that was super empowering for me to realize that really anyone can do this. You just got to show up and be consistent.”
Dive deeper:
- A medical student leader’s advice: Listen first, act second
- What you need to know to get started as a medical student leader
Build relationships
Effective medical student advocacy requires working with colleagues from across health care who will not always share your views, Adams noted.
“To work with people who may have beliefs that differ so much from you own, I invest in people and relationships,” said Adams, a trans man and forceful advocate of ensuring access to health care for transgender people. “People on my delegation may vote against what [policy] I put forth. But I still am friends with them and I talk to them. I've met their family. I know what's going on in their life.”
Medical students may not have the clinical expertise of seasoned physicians, but they often bring passion, optimism, energy and fresh perspectives.
“We have a voice and we have power, the things we say matter and are effective, and we all need to work together to help change the system,” Adams said.
Dive deeper:
- What I wish I knew in medical school about student leadership
- What it takes to find success as a medical student leader
- Leadership 101: What medical students need to know
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