Cultural Affinity Groups (CAGs)

Access Penn Med is the Perelman School of Medicine's affinity group for students with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses. Our group is committed to providing an accessible and supportive community for students living the duality of being both a patient and a physician in training. 

Access Penn Med champions a social model of disability, acknowledging that sociocultural identification, as someone with an accessibility need or health concern, can exist outside the confines of strict medical diagnoses. 

As an organization, we focus on raising awareness in and educating the PSOM community about disability issues in medicine, advocating for relevant policy and process reform to make the PSOM experience more accessible to all, promoting outreach to the Philadelphia disability community, and engaging with faculty, staff, and students who are passionate about accessibility and disability issues.

APAMSA is dedicated to promoting awareness and service for Asian/Pacific Islander (API) healthcare issues. We organize events and talks to educate students on health challenges specific to API communities. We also provide opportunities to get involved with service in often overlooked API communities in Philadelphia through participation in flu clinics, hepatitis B screenings, and Unity Clinic, a free clinic serving Indonesian immigrants in South Philadelphia. We hope that through our efforts, our classmates will be better equipped to understand, serve, and advocate for API patients and communities.

Our secondary focus is to support API medical students by providing contacts and sessions dedicated to the experience of APIs in the medical profession, opportunities to network with API medical students from other medical schools, and events to promote API culture in the medical school. It is our goal to support the development of API doctors and leaders in medicine.

Caritas is PSOM's Catholic student group. Our mission is to offer fellowship within the Perelman School of Medicine while exploring how Catholic thought influences our lives and our practices as budding physicians. To this end, we host events including lunch and dinner talks and get together regularly for Sunday dinners after mass. Caritas is building a network of students and Catholic physicians who are available to offer guidance and mentorship. We encourage interested students of all creeds to reach out to us for more information and to see how they may get involved.

EBS seeks to inspire, empower, and connect women in medicine. EBS is a student-run group dedicated to highlighting the accomplishments of women in medicine, providing tools and support for women to address both the unique challenges they face in medicine and the challenges that disproportionately affect them, and fostering relationships between faculty and students. We also seek to build relationships with our surrounding communities to empower young women to pursue careers in medicine and STEM.

As FGLI, First-Generation and Low-Income undergraduate and medical students at the University of Pennsylvania, we work to:

• Create a community of first generation and low income college students to support each other through the personal challenges we face during medical school
• Provide a safe space to connect each other with school resources to overcome academic and non-academic challenges
• Provide opportunities for a group of students to build their professional network with leaders in medicine at Penn
• Educate this community to succeed financially after graduating from medical school
• Educate our colleagues on the social determinants influencing an individual’s health
• Advocate for more educational support for first-generation college students while in college

LMSA is a national student-run organization founded to represent, support, educate, and unify Latino medical students. Like the national organization, our local PSOM chapter's mission is to:

• Recruit Latinos into higher education
• Develop a Latino high school mentoring program pairing Latino high school students with PSOM Latino medical students
• Serve as a support network for Latino students
• Advocate for increased Latino representation in health professions
• Participate in the recruitment of underrepresented minority students to PSOM
• Work closely with the Student National Medical Association to foster a community of color at the University of Pennsylvania
• Educate the public and one another about Latino heath issues which we do, in part, by assisting in healthcare delivery at Puentes de Salud, a free clinic for Latino immigrants
• Promote awareness of social, political, and economic issues as they relate to Latino health, which we do during Latino Heritage Month (September 15 through October 15)
• Assist in the organization of the medical Spanish courses designed for PSOM medical students wanting to learn Spanish

At “Maimo,” our mission is to provide a framework for Jewish life at the Perelman School of Medicine. We collaborate with other graduate schools, the Lubavitch House, and Hillel at Penn to host social events. We also host educational events that cover topics at the intersection of Judaism and medicine. We are happy to answer all your questions about kosher food options, religious services, and the Philly Jewish social scene. We welcome students of all levels of religious observance!

Muslims in Medicine aims to build a network of Muslims and friends in all stages of their careers and training. Together, we can navigate the challenges and joys of practicing medicine while Muslim and give back to the surrounding community. We work closely with the Penn Muslim Student Association as well as other graduate schools to cultivate students' Muslim life at PSOM.

Muslims in Medicine is also an educational resource for the wider Penn Medicine community to learn about Muslims and Islam. Look for events such as interfaith panels; mentoring mixers with residents and attending physicians; and community gatherings, such as our Ramadan Iftar, where we share Ramadan traditions with our classmates.

PMCF is a student-run organization at Penn for Christians of ALL backgrounds and for those interested in Christianity. We have weekly meetings and organize opportunities for community service and mentorship with Christian doctors and healthcare professionals.

Penn Med Pride is PSOM's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer student and student allies organization. Our group of LGBTQ students and allies is committed to increasing visibility of LGBTQ people at PSOM; educating the PSOM community about LGBTQ health best practices through a speaker series and curriculum development; promoting LGBTQ health-related community outreach; providing opportunities for professional development; and cultivating our vibrant community of LGBTQ students, faculty, staff, and allies at the Perelman School of Medicine.

SAMoSA strives to strengthen the South Asian community among medical students, undergraduates, residents, and physicians at Penn Medicine, increase awareness of South Asian health issues within the Penn community and Philadelphia, and strengthen South Asian collaboration across multiple Penn graduate programs.

SNMA is the nation's oldest and largest national student-run organization focused on the needs and concerns of medical students of color. SNMA programs are designed to serve the health needs of underserved communities and communities of color. SNMA is also dedicated to ensuring that medical education and services are culturally sensitive to the needs of diverse populations and to increasing the number of underrepresented minorities succeeding in medical school.

Our goals at the University of Pennsylvania chapter of SNMA are to:

• Conduct heath fairs and health screenings in underserved minority communities in Philadelphia and suburbs
• Sponsor informational programs that educate minority youth about the medical school application and admissions processes
• Serve as mentors to younger students who aspire to attend medical school
• Participate in the recruitment of underrepresented minority applicants to the Perelman School of Medicine
• Serve as informal peer academic advisors to other enrolled PSOM students
• Sponsor Black History Month activities and presentations at PSOM
• Promote residency training programs at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia