About the Latino Medical Student Association
The Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) was born out of a recognized need for support in increasing the representation and success of Hispanic/Latino medical students in medical school. Many decades of National and inter-organizational collaboration contributed to what is today known as The LMSA.
Beginning in the 1970s and 1980s across the nation, Hispanic/Latino medical students began independently organizing. These independent organizations took up the names of the:
Latino Midwest Medical Association in the Midwest
Boricua Health Organization in the Northeast
Hispanic American Medical Student Association in the Southeast
The Texas Association of Latino American Medical Students in the Southwest
The Chicano Medical Student Association in the West.
A Historical Unification
While maintaining organizational independence, the five above groups formed a national consortium known as the National Network of Latin American Students in 1998, striving to partner and unify each region’s drive to their central missions.
In 2006, The National Network of Latin American Students, in a historical moment and with support from the National Hispanic Medical Assocation (NHMA), held its first National Conference. This was a first unification of hundreds of Latino/Hispanic medical students and health professionals across the country. For those present in this moment, the passion surrounding shared commitments to their common communities inspired lifelong bonds and missions.
In 2009, the National Network of Latin American Students reorganized as The LMSA. Since then, regional operations continue in collaboration with national support.
The LMSA Midwest Region
The LMSA Midwest Region encompasses medical schools from North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.
LMSA Midwest – in collaboration with its sister regions and LMSA National – is proud to serve a growing number of medical students, residents, and attending physicians organizing to form LMSA Chapters and events throughout the various states.
