Student Equity & Belonging

The Border Health Project (BHP) is a student-run organization at UC San Diego's School of Medicine, which was founded by the Latino Medical Student Association in 2006 under the principal that everyone deserves access to preventative and basic health care. BHP strives to improve the health and wellbeing of one of the most marginalized and underserved communities in San Diego County: migrant farmworkers. Our patients live in outdoor tents and work long hours in labor intensive jobs that ultimately result in repetitive stress injuries and chronic illnesses.

The Disability and Chronic Illness in Healthcare and Medicine (DCiHM) interest group aims to celebrate disability as a form of diversity. Students with disabilities are underrepresented in the medical profession and face significant stigma. We strive to create a welcoming community for healthcare providers with disabilities and chronic illness, where all abilities are respected and acknowledged. Our goal is to combat ableism, raise awareness of all forms of disability, destigmatize disability, improve accessibility in medical education, and promote health equity for patients with disabilities. All are welcome to join us!

Fade Hypertention's goal is to build genuine, respectful partnerships between the School of Medicine and San Diego community organizations (including but not limited to barbershops, nail salons, religious groups, etc) with the goal of raising awareness about cardiovascular health, teaching community members about its long-term harmful effects, and actively foster trust between these communities and the school of medicine.

Mission Statement: We aim to connect Filipino American medical students, a historically underrepresented group in medicine, with other Filipino students, faculty, and physicians.

Our hope is to create a supportive community and network for those involved in FAM. This is done through community events, panel discussions, film screenings, and our annual meryenda.

First Gen in Medicine is a group for medical students who are the first in their families/household to have graduated from college and now pursue a career in medicine.

The Korean American Medical Student Student Association strives to connect medical students of Korean heritage and create a community that supports and challenges one another. We want to engage with the local San Diego Korean Community as well.

Our mission is to build an inclusive home for our Middle Eastern North African (MENA) students, spread awareness about our unique cultures, and support the community inside and outside campus. We hope to create a safe space for our students to share their experiences and bring new insights to mitigate the barriers that MENA populations, specifically refugees, face in navigating their healthcare.

The Refugee Health Initiative Interest Group provides space for students interested in refugee and immigrant health to come together.

The mission of South Asian Medical Student Association (SAMSA) is to foster a community and support system for South Asian medical students and address the needs of the South Asian community in San Diego. We aim to do this by hosting social mixers, networking events with South Asian physicians, and community outreach events.

The purpose of the Vietnamese Medical (VietMed) Student Association is to promote Vietnamese diversity within the UC San Diego School of Medicine community, and provide both outreach and mentorship for students and undergraduates within the UC San Diego community.