How to Use AMSA Committees to Create Publishable Advocacy Work

The biggest mistake students make with AMSA committees is treating them like clubs instead of engines for publishable advocacy work.

If you are serious about building a track record in health policy, public health, or social justice in medicine, AMSA committees can be your most efficient structure—if you use them correctly. The goal is not “participation”. The goal is outputs: policy briefs, op-eds, research reports, toolkits, and curriculum that can live on your CV.

Here is how to turn committee involvement into tangible, citable advocacy products.

---

(See also: Step‑by‑Step: Using AAMC Resources to Build a Competitive Activities List for more details.)

Step 1: Choose the Right AMSA Committee With Publication in Mind

You cannot produce strong advocacy work if you are in a committee that does not align with your interests or with clear external audiences.

AMSA typically has committees or action groups focused on themes like:

• Health Policy & Legislative Affairs
• Race, Ethnicity, and Culture in Health (REACH)
• LGBTQ+ Health
• Global Health
• Wellness & Burnout
• Environmental Health & Climate Change
• Reproductive Justice
• Primary Care & Rural Health

You are not picking a “fun topic.” You are picking:

1. A publishing ecosystem
2. A set of stakeholders who care
3. A defined body of existing literature and policy

How to select strategically

Use this simple filter:

1. Does this area produce regular written work in the real world?

   • Policy briefs
   • Op-eds
   • Clinical or educational research
   • NGO or think-tank reports
     If you see journals, advocacy organizations, or think tanks publishing on it, that is a good sign.

2. Does AMSA already have a track record here?
   Scan:

   • AMSA’s website for past campaigns and statements
   • Committee pages for past projects and publications
   • AMSA journal or blog for relevant content
     A committee with prior tangible outputs is easier to plug into.

3. Can you clearly see a problem that needs fixing?
   You need a specific gap. Examples:

   • “Few medical schools include climate health in required curricula.”
   • “State X proposes legislation restricting gender-affirming care; there is no med-student perspective piece yet.”
   • “There is no standardized toolkit for students to organize Naloxone trainings at their schools.”

Pick 1–2 committees at most. Depth beats breadth. One strong publication from one committee is better than six superficial roles spread across everything.

---

Step 2: Enter the Committee With a Publication Plan, Not Just Interest

Most students show up to the first committee meeting saying, “I want to get involved in advocacy.” That leads to vague tasks and no clear products.

You will do the opposite.

Before your first call or meeting

Spend 60–90 minutes total and prepare:

1. A one-page “output plan” for yourself
   Include:

   • Topic area (e.g., climate-health, reproductive justice, firearm violence)
   • Target format (policy brief, op-ed, research survey, toolkit, curriculum proposal)
   • Target audience (state legislators, medical schools, local newspapers, AMSA members)
   • A 2–3 sentence problem statement

2. At least 3 examples of existing publications in that space
   For example:

   • A Health Affairs blog post on medical student debt
   • A JAMA Viewpoint on resident burnout
   • A local newspaper op-ed about abortion access from a physician
     Print them or save PDFs. These are your “templates” for structure and tone.

3. A preliminary timeline
   For a semester or academic year:

   • Month 1–2: Background research and proposal approval
   • Month 3–4: Draft and internal review
   • Month 5: Submission (journal, blog, op-ed outlet, AMSA platform, or conference)

You show up and say something concrete:

“I am interested in working on a policy brief about heat-related illness in underserved communities and how medical schools can prepare students. I think we could aim to publish this as an AMSA brief and possibly adapt it into a Health Affairs blog or MedPage Today op-ed. Is there anyone already working on climate-health who would want to collaborate?”

Now the committee leaders see you as a producer, not just a participant.

---

Step 3: Turn Committee Work into a Defined Project With Clear Deliverables

Committees love “projects.” Publications need “products.” Bridge the gap early.

Define your advocacy product explicitly

Pick one primary output:

• Policy brief or white paper
  5–15 pages, citations, concrete recommendations. Aim for:

  • AMSA’s own publication channels or
  • Partner organizations (state medical societies, advocacy coalitions)

• Op-ed or commentary
  600–1200 words, strong narrative hook. Target:

  • Local or regional newspapers
  • National outlets (STAT, MedPage Today, KevinMD)
  • Health Affairs Forefront, AMA Journal of Ethics blog style pieces

• Toolkit or how-to guide for other students
  Practical, stepwise. Example:
  “How to run a Narcan training at your medical school” or
  “Step-by-step guide to lobbying your state reps on prior authorization reform.”

• Educational product

  • Mini-curriculum with slides + facilitator guide
  • OSCE case with standardized patient script
  • Journal club module on a policy topic

Once you choose, write down:

• Title (working)
• Audience
• Word or page count
• Deadline
• Target outlet(s)

Use the committee structure as your built-in team and review board

Within the AMSA committee:

1. Identify:

   • 1–2 content collaborators
   • 1 logistics/communications person (scheduling, contacting stakeholders)
   • 1 faculty or senior-student mentor (if available)

2. Clarify roles:

   • Lead writer: drives drafting and final structure
   • Evidence lead: handles literature search, citations, fact-checking
   • Outreach lead: identifies partners, stakeholders, and dissemination channels

Write this into a 1-page project brief and share it with the committee chair. It signals seriousness and helps them advocate for your work with national AMSA leadership.

---

Step 4: Build an Advocacy Question That Is Actually Publishable

Vague advocacy (“increase awareness of X”) rarely leads to publications. Specific, answerable questions do.

Translate your interest into a “publishable advocacy question.” Use these models:

• Policy-focused:
  “How will [specific policy/legislation] affect [defined population] and what should medical students advocate for instead?”

• Education-focused:
  “What specific changes should medical schools implement to better prepare students to address [issue]?”

• Implementation-focused:
  “What is a feasible, replicable model for students to do [intervention] across different institutions?”

Examples:

• “What state-level policy levers exist to reduce heat-related mortality in homeless populations, and how can medical trainees play a role in advocating for them?”
• “How can preclinical curricula integrate firearm injury prevention counseling in a standardized, assessed way?”
• “What practical steps can medical schools take to protect trainees seeking reproductive health care training after Dobbs?”

Write your advocacy question at the top of a shared document. Every section of your project should connect back to answering that question or solving that problem.

---

Step 5: Use AMSA Infrastructure to Boost Quality and Speed

You do not need to build everything from scratch. AMSA already gives you:

• National networks
• Existing issue briefs
• Webinars and training
• Listservs and Slack groups
• Annual and regional conferences

The mistake is not using them systematically.

Concrete ways to leverage AMSA infrastructure

1. Internal peer reviewers

   • Ask your committee chair: “Can we set up a 2–3 person review team for this brief or op-ed?”
   • Use older students, past committee leaders, or AMSA alumni.

2. Faculty and external experts

   • Ask AMSA staff or national leaders: “Who has worked on [topic] and might co-review or co-sign our brief?”
     This can lead to:
   • Co-authors from major institutions
   • Policy experts who raise your credibility
   • Opportunities to adapt your work for external publications

3. Data and existing materials
   AMSA may already have:

   • Prior position statements
   • Survey data
   • Templates for briefs and resolutions
     Ask directly:
     “Do we have any existing data or resolution text on [issue] that we can build from instead of starting from zero?”

4. Conferences as deadlines
   Set the AMSA National Convention or a regional meeting as:

   • Your completion deadline
   • Your platform to present the work (poster, workshop, oral)
     Submitting an abstract forces you to refine your project into coherent aims and methods.

---

Step 6: Structure Your Advocacy Product Like a Professional Document

Sloppy structure kills otherwise good student advocacy. You need to mirror real-world formats.

For a policy brief

Use a standard structure:

1. Executive summary (1 page max)

   • The problem
   • Why it matters now
   • 3–5 clear recommendations

2. Background

   • Scope of the problem (data, citations)
   • Short narrative or case example
   • Context: current policies, gaps

3. Analysis

   • What is driving the problem?
   • Where are the leverage points?
   • What has been tried already?

4. Recommendations
   Each one with:

   • Specific action (e.g., “State Medicaid programs should reimburse X”)
   • Rationale
   • Implementation steps
   • Stakeholders (who has to act)

5. Appendix / references
   Full citations in a consistent style.

For an op-ed

Follow a tight, high-yield structure:

1. Hook: A brief story, surprising fact, or recent news peg
2. Thesis: 1–2 sentences stating your argument clearly
3. Context: Why this matters now, with minimal data
4. Argument: 2–3 key points, each with examples
5. Concrete ask: What should the reader do or support
6. Strong closing line that returns to your hook or thesis

Use AMSA to get feedback on:

• Tone (too academic vs. accessible)
• Jargon (cut most of it)
• Political framing (clear but not needlessly polarizing)

For a toolkit

Include:

• Who it is for
• What it enables them to do
• Step-by-step checklist
• Scripts, email templates, sample flyers
• Timeline and budget estimate (if relevant)
• Case example from a real AMSA chapter

Make it so clear that another med student at a different school can pick it up and run the same campaign with minimal questions.

---

Step 7: Add a Light Research or Data Component to Elevate Your Work

To move from “student project” to “publishable advocacy,” you want at least one of the following:

• Original data (even simple)
• A structured review of existing literature or policy
• A documented implementation with outcomes

You do not need an R01-level study. You need rigor.

Easy, feasible data options within AMSA

1. Short surveys of AMSA members or chapters

   • Example: “How many schools include climate-health content, and in what form?”
     Steps:
   • Develop a 10–15 item survey (use Qualtrics or Google Forms)
   • Get informal review from a faculty mentor for clarity and ethics
   • Distribute via AMSA listserv or committee channels
   • Analyze with simple descriptive stats
     Then include:
   • “Among 143 respondents from 45 medical schools, only 18% reported required climate-health content.”

2. Policy landscape scan

   • Choose a topic (e.g., state abortion restrictions; scope-of-practice laws; firearm safety counseling laws)
   • Systematically document:
     • What policies exist in which states
     • When they were passed
     • Any major ongoing legal challenges
       Present it in a map or table and cite sources.

3. Implementation report

   • Document:
     • Where your intervention (toolkit, curriculum, training) was implemented
     • How many students reached
     • Simple outcomes: pre/post survey, attendance, qualitative feedback
       This can convert a toolkit into a brief report or MedEd-style piece.

Always check with a mentor whether formal IRB review is needed. Many quality improvement and advocacy-implementation projects can be exempt or expedited, but you want documentation.

---

Step 8: Decide Where to Publish—Before You Finish Writing

The outlet determines structure, length, and tone. Decide early.

Core categories of outlets

1. Within AMSA

   • AMSA blog or website features
   • AMSA position statements or white papers
   • AMSA newsletters
     Pros:
   • Faster acceptance
   • Direct reach to medical students
   • Easier to get institutional buy-in

2. Medical and health policy platforms

   • Health Affairs Forefront
   • STAT First Opinion
   • AMA Journal of Ethics “Viewpoints”
   • Academic Medicine “Letters to the Editor” or “Commentaries”
   • Journal of General Internal Medicine “Perspectives”
     Pros:
   • High credibility with academic committees and residency programs
   • Often welcome trainee voices backed by advocacy organizations

3. General media

   • Local or state newspapers
   • National outlets if your story is strongly tied to a major policy event
     Strategy:
   • Tie your piece to a recent law, court case, or major policy report
   • Highlight AMSA as the institutional affiliation

4. Conferences

   • Poster or oral presentations at:
     • AMSA Convention
     • AAMC meetings (e.g., Learn Serve Lead)
     • Specialty society conferences (e.g., ACP, AAFP, APHA)
       Learn the abstract submission cycles and write backward from those dates.

Match outlet to product:

• Deep analysis + data → journal or conference
• Fast, high-impact reaction → op-ed or blog
• Guidance for peers → toolkit, AMSA resource page, MedEd portal

---

Step 9: Use Authorship and Leadership to Strengthen Your CV

Many students do the work but fail to document it properly or advocate for appropriate credit.

Clarify authorship early

For multi-person projects, discuss openly:

• Who is first author? (usually the primary driver of the work)
• Who else is an author vs. acknowledged contributor?
• Who will handle correspondence with outlets?

Frame this professionally:

“Since I will be leading the drafting and coordinating reviews, it makes sense for me to be first author. I would like to include you as co-authors given your roles in data analysis and expert review. Does that feel accurate?”

Use standard authorship criteria:

• Substantial contribution to conception, design, analysis, or drafting
• Approval of the final version
• Accountability for the work

Turn committee roles into leadership and scholarship lines

On your CV:

• “National AMSA Reproductive Justice Committee, Policy Brief Lead Author”
• “AMSA Climate and Health Action Committee – Toolkit Development Coordinator”
• “AMSA Health Policy Committee – Project Lead, National Survey of Medical Student Debt Experiences”

Pair your role with output:

• “Lead author, AMSA policy brief on [topic]”
• “Co-author, Health Affairs Forefront commentary: [title]”
• “Presenter, AMSA National Convention 2026: [title]”

This signals not just participation, but productivity.

---

Step 10: Build a Repeatable Personal Pipeline

One successful project should not be a one-off. You want a personal system that will carry you from premed through residency.

A simple annual pipeline using AMSA committees

Each academic year:

1. Quarter 1 (Aug–Oct)

   • Pick 1 major issue (aligned with your evolving interests)
   • Embed in the relevant AMSA committee
   • Define 1 primary product (brief, op-ed, toolkit, or study)
   • Identify outlet(s) and deadlines

2. Quarter 2 (Nov–Jan)

   • Conduct background research and/or data collection
   • Draft major sections
   • Present preliminary work at a committee meeting for feedback

3. Quarter 3 (Feb–Apr)

   • Revise
   • Submit to your chosen outlet(s)
   • Submit abstracts to conferences

4. Quarter 4 (May–Jul)

   • Respond to peer reviews or editor feedback
   • Implement your recommendations locally if applicable
   • Document outcomes
   • Identify next year’s issue based on what you learned

Document everything in a simple log:

• Date, meeting, decisions
• Draft versions and submissions
• Outcomes (acceptance, revisions, rejections)

Treat this like a long-term advocacy lab, with AMSA as your home department.

---

Final Quick Takeaways

1. Use AMSA committees as structured engines for specific, well-defined advocacy products—not just as discussion groups.
2. Start every project with a clear advocacy question, target outlet, and timeline, then leverage AMSA’s networks for review, data, and dissemination.
3. Convert each year of committee involvement into at least one citable output: a brief, op-ed, toolkit, or implementation report that you can carry forward on your CV and build into a durable advocacy portfolio.