founded to unite and empower current and future physicians through service, mentorship & education to advocate for the improved health of Hispanic & Latina/o/x communities in the US. In the 1960s and '70s, as they began their medical training, Hispanic and Latino-identifying medical students saw a need for self-determination and peer-to-peer support in seeking and progressing towards the medical profession. These students, after initially forming regional organizations across the United States (US), recognized the importance of developing a national presence and voice to advocate for themselves, their patients, and their communities. In that vein, the National Network of Latin American Medical Students (NNLAMS) was founded in 1987 as a collaboration between regional Latino medical student groups and a central national core for unified targeted efforts. Over time, as the network and its regional members grew in size and complexity, national officer and board member positions were created. NNLAMS and its officers worked to improve the landscape of medicine and medical education for underrepresented medical students nationwide. The Midwest, Southeast, and Southwest organizations changed their names to NNLAMS while NBLHO (Northeast) and LMSA (West) maintained their names.
2006 was a landmark year for NNLAMS as the organization held its first national conference in conjunction with the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA). Thanks to the efforts of the national officers, board members, executive advisory counsel and support from Dr. Elena Rios (President & CEO of NHMA) the national conference was possible. The event brought in students from all over the country and set a venue to reflect upon the years work, network with other students and health professionals, and set the pace for the future operations and vision of NNLAMS. In an effort to unify all the Latino medical students from different regions under the same title, the name of the national organization was officially changed to LMSA in 2010 at the first independent LMSA national conference held at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Henceforth the five region will be referred to as LMSA Northeast, LMSA Midwest, LMSA Southeast, LMSA Southwest, and LMSA West. Today, LMSA serves over 2,000 health professions trainees, covering over 130 active student chapters across 40 US states and territories. As LMSA continues to expand, its mission remains the same: to unite and empower health professions trainees through service, mentorship, and education to advocate for the health of the Hispanic & Latina/o/x communities in the US.
