Hi friends! Having met so many incredible folks at #QMed this past weekend, we thought this might be a good time to share a bit about us. Namely - WHO & WHAT ARE WE? Medical Student Pride Alliance (#MSPA) is a ~national~ LGBTQ+ medical student organization, working to: build our community, offer a space for leadership and innovation, and carry out research and advocacy work. & have some fun (🏳️‍🌈👯‍♀️) But WHY? There’s so many incredible organizations doing impactful work already, usually through lgbtq+/medical student task forces and subcommittees. What does MSPA bring to the table? What makes us ~special~ you might ask? First off, *you* make us special (yes, you). A survey we sent out to medical students this year, with >800 respondents from >80 med schools so far, OVERWHELMINGLY told us you wanted a national org. (Did you miss the survey? HERE IT IS: https://redcap.stanford.edu/surveys/?s=AW7E7RRXFD) Many want a national lgbtq+ group, one driven & led by students. A place to communicate easily with one another, push forward initiatives, share curriculum innovation, advocate with the ~legitimacy of a national body behind us, + have regular regional/national meet ups (just like <3 #QMed) We've been able to imagine what this would look like, with some of our past work. In October we circulated an open letter against the DHHS memo, signed by 2000+ folks, that culminated in about a dozen rallies. *YOU* did that y'all! Our community! We're also gearing up for *big things* (omg!!!), including huge grants, major (EXCITING!!) curriculum projects, research publications, national partnerships & advocacy work, and launching & expanding chapters *takes a deep breath* ALL while finalizing our vision, structure & direction. This insta includes some photos, of us just doing some of these rad things. THIS COULD BE YOU. Which brings us to the *ulterior motive* of this post: JOIN THE MSPA TEAM! We need *your* brilliance, talent, skills, and drive to keep moving. Let’s build a national organization together - one that sustains itself, that lasts and makes an impact beyond any of us. Apply at the link on our profile: pridealliance.net/apply ❤️🏳️‍🌈

The @stanford.med chapter of #MSPA at #QMed at @yaleschoolofmed this weekend! Look at that queer joy 🔅GLOW🔅

Feeling revitalized by discussing LGBTQ leadership in health care at the inaugural #QMed conference! If you haven’t taken our survey yet, please visit pridealliance.net 🌈

#MSPA team is SO excited to be at the inaugural #QMed conference at @yaleschoolofmed this morning! Looking forward to a weekend of LGBTQIA+ community, of building strength and connections, of imagining and creating a medical culture that includes and celebrates us. #LGBTQinMedicine

Happy #BiHealthMonth MSPA friends! Today we’re featuring our Outreach Chair, Marija (pronounced like Maria, she/her), an MS2 at Stanford Med. Marija came out as bisexual in high school, and then as lesbian years later, before coming out as bisexual ~again (a rollercoaster, she admits). She found the last coming out to be personally the hardest, in part due to internalized biphobia she didn’t know she carried. She’s interested in neuropsychiatry, is Professionally Gay™, and is aiming to help create a space in medicine for patients and providers across a spectrum of identities - one that allows for fluidity, and for growing into (and out of) identities. 🏳️‍🌈

MSPA wants to send out a HUGE congratulations to everyone who found out they matched today!!!! We’re so proud of you!! 🏳️‍🌈👩🏻‍⚕️👨🏽‍⚕️👩🏾‍⚕️👨🏼‍⚕️👩🏿‍⚕️👨🏻‍⚕️👩🏾‍⚕️🏳️‍🌈 And for those who didn’t, we see you, and we’re proud of you too - we recognize the work you put in, the obstacles you overcame, and the resiliency that keeps you moving. So many of the physicians and mentors we look up to did not have a linear path - you will be a doctor, and your determination despite, and in spite of, the news today is what will set you apart. Thank you for sticking with this tough journey, and for helping create a more inclusive, queerer medical world. Image by NYTimes, Keith Negley.

Happy #internationalwomensday 💪 the first National Women’s Day was observed in the U.S. by the Socialist Party of America, in honor of the 1908 garment workers’ strike in New York, where women protested against dire working conditions. In 1910, an international Women’s Day was established to honor the movement for women’s rights and for universal suffrage. Let’s remember the history of this movement - one of workers’ rights and political empowerment. Let’s honor the spirit of #IWD by advocating for laws that protect against workplace discrimination for women and non-binary femme presenting folks, based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Let’s fight against policies that invalidate women in the transgender and intersex communities. “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” - Audre Lorde. Image by @ashlukadraws

The #MSPA Outreach team attended the launch of Time’s Up Healthcare @timesuphc this week - a powerful movement dedicated to supporting and advocating for those who are vulnerable to discrimination and harassment. MSPA was inspired by the intentionality of the movement, on stories that don’t often receive the same platform; we were hopeful seeing that its leadership reflected a diverse set of experiences and identities, committed to uplifting everyone; and we’re excited to support its mission, as the movement aims to address the experiences of LGBTQIA+ folks. We know queer folks can face harassment and intimidation in unique ways, and often at disproportionately high rates; we know students and trainees are in uniquely vulnerable positions. MSPA is committed to centering these experiences, and to advocating for our community. We look forward to tackling this work together. #MSPA friends - what does Time’s Up mean to you, as LGBTQIA+ students, trainees or providers? What would you like a national movement to recognize about your experience? Share with us here, or in a DM. #TimesUpNow #TimesUpHealthcare

Phil Wilson founded the Black AIDS Institute in 1999, after over a decade of HIV/AIDS activism at the onset of the epidemic. He was one of the earliest voices focused on HIV/AIDS in black communities, and the Black AIDS Institute is still the only national HIV & AIDS think tank focused exclusively on the black community. In 2010, Wilson was appointed to President Obama’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, as Co-chair of the disparities committee. We honor our unsung activists in recognition of Black History Month. Thank you for your contributions and dedication @blackaids

Miss Major has been a fierce advocate for the transgender community for five decades. A veteran of the 1969 Stonewall Riots in NYC, she continues to be a community leader for transgender women of color, now the founding Executive Director for the Transgender, Gender Variant, Intersex Justice Project, a group which aims help transgender persons who are incarcerated. Janet Mock writes about Miss Major in the March issue of Out, “When I think of Major, I think of the monthly calls and voice messages she leaves for me with such tenderness, embracing me despite the distance, letting me know that someone is proud of me, thinking of me, caring for me when oftentimes I may not care for myself, or feel I am doing enough, or am enough. We all deserve such a person, and Major has been that for hundreds of trans women aching to be loved and affirmed. She’s the mother we all deserve.” // #MSPA will be highlighting Black queer leaders, artists, activists and scientists throughout the month of February, celebrating Black History Month. As always, feel free to message us for post submissions, thoughts or comments.