Student Affairs Offices and the LHS+ Medical Student

This chapter seeks to review activities, innovations, and research of the Offices of Student Affairs (OSA) in supporting medical students of LHS+ identity. For this chapter, we are using LHS+ as an umbrella term to include Latina, Latino, Latinx, Latine, Hispanic or of Spanish Origin+. In 2016, the AAMC Group on Student Affairs (GSA) developed a GSA Performance Framework to describe the eight areas of expertise that student affairs professionals should develop for the successful performance of specific roles, functions, and services within student affairs (GSA Performance Framework. AAMC 2016. https://www.aamc.org/system/files/2019-08/gsaframeworkoverview.pdf ). In this chapter, we use this framework to describe current and potential future efforts to support LHS+ students. We will focus on the three areas most relevant to the OSA role in student wellness and mental health, academic progression, and professional and career development. Also, we will address areas that the OSA collaborate closely with such as Student Diversity and Inclusion, Medical School Recruitment & Admission, Student Records Management, Financial Assistance, and Unit Operations Management.