Tu Lucha es Mi Lucha: The Evolution of a Student-Driven LHS+ Health Policy Initiative

The rich Latino history in different American continents, including the United States, has been a constant fight for resources to meet the community’s basic needs while preserving our ethnic background, culture, traditions, and values. Through the centuries of colonialism, forced assimilation and imperialism, multiple prominent LHS+ leaders and organizations have dedicated their lives to health equity and social justice. Advocacy and grassroot organizational skills are essential to instill transformative changes in healthcare, however these are rarely taught in traditional academic medical curriculum. In this chapter, we explore the complex process of creating a LHS+ health-driven organizational structure that teaches students how to effectively advocate for their patients, community and profession. In response to those needs, student leaders created the Latino Medical Student Association Policy Summit (LMSA-PS). Using the Kern model and the CDC Policy Development Framework, LMSA students created an annual policy conference composed of student-led rally’s, legislative visits, policy-related lectures and a legislative session called the Congress of Delegates. In describing the LMSA-PS we contextualize LMSA student advocacy through historical perspectives of LHS+ community advocacy, healthcare advocacy, and medical student mobilization. These best practices can be used to help students from marginalized and underrepresented minority populations develop effective health policy training and advocacy programming.