Interest Groups

Wash U’s Aerospace Medicine interest group is a chapter of the national Aerospace Medicine Student and Resident Organization (AMSRO), which educates and advocates for aerospace medicine and human performance among students/residents around the world. If you are interested in space, aviation, diving, and medicine in extreme environments, AMSRO is the organization for you to learn more about opportunities in research, education, and career pathways. We host in-person and virtual seminars, collaborate with AMSRO chapters around the country, and watch films/documentaries about space medicine. Our faculty mentor, Dr. Sheyna Gifford, has spent over a year on a Hawaiian volcano simulating a Mars mission and given several TED talks about space medicine. She is a great resource, fascinating person, and well connected in the aerospace medicine community.

The Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) at Washington University School of Medicine is an incredible organization that focuses on functional interventions to improve access to surgical exposure, education, and mentorship for female medical students considering pursuing surgery. AWS connects students with women surgical residents and faculty through small group discussions, panels, skills workshops, and specialty interest “families.” AWS also provides tangible resources — rentable skills kits, ring lights, funding, a “bulletin” of surgery-related opportunities through the @washu_AWS instagram, and more — to lessen financial and accessibility limitations to students’ academic and professional growth in medical school.

The Cardiovascular Interest Group (CVIG) works with cardiothoracic surgeons in the department to host events for students interested in Cardiothoracic Surgery or Surgery in general. Some of our past events have included dinner with faculty, a pig heart dissection lab, a simulated vascular anastomosis activity, and more! If you are interested in the enthralling field of Cardiothoracic Surgery, or if you are just exploring career options, the CVIG event has lots of fun programming for you to gain mentoring, experiential learning, and opportunities to bond with faculty and peers! (We also have the best catering of all the student interest groups).

The Dermatology Interest Group (DIG) is a club that aims to expand education and involvement within the the field of Dermatology. Group members participate in roundtable discussions with faculty, lectures from expert guest speakers, and research and volunteer opportunities across the many disciplines of dermatology.

Interest groups in general are a great, low-stakes way to explore different specialties (or just learn fun new things, regardless of whether you expect to use them). I went in with an interest in emergency medicine, so I decided to check out Emergency Medicine Interest Group (EMIG), and it’s been a great experience so far. There are more serious, career-development oriented events, like shadowing opportunities and an introductory panel with faculty. However, there are also plenty of events that are more fun than anything. Standouts include a toxicology tour at the Saint Louis Zoo’s Herpetarium and a talk lightly poking fun at depictions of emergency medicine in movies and TV. There are also some events that are a mix of both, like emergency/trauma case simulations. Whether you’re seriously considering emergency medicine as a specialty (Lots of variety! No one calls you when you’re off shift! Fun people!) or just want to have fun and meet people, I’d highly recommend checking out EMIG.

The Obstetrics & Gynecology Interest Group (OGIG) coordinates lunch talks, panel discussions, and other events related to all things OB/GYN. One of our most popular events is the annual OGIG Procedure Night, where students practice a variety of OB/GYN skills, including inserting IUDs and arm implants, delivering babies, doing ultrasounds and pap smears, and more. OGIG also organizes labor & delivery shadowing and networking opportunities with the OB/GYN residents and faculty.

The Orthopedic Surgery Interest Group (OSIG) is one of many interest groups at Wash U that encourages exploration and learning into a specific specialty. At OSIG, we provide splinting and casting workshops, bone saw labs, research panels, every day trauma orthopedic surgery shadowing, and many more events throughout the year. Our goal is to encourage students to explore the wonderful field of bones, while having fun and making longstanding relationships with faculty and research advisors.

The Wilderness Medicine Interest Group (WMIG) is your place for all things wilderness! We host educational lectures on various wilderness medicine topics, organize hiking and backpacking trips, as well as oversee an impressive inventory of items that can be rented by anyone at the school to use for camping or backpacking trips. The most exciting thing we do is organize, train, and send teams to MedWAR — a regional wilderness medicine race in Tennessee or Michigan consisting of a day-long orienteering race with associated medically-related challenges stations along the way!