While classroom success is crucial, it's important that EMSAP students develop skills for independent thought and expression, emotional maturity, and sound moral judgment. One way to reach that goal is to get involved with activities available through UAB and EMSAP. There are over 250 campus organizations at UAB that offer leadership, community service, volunteer work, and cultural immersion opportunities.

Special Seminars

Open only to EMSAP students, annual seminars focus on themes such as medical ethics, the history of medicine, reproductive biology, and literature and medicine. You must take a minimum of two EMSAP seminars before entering medical school.

Clinical Experience

As a world-class medical center, UAB offers countless opportunities to become involved with research and patient care. This may include shadowing physicians in UAB clinics and hospitals, working in research laboratories, or participating in clinical and health services research.

Volunteer Service

Volunteering service to others is an important part of preparing yourself for a health care career. As an EMSAP student, you are expected to volunteer either in a medical setting or through social services such as UAB Hospice, the Crisis Center, or Bread and Roses shelter for women.

Ethics Bowl and Bioethics Bowl Teams

EMSAP students compose most members of the UAB Ethics Bowl team, which won the National Championship in 2010. In 2011, EMSAP students won the National Bioethics Bowl Championship at Duke University. In 2015, EMSAP students won the National Bioethics Bowl Championship again, this time at Florida State University. UAB defeated Georgetown University in the final match at the University of South Alabama to secure its third bioethics championship in 2019.

EMSAP Meetings

Meetings are held monthly. Students are given opportunities to plan for excellence in their medical careers and interact with guest speakers.

EMSAP Dinners

Each year a dinner is hosted in the spring honoring senior, graduating EMSAP students. This fun event provides EMSAP students an opportunity to congratulate top UAB graduates.

Research

EMSAP students with good scientific skills are highly sought-after on our medical campus. Most EMSAP students participate in summer research with UAB faculty and often work on research projects during the academic year as well.

Shadowing

EMSAP students are assisted in finding opportunities to shadow physicians to understand the career to which they aspire. In part, such shadowing ensures that students possess a realistic understanding of their future profession and provides opportunities for learning about the patient-physician relationship.