GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality, is the nation’s largest and oldest membership association of LGBTQ+ and allied health professionals. Founded in 1981 as the American Association of Physicians for Human Rights (AAPHR), GLMA’s mission is to ensure health equity for all LGBTQ+ individuals, and to achieve equality for LGBTQ+ health professionals in their work and learning environments. To achieve this mission, GLMA uses the scientific expertise of its diverse multidisciplinary membership to inform and drive advocacy and research.
GLMA's Health Professionals in Training (HPiT) Program is the only interdisciplinary health professional consortium designed specifically for LGBTQ+ and allied students and trainees to connect, share knowledge, and advance their careers. GLMA's HPiT members receive all the benefits of a regular membership with additional offerings catered specifically to the unique needs of students and trainees, including:
The HPiT Co-Chair is the HPiT voice and advocate of GLMA. The HPiT Co-Chairs are responsible for leading the HPiT Committee, which is tasked with addressing three major realms: representing student members and leading student-centered initiatives, developing HPiT content for the annual conference, and attending GLMA Board meetings. To meet these and other goals, the HPiT Board Member works closely with GLMA staff, fellow Board members, and other organizations.
HPiT Co-Chairs are selected for a one-year term, with one possible renewal, for a maximum of two terms of two years. Year one for selected HPiT Co-Chairs will be from September 2024 – September 2025.
HPiT Co-Chairs must be available to communicate with the student/trainee members of GLMA and represent their needs to the full Board. This includes being able to answer questions from students/trainees, helping to connect them with appropriate resources, and occasionally holding special events for students across the country.
The HPiT Committee will typically meet once a month to facilitate these responsibilities. In addition to the HPiT Co-Chairs, the HPiT Committee membership includes the GLMA Past-President and other interested GLMA Board Members.
Additionally, HPiT Co-Chairs coordinate student-centered initiatives to support education improvements, foster LGBTQ+ health professional student mentorship, and build LGBTQ+ health professional student community. At present these include:
HPiT Co-Chairs serve as informal liaisons to affiliated and like-minded external organizations. This may include co-programming events, and supporting affiliated programming. Examples of these external organizations include MSPA: The Medical Student Pride Alliance and AGLP: The Association of LGBTQ+ Psychiatrists, and the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity.
HPiT Co-Chairs develop student/trainee programming at the GLMA Annual Conference and support fellow members in navigating this experience. In addition, they have the opportunity to assist with the review of research proposals submitted for presentation at the conference.
In addition to Co-Chairing the HPiT Committee, each HPiT Co-Chair also serves on at least one other GLMA Board Committee.
Per GLMA’s bylaws, all Board Members are required to attend 50% of the quarterly Board Meetings either in person or electronically. Historically the board has annually designated a small stipend for board members who serve in the designated HPiT role in order to offset the cost of travel and lodging for meetings. The amount of the stipend is announced annually.
Please read our frequently asked questions section below to answer any questions before reaching out to the HPiT co-chairs at hpitcommittee@glma.org.
Students, residents, and fellows (as of September 2024) of any health profession training program are eligible to apply. Applicants must be current members of GLMA in order to be eligible.
Invitations for interviews will be sent out by the end of April, and phone/video interviews will be conducted in the first two weeks of May. The selected applicant will be notified by the end of June.
The new co-chair will begin their term at the September 2024 GLMA board meeting immediately following the annual conference. The term is 1 year with one renewal opportunity (2 years total).
As HPiT board members, Co-Chairs are expected to participate in four board meetings per year, which are held quarterly. The spring, summer, and winter board meetings will be held virtually, while the fall board meeting is typically held in person with an option to participate virtually. When the Annual Conference takes place in person, in-person attendance at both the conference and fall board meeting are encouraged but not required. Travel stipends will be provided
Your HPiT responsibilities will vary from month to month. For example, the planning months prior to conference and months with a board meeting will demand more of your time than other months. Generally, expect to allocate 4-6 hours per month for the bare minimum HPiT responsibilities. However, we encourage HPiT members to get involved in other committees on the board or to spearhead new projects, thus the responsibilities of this role are really what you make of it.
One of the major benefits of working with the GLMA board is the level of mentorship, networking, and professional development offered through working closely with fellow board members and staff. We encourage HPiT members to join additional board committees that interest them to gain diverse skills in board membership. Moreover, opportunities arise to collaborate on various projects with fellow members and frequently professional development activities are scheduled within the board meetings to help advance the development of the board and its members.
Individuals with well-developed organizational skills and high levels of motivation will be most successful in this position. Strong written and oral communication, as well as familiarity with technologies such as Google Docs, are essential to work with team members across geographic locations. Due to HPiT’s interdisciplinary nature, it is essential that co-chairs be able to engage with and represent the full range of disciplines within HPiT (e.g., nursing, dentistry, social work, psychology, etc.), especially those beyond their own.
GLMA membership is a requirement for HPiT Co-Chairs. You can learn more about all of the benefits GLMA membership here.