At the ҹɫÊÓƵ School of Medicine (UNR Med), medical students are finding new ways to engage with health care policy and advocacy through the Nevada State Medical Association (NSMA).
Robby S. Boparai, a third-year medical student, said that while students have always been allowed to participate in the NSMA, recent efforts have made significant progress in student engagement.
“Over the last couple of years, a lot of motivated students created a student section for the Washoe County Medical Society (WCMS),” he said. The section was originally founded by UNR Med students, Robby S. Boparai and Douglas Collins, and alumnus Stephen Lencioni, M.D., and Trenten Fenster, M.D., who are now practicing physicians. Boparai and fellow third-year student Collins currently lead the student section. Students that join the WCMS student section also have the opportunity to contribute to NSMA’s advocacy work.
For Boparai, joining NSMA ties directly to his passion for advocacy. A non-traditional medical student who previously studied engineering, Boparai spent years in California politics, including serving as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Organizations like NSMA has made it possible for future physicians like Boparai to bridge his passion for medicine and advocacy together.
“Nevada is a really small state with a part-time legislature, so it’s really important for physicians to be motivated and involved,” he said. “If physicians aren’t the ones focusing on legislation that’s relevant to health care, who’s going to do it?”
Students that participate in the NSMA also have the opportunity to draft resolutions, which are then passed through the NSMA House of Delegates. This hands-on approach to advocacy enables UNR Med students to shape the future of health care in a meaningful and purposeful way.
Earlier this year, Collins represented medical students at the Nevada Legislature on behalf of NSMA, the American Academy of Family Physicians and UNR Med. One of his most significant experiences was speaking with lawmakers in support of Graduate Medical Education (GME) funding, a bill that ultimately passed and was signed into law by Governor Joe Lombardo.
“UNR Med also has lobbying efforts at the state legislature,” Collins said. “The agendas are similar, expanding access to residency spots, ensuring physicians are supported, and securing funding.” For future and practicing physicians, political health care organizations are a way to come together and be the change they want to see in medicine.
NSMA and WCMS have been major outlets for medical students like Boparai and Collins to advocate for physicians and the local community. “I mean ultimately our goal is to practice in this state,” Collins said. “We need to be a part of shaping the future of what health care looks like here, and some of the responsibilities as a medical student is to take care of the local community.”
“We need to be a part of shaping the future of what health care looks like here, and some of the responsibilities as a medical student is to take care of the local community," Collins said.
Through the NSMA student section, medical students are gaining hands-on experience in policy advocacy while building a stronger voice for the next generation of physicians. Both Boparai and Collins believe these opportunities are critical for shaping the future of medicine in Nevada and ensuring that physicians remain at the forefront of health care decision-making.
