ALMA Student Members Financial Support
ALMA – Is an organisation supporting women who are lesbian or same-sex attracted doctors and medical students in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
ALMA knows that medical school is hard and being one’s authentic self can be even harder.
ALMA actively works to include its student members and support them through medical school as their authentic selves. ALMA student members are part of an in-person and online network, providing support and a sense of community through medical school.
Our biggest social gathering is the annual ALMA conference where our members come together for a fantastic three days of LGBTQIA+ presentations, mentorship and community support. In 2023, the conference is in Melbourne. For many of our students, this is one of the few times where they can experience an inclusive environment consisting entirely of same-sex attracted women, students and doctors. Typically, we have at least 8 students attending each conference.
The demands of medicine leave limited time for work outside of study and the majority of our student members will be travelling from interstate and Aotearoa. These financial barriers are an unfortunate reality for many of our students, leaving many unable to attend the conference if it weren’t for these subsidies.
ALMA receives no government funding and is reliant on membership to support our unique work. However, like many organisations, ALMA was financially impacted during the pandemic with two online conferences in 2020 and 2021. The Lesbian Inc Australia Community Grant will help ALMA subsidise their students conference fares, including transport, accommodation, activities and meals.
