START A CHAPTER
BRING HSAFP TO YOUR HIGH SCHOOL
If you’re a high school student interested in a career in medicine and want to learn how to become a leader, even if you have no prior experience, then HSAFP is the perfect club for you!
Benefits of Starting a Chapter
Becoming an HSAFP chapter president offers a variety of benefits to both you and your peers:
- Boost Your College Apps: We’ll initially support you in growing your chapter’s membership and will teach you how to maintain a successful club, allowing you to highlight your community impact on your college applications through this high-level leadership role.
- Make an Impact : Lead your local chapter’s members, organize large, multi-school events with the full support and resources of HSAFP (ex. Stop the Bleed workshop with US Army medics) all while increasing educational resources for students interested in pre-med
- Expand Your Network: Connect with chapter leaders, healthcare professionals, and mentors through HSAFP’s Connect Platform. Engage with experts and peers to gain valuable insights and guidance that will advance your professional development.
How We Help Setup Your Chapter
After you are approved to start an HSAFP Chapter we will provide the following resources to make your chapter possible!
- HSAFP Pioneer: Pioneer is a dedicated platform for chapter presidents that offers a thorough guide to officially establishing your chapter, recruiting members, and hosting successful meetings. Additionally, you’ll receive personalized support from our team, ensuring all your questions are answered and providing ongoing assistance throughout the process.
- HSAFP Connect: Connect allows you to streamline communication with members, integrate national communication channels, and provides members with a multitude of resources that members can engage with
- HSAFP Curriculum: This comprehensive curriculum provides detailed meeting agendas, engaging presentation slides, and a variety of interactive resources to elevate the learning experience for all members.
Chapter Setup Overview
If you’re interested in launching a High School Alliance of Future Physicians chapter at your school, follow these six easy steps as you work through the modules in Pioneer with help of one of our HSAFP Chapter Setup Representatives. We know starting a club can be challenging, especially if you’ve never led a club before, but don’t worry—we’re here to support you every step of the way, ensuring a fulfilling experience for both you and your members.
Once you’re ready to commit to starting a chapter, complete the application which includes providing a resume or answering a few short questions on yourself on our website. We will review applications on an ongoing basis and if you are approved you will receive an email with instructions to set up your Pioneer Portal and a Secret ID that will be used later on to setup your HSAFP Connect Group. Make sure to save this email for the future!
Note: We will communicate with you exclusively through Pioneer Platforms so make sure to be active on the Pioneer Portal on a daily basis.
Every HSAFP chapter is required to have a teacher advisor and a leadership team that includes the roles of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Project Lead. While these positions form the core team, you have the freedom to introduce additional roles as needed to ensure the smooth operation of your club. Once this is complete arrange a 10-minute meeting with your chapter’s advisor and leadership team to review and sign the HSAFP national bylaws together.
Streamline your club management with HSAFP Connect, which handles announcements, discussions, membership info, and group or individual chats. Our chapter management team will also use this platform to provide ongoing support and check for additional needs. Detailed instructions on the setup process will be provided in Pioneer
Now that you have everything ready for your chapter, here’s how to recruit members for your new chapter! We will explain each one of the following strategies in detail on Pioneer:
Print Advertising
Social Media Advertsing
- Mass Media Advertsing
You’re almost there! The final step is hosting your first meeting. We’ll assist you with a slide deck to introduce your new members to HSAFP and help integrate them into the HSAFP Connect platform. Once your first meeting is complete, you’ll gain access to the HSAFP Curriculum. This resource will provide you with ongoing detailed meeting agendas, presentation slides, and on-demand support throughout the year.
Note: You’re not restricted to just the HSAFP Curriculum; you’re welcome to hold additional meetings as needed to further enrich your members’ experience.
Creating your Chapter
Frequently Asked Questions
Although an advisor can be incredibly helpful in ensuring that your HSAFP chapter runs smoothly, we understand that finding one may not always be possible.
If you cannot currently find a teacher or faculty advisor at your high school to make your HSAFP chapter official at your high school, you are welcome to create a virtual chapter!
To begin, you will still want to apply for the Chapter President role through your school. This is so the HSAFP Executive Team can direct other potential members and Chapter President applicants to your chapter. In addition, when an advisor does become available, this process will result in an easy transition into an official HSAFP chapter. Further instructions about our Pioneer website, with everything you need to set up your chapter, will be sent with your Chapter President approval.
Our virtual chapters function like our official HSAFP chapters, with just a few exceptions:
- Virtual HSAFP chapters cannot meet on school grounds. These chapters can meet online, in a library conference room, or in any quieter public space.
- Virtual HSAFP chapters do not have teacher advisors, which means they may need some adult support. We recommend asking parents and guardians–please don’t assign people tasks!–if you need support!
- Virtual HSAFP chapters cannot fundraise (which might make some new curriculum difficult to participate in).
We understand that finding enough students to create an HSAFP chapter may be challenging, especially at smaller high schools. In such cases, students may form regional virtual chapters and focus on bringing together students from the same area. A regional chapter can fully participate in all aspects of HSAFP, just like a virtual chapter.
To begin, you will still want to apply for the Chapter President role through your school. This is so the HSAFP Executive Team can direct other potential members and Chapter President applicants to your chapter.
Further instructions about our Pioneer website, with everything you need to set up your chapter, will be sent with your Chapter President approval!
Yes, your chapter is welcome to have co-presidents! Please have both of your chapter presidents submit individual Chapter President applications.
After approval, one president will sign up for one Pioneer account (for your high school), but both presidents will have access to and complete tasks on Pioneer.
Then, you will want to immediately contact support, the HSAFP Executive Team, on Pioneer after you sign up, to notify us of your co-presidents. If you choose co-presidents, please divide the Chapter Presidents’ tasks but also work together to ensure your chapter runs smoothly!
HSAFP Pioneer is our all-in-one onboarding platform that guides you through every step of starting a chapter—from finding a teacher advisor to hosting impactful events like blood drives. Plus, our dedicated chapter management team is here to support you personally every step of the way.
Make An Impact.
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