What Is ELM Society?
An interest-based society for medical students, residents, fellows, and medical professionals who want to stay current on medico-legal issues and protect their licenses.
ELM Society is a nonprofit professional association led by healthcare and legal professionals, focused on real world medico-legal and ethics issues. We connect students and clinicians as part of a broader professional community and support student-led campus chapters, bridging learning beyond the classroom into real world practice.
Active across the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, ELM Society exists because medico-legal and ethical considerations are part of everyday clinical practice, yet are often underaddressed in formal training.
Our Mission
To create a community of support for students and clinicians that promotes practicing medicine ethically and responsibly, protecting patients, maintaining professional standards, and navigating the medico-legal realities that come with real world practice.
Our motto: "Doing right."
What We Offer
ELM Society is an interest-based community, not a course or self-study program. Our programming centers on:
- Education on medico-legal standards and ethics
- Ethics OSCE preparation and practice
- Community engagement and patient perspectives
An Inclusive Community
While ELM Society serves medical trainees and physicians, we also welcome members of the public, pre-medical students, and healthcare professionals outside of physician training.
Understanding patient perspectives is central to medico-legal awareness. By including those outside of clinical practice, we foster dialogue that helps clinicians better understand the factors that shape patient trust, expectations, and decisions, including what leads patients to pursue legal action.
Learn how ELM chapters and membership operate in practice.