BeMSA Newsletter
Update National Board: Why join the National Board? Meet our Assistants! LC in the Spotlight: BeMSA Liège Update LEO/LORE Weekend Apply for a Training: 26th of November
Why did we join the National Board? Stephanie President Why I wanted to join the National Board? Well, why not? I wanted to be a doctor from an early age. However, it was important to me to do more than just study. As a coincidence I came across a post from BeMSA’s national board that they were still looking for team members. Only then I discovered how beautiful this organisation actually is. I want everyone to get to know this amazing organisation and my motivation is high to achieve this goal.
Aislinn - VPM
Lauren - VPF My first contact with BeMSA was directly with the National Board, so it's the only thing I have ever known! It’s really nice to meet people outside of your university and get to know the other universities as well. Even though I am fairly new to BeMSA, I am learning a lot and I am really grateful that I can contribute to this wonderful organisation. (Also time management, I learn about that a lot lol)
Sarah - VPPR
Having been Local Vice-President and Local President in Ghent,
After experiencing some anxiety in the past week(s) I’m back in the game.
I have had regular contact with the VPM. I really enjoyed my BeMSA experience. When the position for VPM became available I decided to go for it. I haven't looked back since! As I am in contact with all the Local Committees, it has been a great opportunity to meet so many lovely people from literally all across Belgium. The people on the National Board are also fantastic! I have made great new friends!
I have a clear vision on how to develop sustainable sponsorship relations and I’m looking forward to collaborating with our local PR’s. BeMSA has given me so many live changing experiences, valuable knowledge and it basically showed me how many good people exist in this world. Sharing these things with as many students as possible is what drives my search for sponsors.
Why did we join the National Board? Yousra - VPX I became a LEO after a research exchange to Istanbul, and ever since, my view has changed. Being a LEO, I felt the limits to stay locally and wanted more out of it. That’s when I decided to join the national board and become a NEO. I am part of a BeMSA-family, exchanges-family and an international family. After a long day, I love starting my computer and working on my goals and making my dreams come true. At this moment, I am very proud to say that I am the Vice-President for Exchanges in BeMSA and it has opened so many doors and opportunities for me. I never regretted it for any moment.
Elisa - VPAO
I decided to join the national board at the NGA 1 of the previous term. I wanted to do something more outside of uni and be involved in a student organisation working around health and medical projects. I had never been in a local board before, but the position of VPAO really spoke to me and I really liked the idea of being in the national board, to really be at the “center� of BeMSA.
Laure-Elise - VPIA Especially my international experiences inspired me to become part of the national board. Being part of a team that wants to work hard to achieve something impactful and at the same time are passionate about the same topics, is just awesome. I like being part of this national team with people from across Belgium. My position itself I wanted to do, because I would want as many people as possible to experience the same awesome international adventures that I had the chance to experience!
Quinten - NEO What made me decide to join the National Team? During my year as LEO I got the chance to become a National Assistant. This gave me the chance to meet many amazing motivated people. When the applications rolled around right before NGA3 there was no doubt in my mind and I was writing my application first thing in the morning.
Why did we join the National Board? Wassim - NORE Two years ago, I came back from my one month trip to Chile. It wasn't just a trip; it was a journey where I was inspired by healthcare students from all over the world. I came back passionate about research in medical education and frustrated as to why we didn’t have more access to such opportunities. My research exchange made me realise I want to offer this same opportunity to my other fellow students, and therefore I decided to dedicate myself in SCORE.
Nastasia - NORE I wanted to join the national board as NORE (out) because I went on on 2 SCORE exchanges myself (Russia and Ghana). I learnt so much and was so grateful for these amazing opportunities that I wanted to be able to organise this for other students as well! I can say that those months were the best internships I ever had combined with a lot of fun, new friends, and even less fun moments. I grew a lot during these weeks and I believe all students should be able to experience the same thing.
Miryam - NOGS My journey with BeMSA started out aaaaall the way back in 2017. Since then you can only imagine all the amazing national AND international opportunities BeMSA has offered me. I realised that I wanted to give back to BeMSA, and help out in any way possible to keep this wonderful association going. Especially regarding this term, I fell in love with Global Surgery. What the hell is that you may ask? I’ll do my best to answer that question and make you fall in love with it too.
THINK GLOBAL ACT LOCAL
Meet our Assistants! Keanu - Assistant for Finances I’m Keanu finance assistant / local president / local treasurer at BeMSA VUB. In a meeting you can find me in onesie or with a large bowl of ice cream. I applied for the finance assistant position in the spur of the moment for a couple of reasons. For starters I like working with money and last year one of my New Year's resolutions was to get into accounting, investing and economics so here I am ready to put my newly learned skills into action!
Saul - Social Media Assistant
Hello, my name is Saul and I am in my second year of medicine at Ghent University! I am one of the two assistants of Social Media this year! My goal is to spread the word about BeMSA and motivate people, like you, to join us. I am very excited to be part of the national board this year and hope to be a worthy influencer! Follow BeMSA’s social media to see what I will be up to ;).
welcome
Marike - Assistant for Funding Hi everyone! I’m Marike, the new funding assistant. I will be working closely together with Lauren, the VPF, and the rest of the BeMSA-team. I’ve been following BeMSA for the past few years, and this position seemed like the perfect fit for me. The goal of making BeMSA’s and the IFMSA’s opportunities more accessible to all students really motivates me. I was also looking forward to meeting new people and learning new and valuable skills.
Zoë - Social Media Assistant Hello everyone! My name is Zoë and I am a 3rd year medical student at Ghent University. I’m one of the Social Media Assistants for this term. Together with Saul I manage all BeMSA’s social media accounts with the goal to make BeMSA more known. I am super excited to be part of this incredible team and I hope that we can do well this year. Make sure to follow all BeMSA’s social media to see how we’re doing!!
LC in the Spotlight: BeMSA Liège In 2018, Liège joined BeMSA. This was great news for BeMSA, which continued its expansion on the French-speaking side, but also for the students of ULiège who now benefit from an association orientated towards public health and allowing students to join an international network. The progress of BeMSA Liège has been tremendous. In less than 3 years, the local committee has built itself up and has been able to establish a strong base. The committee now has 6 active SC's. BeMSA has also embarked on the realisation of significant projects that have had great success.
An exceptional collaboration with the university! From the very beginning, the committee was created with a goal of including itself within the university. Thus, strong links were first created between the faculty and professors as well as with the service for the quality of life of the students. Last year the committee was able to set up Teddy Bear Hospital with the department of pediatrics of ULiège, which was a great success. BeMSA Liège is looking forward to organising the next edition as soon as circumstances are more favourable.
LC in the Spotlight: BeMSA Liège Mental Health Week is an activity that is growing more and more due to our different collaborations with the students' quality of life service, but also with the faculties of medicine and psychology. This year, we have highlighted the following themes: the first was the consumption of alcohol by young people and possible addictions, and another conference was on increasing the awareness of obsessive-compulsive disorders. A workshop on public speaking was also held to help students overcome the stress of oral examinations.
Motivated members! Eve, Yves and Pauline have contributed to the creation of the committee by making links at national level to ensure adequate integration. Liège was fortunate to be able to count on the experience of Eve as Regional Assistant for SCOME. Finally, sending members to the General Assembly contributed to the development of the committee. Liège counted 3 members at the March Meeting in Rwanda (photo). It was an unforgettable experience for these members and an added value for the Local Committee.
LC in the Spotlight: BeMSA Liège Co-founder and current President, Christian, is focusing on local growth and possible international collaborations. A flourishing future for this promising committee is guaranteed!
& the future ? The Committee hopes for a return to normal life so they can continue developing their projects. The committee has many ideas and surprises for next year. Generally, Christian is pleased with everything BeMSA Liège has achieved. "It's more than we could have dreamed of. We will do even better in the upcoming months", he says. He wishes and hopes that UNamur and UMons will take the step of joining the BeMSA network. He declares himself ready to help initiate the steps by underlining that Liège was able to get an excellent support from the National Board two years ago. He takes this opportunity to thank the VUB again, which enabled Liège to benefit from the activation of the SCOPE and SCORE exchange programs in its first year.
Update: LEO/LORE Weekend
Every year healthcare students all from over Belgium apply for a SCOPE/SCORE Exchange. The selection procedure consists of 2 rounds: in the first round, all candidates need to send in their letter of motivation, CV, and an addendum explaining their extracurricular activities and social engagement. The second round then consists of an online interview that takes place during the LEO/LORE weekend in which they will have a small conversation with the NORE/NEO and LOREs/LEOs and have to answer a few questions. All the selected applicants have undergone an online 5-minute interview where the Local and National Officers have asked general questions and more personal questions in order to select the best students to represent Belgium abroad!
Update: LEO/LORE Weekend Usually, the LLW takes place physically with the whole BeMSA Exchange Team, where the National Officers prepare some Capacity and Teambuilding activities for their Local Officers, including the Online Interviews. However, due to the COVID restrictions, it took place in an online setting, but despite the whole situation, we had an unforgettable LLW where all the BeMSA Exchanges Team bonded! The LLW is one of the highlights of the SCOPE/SCORE Exchanges! If you would like to experience an LLW, join the BeMSA Exchange Team next year! Blue Hugs from the lovely BeMSA Exchanges Team! <3
Editor's note: Thank you so much for your amazing work Exchanges Team on Local, National Ă nd International level
Apply for a Training Dear BeMSA enthousiast We would like to introduce you to the BeMSA trainings' program! "The BeMSA what?" you might ask yourself. Well, with the BeMSA trainings' program we are aiming to provide the health sciences students with the training sessions that you didn't know you needed! First up is the "Public Speaking" training. When? Thursday the 26th of November 19h30. For who? Students who think they might need the extra push in giving presentations or in generally speaking in front of a crowd. What? We will provide you with different tips and tricks on how to make yourself comfortable in the position of giving a presentation or talking to a large audience. You can also expect to have a small exercise and feedback on how to improve your presentation skills. How to apply? Keep an eye on our instagram and facebook page where more details will be available soon! Trainers: Nastasia Popowycz and Wassim Aziz We are looking forward to hosting you in BeMSA's first session of the trainings' program! <-- Wassim Aziz National Officer on Research Exchange for Incomings SCORE Supervising Board Member Nastasia Popowycz --> National Officer on Research Exchange for Outgoings
TOM 3 Summary First we had a great online Teambuilding thanks to Wassim! We had a brainstorm session on Sponsorships and Grants. Welcome to Lina Johri, who will be NORP ad-interim until NGA 2. An introduction will follow in our next Newsletter. Don't forget to follow our Facebook page for International Opportunities: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ BeMSA.IO
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Abbreviations Abbreviations used in this Newsletter - VPM: Vice-President for Members - VPF: Vice-President for Finances - VPPR: Vice-President for Public Relations - VPX: Vice-President for Exchanges - VPIA: Vice-President for International Affairs - VPAO: Vice-President for Administration and Organisation - NEO: National Exchange Officer - NORE: National Research Exchange Officer - NOGS: National Officer on Global Surgery - NORP: National Officer on Human Rights and Peace - SC: Standing Committee (e.g. SCOME: SC on Medical Education) - TOM: Team of Officials Meeting