CONTENTS 04 President 06 Vice President for Internal Affairs 08 Vice President for External Affairs 10 Secretary General 12 Treasurer 14 Exchange Officer - Incomings 16 Exchange Officer - Outgoings 18 Medical Education Officer 20 Sexual and Reproductive Health Officer 22 Public Health Officer 24 Human Rights & Peace Officer 26 Peer Education & Training Officer 28 Public Relations Officer
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SA) March Meeting General Assembly here in Malta. It was through this grand scale event that medical students from all around the world discussed and put forward different ideas concerning global health thus strengthening the subcommittees on an international level. This meeting involved a lot of planning and hard work. Definitely it would not have been such a success had it not been for the Organising Committee Executive Board together with all the members of the OC team who worked endlessly day and night to ensure a smooth event. This meeting was described by the international medical students as one of the best GAs ever organised for the IFMSA due to its numerous innovative ideas, smooth running and precise execution of the agenda in the top quality hotels in Bugibba. MMSA – Challenges & Achievements this year This also has been an intense year for the association, as a number of challenges were headed in our direction in terms of the upcoming Bart’s Queen Mary of London Medical School. Throughout the entire term, numerous meetings were held with all possible entities and stakeholders in order to safeguard the medical student enrolled at the University of Malta. This on-going issue will definitely be tackled and monitored further by the upcoming Executive Boards.
Steve Sammut Alessi PRESIDENT
A few words from the MMSA President... The Malta Medical Students’ Association (MMSA) is the largest and most active student organisation at the University of Malta. The MMSA strives to involve as many medical students as possible thus improving and ameliorating the quality of life from the local medical point of view. The MMSA also represents the whole medical student body at the University of Malta that is currently around 700 medical students.
MMSA was also represented internationally in the August Meeting in Ohrid Macedonia, where a Maltese delegation continued discussing the various issues which were brought up by other international medical students and continued updating the IFMSA about the on-going preparations prior to the March Meeting. Apart from all this the MMSA subcommittees kept on making a bigger impact on a national level through the numerous activities, discussions, press-releases, publications, promotions, posters, seminars, outreaching events and live-ins carried out throughout the entire year. A self- awareness campaign
This last year has been an intense one for the MMSA and a number of targets were reached both on the local scene as well as on an international level thus broadening the horizons for our association in a holistic and effective manner.
Making our mark on the world. This year the MMSA had the honour and privilege to host the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFM4
I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Board of Directors and their respective teams and subcommittees as well as all of the active members for all their hard work and efforts without whom this term would have not been so successful. I hope that I managed to give back to the MMSA what the MMSA has given to me.
– ‘Through Time 65’ was also launched for the association in order to commemorate the MMSA’s 65th Anniversary. This on-going project is to be carried on and continued by the MMSA BD-elect. This year an effort was also made to involve more Gozitan students within the association. MMSA also kept on expanding in the policy sector through the creation of another detailed policy. On another note, this year MMSA once again ranked first in the Room Allocations Report at the University of Malta for yet another consecutive year.
More Accountability In order to ensure a more accountable association, a number of new bylaws have been implemented to protect the MMSA including that of having an officially assigned Lawyer and Accountant in order to provide valuable opinions and advice thus encouraging further transparency and accountability.
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Assembly in Germany and the IFMSA General Assemblies in Macedonia and Malta. This was a very important year for MMSA. This year MMSA celebrated 65 years from its foundation. As an MMSA Board of Directors we valued experience. MMSA’s Alumni are among MMSA’s most loyal and passionate supporters who can offer their invaluable skills and experience. Therefore, together with our Alumni Coordinator, Daniel Vella Fondacaro and with the Fundraising Director of the March Meeting, Kurt Apap, we held an event for our alumni so that together we could celebrate our successes. The Policy team this year, led by Naomi Mercieca worked hand in hand with the Fundraising Director and the rest of the OC to publish the policy paper “Towards a Healthier Society”. For the first time, MMSA’s Policy paper was written based on the outcome of a number of dialogue meetings. This allowed us to have a policy paper truly representative of what our members believe in. Furthermore, this year the Policy Team launched its own Facebook Page to promote our policies. Shafia Khanum, MMSA’s Feedback Coordinator helped transform our feedback system to a more effective one. This year, apart from the feedback collected after every event we focussed to receive feedback on the Board of Directors and on each Standing Committee. We hope that this serves as a foundation for future boards. The annual Admin workshop organised by the Office of the VPI served as a great opportunity for all MMSA members to get to know better the administrative side of our association.
Gerd Xuereb
VICE PRESIDENT FOR INTERNAL AFFAIRS “An organisation, no matter how well designed, is only as good as the people who live and work in it” Dee Hock. The Malta Medical Students’ Association is a very strong organisation and during the past year, thanks to the contribution of all MMSA members our organisation continued to grow. I am proud and honoured to have offered my contribution to MMSA during the past term as the Vice President for Internal Affairs. Tangible results speak for the successes achieved during the past year. The first achievement of our term was placing first in the KSU Room Allocations Report. This confirmed that MMSA is the most active organisation on campus. It is the work of the Vice President for Internal Affairs to compile a report summarising the work done by MMSA in the previous term. It was a great opportunity to revisit all of MMSA’s events and presenting it in a 1500+ page report. As part of my role of Vice President for Internal Affairs, I worked to promote the work done by all our organisation at the General Assemblies of the international medical students’ associations MMSA forms part of. Therefore, during my term I attended the EMSA Autumn 6
for taking the time to read what we have achieved as a team during the past year and please do not hesitate to contact me with any feedback or questions you might have. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my friends and colleagues, the MMSA Board of Directors 2015-2016 led by Steve Sammut Alessi. I am honoured to have had the opportunity to work beside you all. Finally, I would like to thank all MMSA members for their constant effort and support to add value to MMSA. MMSA is an organisation with infinite potential. I believe that great achievements have been made in the past years, and one can look forward with optimism. Thank you
Thank you for this unforgettable journey!
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tation of the MMSA at Science in the Cit, where MMSA had the largest number of volunteers. Eighty MMSA members were spread out over nine stands where the work of the different MMSA Standing Committees was being presented, as well as health checks and outreaching. Medical posters were also presented during this event. Freshers’ week was also a busy time for the VPe’s office. Numerous activities were taking place at the MMSA stand, including a Board of Directors roulette, where students were given the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the MMSA Board. The MMSA standing committees were also represented at this stand, along with any upcoming events that the MMSA was working on at the time, including the Training and Resource Development weekend. During this time, we also organised the yearly MMSA and MHSA Tug of war, where I’m happy to say that the MMSA came out victorious.
Victoria Camilleri
VICE PRESIDENT FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS This has been a challenging year to say the least. It has also been a fantastic year for the MMSA and its representation, especially on an international scale. The work of an Executive Board member never ends, yet somehow cannot be described or measured to its fullest extent. I am very proud of the work that my team and I have accomplished throughout this year, and I’m also very honoured to have worked with the amazing people that formed part of this term’s Board of Directors.
Next up was the IFMSA General Assembly Simulation. This was a new activity that took place during TRD weekend and required the help of around 40 volunteers. I’m happy to say that this simulation was a huge success and that a large number of first years participated in it. The aim of this simulation was to give students the opportunity to experience what goes on at an IFMSA GA, and thus to get a better understanding of the MMSA’s involvement within the IFMSA. The simulation took place over an hour and the participants were divided into different National Member Organisations such as IFMSA-Egypt. The participants were also given different roles within these NMOs, such as President, NORA etc. The simulation was divided into four sections. First the students attended their assigned Standing Committee sessions, then they regrouped into their NMOs and had NMO hour, they then attended and signed exchange contracts during a small scale Exchange Fair and finally they had the opportunity to vote during a small scale plenary. This GA simulation came to a close with
My work started before the term began with the compiling of a hundred page work phase that described the new Board’s plans for the coming term. The work continued throughout Summer, with numerous meetings with student organisations and non-governmental organisations. As part of my Executive Board work, I was also responsible for collecting the information needed for students to get refunded for their Medical School conference application fee. In September my office was responsible for ensuring the best possible represen8
a speech from the IFMSA President himself, Karim Abuzied. I’m very proud of this initiative, and I recommend similar simulations in the future, as I feel that these serve as a great experience for the MMSA members.
My work also included international representation within the International Federation of Medical Student Associations and the European Medical Students’ Association. I represented the MMSA by attending the Presidents’ sessions during both the IFMSA’s August Meeting in Macedonia and the historic March Meeting in Malta. During which sessions I took part in discussions relating to the running of the IFMSA and the participation of its member organisations. During the General Assembly in Macedonia I was also responsible for signing the exchange contracts for the following summer, following long discussions with the Exchanges Officer, Gianluca Fava. I also attended EMSA’s August Assembly in Berlin and participated in discussions that took place during the National Coordinator sessions, as the MMSA’s National Coordinator. I also had the opportunity of voting during EMSA’s plenary sessions, where the Executive Board of this association was appointed.
Throughout this year, I represented the MMSA during the Kunsill Studenti Universitarji’s monthly KPS (Social Policy) meetings and Organisations’ forum. During this time, I was responsible for presenting the MMSA’s position on numerous issues such as the exploitation of Zonqor Point, the conversion therapy bill, the AED policy paper, embryo freezing, the hunting issue, the debate surrounding the availability of LGBTQ books in schools and the Gozo tunnel discussions. This year the MMSA took part in the Solidaritree initiative aimed at collecting funds for Istrina. This was done through numerous events, including SCORP’s Challenge. Change. Charity and World Human Rights Day, and the selling of calendars in collaboration with eleven other student organisations.
Lastly I’d like to thank all of the people that I’ve worked with during this term, including my team, the MMSA Board of Directors, the March Meeting OC and especially my predecessor Kristina Bartolo. There were a lot of highlights during my time as Vice President for External affairs, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such exceptional people.
Sincerely, Victoria Camilleri
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Bernice Farrugia SECRETARY GENERAL
Looking back on my past term, MMSA gave me a lot. I have realized that this is an association made by the student for the student and has empowered me to develop, enhance and make use of my various skills in ways that I would never have imagined possible. It has instilled in me a great sense of responsibility towards the student body and I feel very grateful for this experience. As promised, this year’s TRD was bigger than ever with a number of innovative and original ideas that aimed to raise the bar even higher. Our theme was ‘new beginnings’ that aimed to signify the start of the new journey that the first years are embarking on when entering into medicine. A new beginning to numerous opportunities the MMSA has to offer, a new beginning to discover one’s potential and develop it. This TRD was indeed one with a number of ‘firsts’. A speed dating event was organized where we showcased a number of niches within MMSA that one can grow in. in addition to suturing, we also organized CPR and Plastering sessions for second years and up, 10
human life size table soccer, laser tag outside the hotel and a new system for ensuring attendance to the sessions. A Cultural Show was also put up that served as an opportunity for International and Maltese students alike to display the diversity and unity within MMSA. Lastly a ‘GA Simulation’ session was organized by Victoria Camilleri aimed to address the concept of what a GA entails so as to empower many medical students to involve themselves in this year’s General Assembly held in Malta, together with the hard working OC. Furthermore it served to increase awareness on what the IFMSA truly stands for. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my hard working organizing committee which this TRD would not have been possible without their endless hard work and dedication. During the past year, I have also worked tirelessly with Steve and Saverio on the Bart’s medical school issue. We have been advocating to maintain the rights of medical students and to ensure that the level of medical knowledge and clin-
ical experience will not be hindered. After numerous meetings with Faculty Board , the minister for health and other state persons we managed to at least sign a contract that safeguards Medical School as the primary Medical school in mater Dei hospital. A lot of work still needs to be done to ensure that promises are adhered to and to guarantee that medical students are always kept in the loop about certain decision taking administrative issues.
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Finally I would like to thank all the student body that believed and entrusted me with this vital role of Secretary General. I would like to encourage you to enjoy medical school and be active students.
The MMSA will always have a special place in my heart!
events. I would like to thank the PRO officer Stefano Corso for his invaluable contribution towards the design of the booklet as well give a special mention to Glenn Costa for his tireless efforts in obtaining the sponsors.
Student TAF refunds As with previous years, we kept up refunding students to go for conferences abroad according to the TAF protocol.
NGO status This year we worked hard to move up the
Matthew Pizzuto TREASURER
Dear MMSA member, I was elected as the Treasurer in March 2015 due to unforeseen circumstances and started working straight away. I had minimal handover from the previous Treasurer but I was up for the challenge. I had the pleasure of having a considerate team consisting of: Jean Claude Scicluna as my assistant, David Borg, Maria Grazia Grech, and Maria Mallia in the internal finance department and Luke Abela, Jonathan Debattista, Glenn Costa, Bernard Schembri, Ian Zammit in the external finance department.
Sponsors and Sponsorships During this term, we worked a lot on sponsorships and managed to acquire a new record number of sponsors which were: AtoZ, ECCO, Farsons, Nestle, OS4U, PapierPlus, Sidroc, Technoline, Tesor, Unicare, Vascas, Vecchia Napoli and XFM. We also devised a new sponsorship booklet to aid us in our search for sponsors, some of which were yearlong and some which were for specific 12
organisations ladder and I would like to thank Jean Claude Scicluna for his work in obtaining documents and attending the EUPA conference to help us have access to all the documents required to apply and be recognized as a NGO.
Merchandise This year we invested heavily in new MMSA merchandise with MMSA branded keychains, wrist bands, mugs, pen drives, pin, lanyards and the much coveted MMSA hoodies.
Accountant This term we also hired an accountant for booking sakes’ as well as to make us more transparent and accountable for all the cash flow and assets that we have.
Conclusion My term in the finance department was tough but I believe it was a great success thanks to the constant hard work put in by my team members, without whom it would not have been possible. I would also like to thank all of the other Board of Directors for their constant support during this term as well as their willingness to keep the deadlines for the receipts.
Regards, Matthew Pizzuto
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managed to extend the contract with AAT Research Limited, with the help of one of my research assistants, to accommodate the research exchange students in 2015.
Student Lodging and Boarding
Madeleine Bonnici
EXCHANGES OFFICER - INCOMINGS My role as Professional and Research Exchange Officer for the Incoming students was quite a memorable experience which has left me with friends from all over the world.
The Internship
My second role as PREO was finding apartments which were at a convenient location as well as had financially feasible rates. During the summer months all students were located in apartments which were situated in Msida, all of which were 10 minutes away from the University campus and Mater Dei Hospital. In winter students were accommodated at NSTS campus which is also in Msida. With the help of my lodging team I was able to assess the apartments before and after the students left. We also compiled a set of possible prospective apartments for the upcoming exchange officer of the next term. With regards to food, all students had one meal a day. This included a baguette of their choice, a fruit and a bottle of water from Meat n’ Eat at the University campus. Students gave very good feedback and thus, the contract was renewed for the upcoming term.
The Social Programme
Over this term Malta has welcomed 119 students mostly during the Summer months. As PREO- Incomings, my responsibilities included the organization of the internship for these students. The majority of students were professional (clinical) exchange students whilst the remainder were research exchange students. Organizing a clinical exchange entails processing the application forms (AF) submitted through the IFMSA database. Processing AFs involves ensuring students have submitted all the needed documents, and placing students in departments, according to their preferences and availabilities. I then contacted the local clinical consultants by email and handed them an official letter. With regards to research exchange students, placements were quite limited. However, we 14
As usual, a jam-packed social program was organized for the students coming to Malta in July and August. Events were almost held on a daily basis. Events varied from barbecues on beaches, boat parties, clubbing, Comino & Gozo trips, sightseeing in Vallet-
ta and an Mdina treasure hunt. The famous Ice breaker being the National Food and Drinks Party where students would bring their local food and drinks was also held in the beginning of their stay. Students were also taken to the Wine and Beer festivals. This year, an utmost effort was made for our students to make the most of what Malta has to offer during the Summer months. Kayaking, scuba diving, sea level traversing, snorkeling, abseiling and zip lining were included in the program, making their stay in Malta one epic, memorable experience!
Improvements Implemented As from this year, an ongoing search for apartments to meet the high demand of students coming to Malta was done. Apartments which received some negative feedback were not utilized for the upcoming term. The food collecting system was changed into a more efficient, professional and convenient system. The contact buddy system was implemented again this year. Individual
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students had a contact buddy person to ask any queries which arose. The contact team added on other vital information onto the Welcome Guide devised by the preceding term such as bus numbers to places of interest and other places of interest in the vicinity. Efforts to expand our Research Exchange opportunities were ongoing and successful, providing new spots for the upcoming term. According to the statistics gathered through the evaluation forms submitted by the students, all students recommended Malta as an exchange destination with around 85% of the students rating the overall exchange experience as 9/10 and 10/10. I am really proud of the achievements made by SCOPE and SCORE over this term, and would also like to thank all the members of the teams involved, and the Board of Directors, without whom, these achievements and successes would have not been possible.
Gianluca Fava
EXCHANGES OFFICER - OUTGOINGS
Dear MMSA members, The past year has been the most active and event-packed year for the MMSA that I can recall since my first encounter with this association back in first year. This would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of all the active members of the MMSA – the backbone of the association. A solid foundation was laid out for us with the work of previous MMSA Executive Boards (EBs) and Boards of Directors (BDs), especially by bringing the 65th IFMSA GA March Meeting to Malta. With regards to exchanges, every MMSA member interested in going on exchange must first submit an application with their top five choices. If they are allocated an exchange, one must pay a fixed amount of EUR 175 which covers accomodation and board for an incoming student for one whole month. In exchange, the outgoing MMSA member will have their own accomodation and board in the host country covered for one whole month. This year a Provisional Points Ranking was 16
released on the 3rd of December, 2015 while the Final Points Ranking and the Exchange Applications were published on the 5th of December, 2015. The Exchange Allocation Results and the Second Call for Exchange Applications were issued on the 14th of December, 2015 and subsequently, the results of the Second Call were released on the 18th of December, 2015. This year, a total of 75 bilateral and 34 unilateral Professional Exchange contracts with 33 different NMOs were signed while 13 bilateral and 4 unilateral Research Exchange contracts with 11 different NMOs were signed. Additionally, 9 MMSA students were given the opportunity to complete a German language course and a month-long clinical traineeship at the Red Cross Hospital, Kassel, Germany. Another four 4th year medical students had the possibility of going on elective at Forth Valley Hospital, Stirling, Scotland. Looking back at some shortcomings, with the stress of the medical course, the added burden of events relating to the 65th IFMSA GA March Meeting in Malta, the limitations of the online database and other personal reasons, keeping the online Points System updated has proven to be a difficult task. Through the launch of a brand new MMSA website and a bigger team, I am sure that my successor Ms. Claire Attard will be able to resolve the pending issues.
In one final message, I would like to appeal to medical students not to let points be their focus and their primary reason for partici-
pating within the association. All in all, being part of such a dedicated and experienced team within the MMSA Board of Directors has been an unforgettable experience and a privilege. My fellow colleagues and I would like nothing more but to see the torch pass into the very capable hands of the next Board of Directors.
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Practice Makes Perfect Workshops Bandaging & IV and Phlebotomy Sessions Given the importance of these two basic yet fundamental skills, the Standing Committee on Medical Education (SCOME) organized a workshop which covered the theoretical and practical aspects of insertion of intravenous cannulae, taking blood and how to properly bandage patients in different circumstances.
5 Full First Aid Courses and one Refresher’s Course for 5th Year Medical Students
Saverio Bianco
MEDICAL EDUCATION OFFICER
Dear SCOMEdians, SCOME was, is and will continue to be a very important sub – committee within our association; one which strives to improve the education of us medical students. The issues that SCOME deal with are in the interest of all students and affect all of us directly. This empowered and encouraged me to act and try to get it back on its feet and right direction immediately. Although I was not very knowledgeable of the SCOME structure I felt that such a sub – committee had a great potential to ensure a holistic education and offer opportunities to all medical students in terms of workshops and training sessions. Change can only be made if there are those willing to take a stand for something they believe in. It is through SCOME that I found my own voice and SCOME has helped me to be more outspoken on issues that affect the whole medical student body. So you may ask what has SCOME achieved throughout the past year, knowing that it experienced some difficult patches.
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Once again, SCOME collaborated with Mr Mark Gatt from EFR to offer 10 First Aid Courses, 3 of which were refresher courses aimed for 5th year medical students. These courses were held throughout the first and second semester and involved theory and practice going over all the skills covered in EFR Primary Care CPR + AED and Secondary Care First-Aid. Overall we had a great response, great attendance and very good feedback.
Accident and Emergency Proposal This was another successful SCOME project. The SCOME team had discussed with the Faculty and the Accident & Emergency Team at Mater Dei Hospital to include a clinical attachment for 5th year medical students since throughout our clinical years we don’t have any exposure in the A&E department. Fortunately, we reached an agreement with the aforementioned department and administration to include as a clinical attachment.
Breaking the Silence project We have liaised with the Institute of Linguistics to provide the medical students with a Maltese sign language course. The course is aimed to teach basic sign language to
medical students together with ways how to approach hearing-impaired patients. SCOME had a very good turn – out and it was a pity we could not accept any more students. Furthermore, the lecturer, tutoring this course was very happy with the initiative and was impressed with the willingness of the medical students to learn sign language. I truly wish that in the future such a project should also be implemented during the first semester in order to cater for other medical students who are interested.
History Taking in Maltese Video This video served for educational purposes; which included some tips and advice on how to take a good history from a patient. This video involved medical students who acted out as a patient and a doctor to simulate what normally happens in outpatients with regards to taking medical histories.
Minima Medicamenta Journal Minima Medicamenta is SCOME’s main publication, which came about by the hard work and efforts of a very committed team of medical students and MMSA active members involved in the publication. Not only is this project useful to readers of these cases, it has also allowed numerous students to take a more active interest in certain clinical rotations and given them an opportunity to try their hand at writing and publication, with impressive results. Furthermore, this journal provides a holistic approach to learning and help medical students to improve skills for becoming a better doctor. My appreciation and admiration goes towards the coordinators, as well as everyone involved in the Minima Medicamenta team, who were extremely dedicated and motivated towards this publication, which is evident from the end result.
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Bart’s Medical School This was and still is a very important issue that concerns our future as prospective medical doctors. From what I can say together with Steve Sammut Alessi (our president) and Bernice Farrugia (secretary general) we have tried our outmost to put the present and future medical student body’s concerns at the highest of our priorities when discussing such an issue with the heads of government. Together we pushed and strived for greater transparency and made sure that an ideal agreement would be drafted to safeguard the prospects of both the medical student body and the faculty. We attended every meeting if it’s a faculty board meeting, meeting with the minister of health, statespersons, other NGOs… in order to guarantee that our rights as University of Malta’s medical students would be preserved and any changes brought about by the government will not be detrimental to the future of our faculty, educational experience within Mater Dei and above all also towards our beloved association. Lastly, I would like to show gratitude towards the SCOME secretary and all the Coordinators involved within the SCOME Team for their hard work, dedication and great initiative to organizing and hosting such great events, workshops and training sessions. It has been a pleasure working with the Board of Directors and I would like to thank them for their advice and constant support. I also want to send my regards and good luck to the newly elected Medical Education Officer; Yvette Farrugia. I trust that you will keep medical student representation and education as your first priority. Good Luck!
life about sexual health, sexuality and gender issues; and what is most satisfying is that more and more people are understanding, and actually be interested in learning new concepts and real facts, especially when it comes to sexually transmitted infections. Also, Blurred Lines; one of SCORA’s new campaigns was awarded Project of the Year.
RUDI? & Mr&Mrs Breastestis
Maria C. Tabone
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH OFFICER
Dear MMSA Members, Another year has passed, and well, SCORA has once again had an eventful term. It was an honour working with all these hard working, committed and determined students; not just medical students, but students from different organisations around University. All this motivation drove us to achieve even more goals this year. We have improved our existing campaigns and projects, as well as develop new ones which hopefully will continue to grow in the coming years. MMSA SCORA strives to educate people from all walks of
Peer education is one of SCORA’s methods for awareness and education. We visit several schools, especially post-secondary schools, and give sessions about sexually transmitted infections; consent and coercion; and reproductive neoplasms. Our sessions are very well received by the students, and also by the teachers. Every year we manage to expand our target goal, which indeed shows how much our population is becoming more aware of these issues. This year we managed to triple our school visits with the peer education programme of RUDI? which is relatively new. We are proud to say, that at this point we are being invited into schools rather than invite ourselves to give sessions.
Blurred Lines This is a new campaign which was launched this year in the form of a short film. We aimed to tackle the issue of consent and coercion, by providing scenarios in which one should know the difference between the two words. The short film was very well developed, and it was even well received by, not only Maltese students, but also Medical Students from around the world as it was presented during international SCORA sessions. This campaign also managed to win Project of the Year.
Sexual History Taking Workshop During our clinical years as medical students we might not get the opportunity to practice taking a sexual history, and we might not be trained well to do so either. This first time 20
wonderful team we had, I am very grateful for having you this year; also thank you goes to the rest of the MMSA members who have strived to give their best in every sessions and event; and last but not least -
workshop was aimed at giving the chance to us medical students to learn more in detail about when a sexual history is needed, and how to approach it. We had specialists from the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department as well as from the Genitourinary Clinic. These were a few of the events and projects that we have done this term; and would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the
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Thank you to the amazing individuals who have made it possible for us to achieve our goals in SCORA. Most certainly, this year’s team will raise the bar for SCORA; and I would like to wish everyone a great term.
checks, with a session on hygiene at the YMCA Homeless Shelter. It has also carried out healthchecks in different parts of the island, including Mater Dei, Kirkop and St. Lucia, while also being a partner in Brown’s Pharmacy’s Hypertension campaign. World Heart Day was held at Bugibba Square at the end of September. While offering the traditional healthchecks, this year also saw the introduction of a healthy corner, a children’s corner and Zumba to promote physical activity.
Jordy Borg
PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICER
It was a productive year for the SCOPH Team, where we have built on past campaigns, introduced new ones, and even resurfaced old ones. One of the main aims of this year was to validate the information that we were disseminating during our campaigns through professional collaboration, through the Data Management Campaign. We started the term with the Beat the Burn workshop , which had a record number of participants. Beat the Burn’s summer included a record number outreaches and peer education sessions. Furthermore, we have for the first time extended the Beat the Burn Campaign to the winter months, organising the Derma Detective Workshop in December, with the aim of delivering sessions in the future to people who work in skincare to empower them to identify and prevent skin cancer. SCOPH Goes Local was the most active SCOPH Campaign this year, with at least one event every month. Moreover, the campaign has drifted away from simply health22
The Healthy Lifestyles Campaign was newly introduced this year. Its aim was to provide practical information and empower the public to make healthy changes in their lives. Healthy corners were set up in campaigns like World Heart Day and World Diabetes Day, providing free healthy food samples and information. The MMSA Campus Cup was also organised in collaboration with MMSA-Leisure in October. The highlight of this Campaign was organising MMSA Glows Paceville, which involved setting up an anti-smoking stand in Paceville and trading cigarettes for glowsticks. We have managed to collect over 100 cigarettes from this initiative. This year’s World Diabetes Day celebrations were the biggest in recent years, with events throughout the entire weekend of the 13th-15th November. It started with an activity on Quad in collaboration with other student organisations, followed by the annual event in Valletta. The setting was quite similar to World Heart Day, but adapted to-
wards diabetes. We were also visited by a Doctor specialised in Diabetes- Prof. Stephen Fava. On the last day of the weekend we visited the J Challenge organised by the Gudja Youth Group. We have set up a World Diabetes Day stand in collaboration with MHSA and MPSA, which was also visited by Her Excellency Marie Louise Coleiro Preca. The main highlight of this year’s celebrations was the lighting of the War Memorial in blue to raise awareness about diabetes, in collaboration with the Ministry for Health.
Healthfest This year’s HealthFest was organised in April and had the theme of “A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step”. The aim is to show that small efforts can make big changes in our health. The run up to HealthFest included a media campaign with promotional and informative posters, as well as two self-produced videos. This year, four events made up HealthFest, with the first being in Gozo, were we set up in Arkadia in the morning, followed by a hike in the afternoon. HealthFest has also taken place in Valletta and on Campus like previous years, with different activities catered for the general public and unveristy stu-
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dents respectively. Finally, this HealthFest saw the introduction of Is-Sufan: The Workshop, which had the aim of discussing how health is compromised in the lives of university students, and how it can be improved. As part of the Blood and Organ Donation Campaign this year, an activity was created at Science in the City in September for young children to raise awareness on Organ Donation, and also organised a Blood Drive at HealthFest. This year, the E-Posters Campaign was also re-introduced, which involved posting a poster every month about a different public health topic, which was prepared and designed by MMSA members and reviewed by medical professionals. These posters were then shared in public online communities in order to raise awareness. Looking back, it was not easy balancing my school and work commitments with coordinating all of the activities, but it was all very rewarding and this term has helped me develop as a person.
I would like to thank my dedicated SCOPH team and all the active members who took part in our campaigns, without whom none of this would have been possible!
Sarah Xuereb
HUMAN RIGHTS & PEACE OFFICER
Dear MMSA members, Another year has passed and I look back with a smile, proud of what we have managed to achieve together as the Standing Committee of Human Rights and Peace (SCORP). SCORP has always aimed towards cultivating a better world by focussing on empowering students to take an active role in the fight for human rights and helping others. Our year kicked off with Discover MMSA, which aimed to bring all medical students together, especially the first year students to form part and learn more about this organisation. The treasure hunt not only was a source of fun but also provided a method of fundraising as all funds were given to Dar l- Emigrant. Amigo is SCORP’s voluntary work campaign, which was stronger than it ever was before! Very many events were organised with local voluntary organisations, such as Caritas, Dar L-Emigrant, Hospice Movement, etc. This provided the opportunity for medical students to understand the difficulties of various social groups and help them. Such events included olive picking with Caritas, Hospice midnight walk, 24
Children’s Sports Day with Dar l-Emigrant and the Sisters of Mother Theresa, a trip to the National Aquarium with Dar l-Emigrant. These are just a few of all the events Amigo provided for the year 2015/2016. Fundraising was also a strong pillar of our work this year with many fundraising events, such as Challenge. Change. Charity. This event was organised together with GhSL (Ghaqda Studenti tal-Ligi) through a collaboration of five events over a jam-packed week. These included a car wash, bake sale, film night, FIFA on campus and blood drive. Hence helping people not only by giving our money but also to all those patients at Mater Dei Hospital desperately in need of blood products. Fundraising was also carried out at other major MMSA events, such as Science in the City, World Human Rights Day, etc. Human rights are the major driving force of this Standing Committee and we decided to make World Human Rights Day the greatest celebration SCORP has ever carried out. A week of celebration was dedicated to this event starting off with Human Rights Speed Dating for medical students to learn more, in a fun and interactive way. Next came a Human Rights Cupcake Challenge which motivated students to wrack their brains and remember the human rights with a celebratory cupcake in return. Fundraising was also carried out at this event. We also organised a Human Rights Debate in collaboration with the KSU Debate Team with refreshments organised by SCORP. The main event was bigger than ever with a flash-mob, human rights live skits, cupcake challenge, the hu-
man rights written on the floor of Bisazza Street in Sliema and outreaching. This also reached the attention of the media as the event was broadcasted on the local news. Human rights were also promoted at SCORP Weekend 2015. This was also a fantastic event with a great group of medical students with the aim of making them human rights activists and more passionate about taking an active role within SCORP. This weekend organised at the Sunny Coast Hotel involved various training sessions, together with a voluntary event organised by Amigo – World Children’s Day. It was a great team
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building event and training opportunity. This year SCORP wanted to obtain some concrete results for our efforts. An Eating Disorders Study was developed where body image issues and eating disorders were compared between medical and law students to note any differences or similarities. We were helped by Dr. Anton Grech and Dr. Neville Calleja to analyse the statistics which at the moment is still in progress. Finally I would like to thank the SCORP team and the Board of Directors 2015/2016, for an amazing year!
All of our aims at the beginning of the year have been met, and it has personally been an enriching experience working within this organisation and in this standing committee. It has been our motto that “SCORP never disappoints” and this year I am very confident in saying that this year SCORP has certainly not disappointed! Thank you!
Session Manager Bernard Paul Spiteri Meilak and Teddy Bear Hospital Coordinators Joanna Cachia and Valentina Calleja. Two other spots, serving the latter roles were reserved for new first year medical students. My term as PETO commenced with Summer School 2015, which was a collaboration with SkolaSajf throughout the months of July and August. A wide variety of peer education sessions, including Beat The Burn in collaboration with MMSA-SCOPH, were organized in six different centres around Malta, namely: Burmarrad, Luqa, Ghaxaq, Naxxar, Mgarr and Valletta. For the first time, we successfully managed to take SCOPET sessions to our sister island Gozo, visiting three centres: Ghajnsielem, Nadur and San Lawrenz. Students from another school in Gozo were taken to each of the aforementioned centres such that in effect, six schools were covered in total. Summer School in Gozo was immensely successful and I would like to take the opportunity to thank our enthusiastic Gozitan medical students for their high turnout, commitment and impeccable work, especially those who acted as intermediaries between myself and the rest of the Gozitan student body, ensuring smooth running of our events and those who actually took the initiative to organize more sessions in another school in Gozo. The collaboration with SkolaSajf worked very well and gave SCOPET the opportunity to participate once again in the programme of 2016.
Karl Bonello
PEER EDUCATION AND TRAINING OFFICER
Time flies when you’re having fun, and the past year was surely no exception. From waiting eagerly and anxiously for the election results after an exciting campaign, here I am completing my last official task as a member of the MMSA Board of Directors ’15 – ’16! It is my pleasure to take you through an overview of journey as MMSA’s Peer Education and Training Officer. I am a firm believer in the strength of sound teamwork and having previous experience in excellent and equally dysfunctional teams, my prime objective was to form the ideal SCOPET Team to serve MMSA throughout my term, and to replicate the positive dynamics I had experienced by leading with the qualities I admired in my colleagues I had worked with. Ugonna Nwankpa was appointed the role of the first SCOPET Secretary (previously called Peer Education Coordinator), with the administrative work related to peer education transferred to 26
The start of academic year ’15 – ’16 marked the entry of the next generation of medical
students and it was one of my top priorities to immediately introduce them to our work in SCOPET and encourage their participation as the functionality of this standing committee largely depends on the medical student body itself. I feel that this goal was well-accomplished via Freshers’ Week and the SCOPET sessions during TRD. Furthermore, the fact that two vacant spots on my team were reserved for freshers also served this purpose successfully. Saveria Cremona and Francesca Panzavecchia were appointed the remaining roles of Session Manager and Teddy Bear Hospital Coordinator, respectively.
Two of the major highlights on the SCOPET calendar are undoubtedly Training New Trainers (TNT) and Peer Education Weekend, both of which were two night events held at Villa Psaigon, Dingli and RivoTorto, Birkirkara respectively. TNT 2015 yielded fourteen new IFMSA-certified Maltese Trainers and received excellent feedback from its participants owing to its training sessions of very high standard coupled with an optimized agenda and favourable logistics. Peer Education Weekend received a lower turnout, but it still succeeded in giving its nine participants an array of indispensable skills for peer education in general, and also for sessions specific in MMSA’s other standing committees like SCORA, SCORP and SCOPH. Both events were very memorable and I would like to thank my excellent team of trainers and all those who gave a helping hand. Peer education sessions, including Teddy 27
Bear Hospital, were organized in different schools throughout the academic year, and as usual received highly positive feedback. SCOPET and SCORA also collaborated for the largest peer education event in sexual health, addressing sixteen classes of students simultaneously. This term also marked the launch of a new peer education session entitled ‘Medical Career Talks’ which tackles the process that students undertake towards a medical career and is aimed for students in Form 2 (prior to choosing subjects) and Form 5 (before choosing their sixth form course). Furthermore, our Peer Education Catalogue was also re-designed, amended and updated. Peer education in the form of outreaching was achieved via SCOPET’s involvement in Science in the City and our collaboration with SCOPH during World Heart Day, World Diabetes Day and Healthfest. Furthermore, we also had the opportunity to participate in the EMSA/EPSA General Assembly held in Malta through a Teddy Bear Hospital event. The year 2016 marked an important milestone for MMSA as Malta became the host of the IFMSA General Assembly March Meeting. MMSA Trainers liaised with the GA Crew Director, Martina Gerada, to train all the crewmembers in preparation for this huge event. In addition, MMSA-SCOPET was selected to participate in the Activities Fair with our new project entitled ‘PeerAssist’, an online Q/A platform that anonymously addresses people’s questions related to healthy lifestyles. With appropriate publicity, PeerAssist has an immense potential to clarify people’s misconceptions and promote better practices. In conclusion, it was a very busy and successful year for SCOPET and a great honour for me to fulfil this role within the MMSA. Once again, I would like to thank everyone who made all our events possible this term, especially my exceptional team. Finally, I wish the very best of luck to my future successors and I look forward to seeing SCOPET grow and excel further in the years to come.
Photography and Video Production The photography team within the public relations office was vital to allow each of MMSA’s events to spread its message through social media. Furthermore, we produced several videos, including a video aiming to educate about students’ mental health and another about giving insight into the life of a medical student who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Merchandise This year, we worked with the treasurer’s office to add more variety to MMSA’s merchandise by designing and printing mugs, pen drives, wrist bands, and the MMSA hoody. These were all very well received, and it was a pleasure to see MMSA’s merchandise continue growing.
Stefano Corso
PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
It was a great year for the MMSA. Together, as an association, we have acted as representatives of medical students and voiced their opinions, provided training (such as training in blood pressure measurement), provided free health checks to the public, spread goodwill and education about human rights, and co-ordinated our exchange programme. These are just a few of the MMSA’s accomplishments throughout this year. In addition to these, there are so many more achievements, and within each of these endeavors, the public relations office strived to convey the message of each standing committee through the use of media – designing posters, banners and putting together educational videos about key health issues.
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Liaison with local news organisations By working with local news organisations we gave the opportunity to medical students to publish articles about key medical issues on local media, in order to educate the public about diabetes, metabolic syndrome and heart disease amongst other medical conditions. To conclude, I would like to thank each and every member of the public relations team – without whom, all these achievements would not have been possible. It was a pleasure to work with each one of you!
And finally, I would like to thank the other members of the board of directors, who were very collaborative and who made this year truly unforgettable!
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standing committee so as to try and stand out more amongst the other organisations. We started off the term with rebranding the leisure team with the motto #justleisure which we marketed throughout the year through merchandise such as snapbacks and t-shirts. We also managed to get XFM 100.2 radio as a sponsor hence having free airwave advertising. Apart from all this we had a great media team who created some fantastic promotional material and aftermovies for our best events. For example we evidently took it a step ahead in promoting certain events, such as the Facein-the-hole board which was propped up in Quad to promote our TRD parties.
Samuel Attard
All this seemed to pay off quite well since the attendance for our highlighted events of the year increased and the parties got better. Working in this industry isn’t as easy as one thinks since there is a lot of work done behind the scenes and even the smallest details, if missed, can have a very bad effect on the future performance of the standing committee.
LEISURE OFFICER
What a year it has been! Throughout the past year the leisure team faced challenges and overcame obstacles but in the end of it all it was a very successful term. We had four of our events being sold out and having record attendances, the majority of events were profitable hence leading to having a record annual profit and in the end of it all we had a magnificent Ball.
However, in the end of it all thanks to the great team work amongst the team and my colleagues I can contently say that this has been an amazing and successful year! I would like to thank you all for attending the events and being part of this experience.
When looking back I feel very honoured to have led such an amazing leisure team with such a great team dynamic. Each and every leisure member pulled his/her own weight and the dedication to each and every event reflected in the final result. When it comes to leisure events, the competition amongst university organisations has been increasing exponentially. Each organisation has one or two strong events each year, and this has made it more of a challenge to organise a successful event. Apart from keeping our standard and also improving upon it, we decided to work upon the image of the 30
Thank you! #JUSTLEISURE
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efficient manner. I am pleased to announce that this year we have made a new record for the number of applications accepted and have also worked hard to update the application process making it easier and friendlier to students. We have also managed to cut down our response time from an average of 5 days to an average of 2 days or less, making the whole process much more efficient.
Accommodations
Bader Ali
ELECTIVESS OFFICER
Dear MMSA Members, What a year it was! Chances are you have been to one or more SCOPH events, been to SCORP weekend or attended one of SCOME workshop, but how many of you know what we do in electives? Or know what an elective is? An elective placement is a medical internship taken by the student in any clinical speciality that he or she like. An elective is usually taken as part of the student’s medical education or as an extra learning opportunity; in any case it is our job as the MMSA electives team to ensure the smooth running of the program. The MMSA electives team works in collaboration with the Medical school electives office to ensure the whole process of application, acceptance, arrival to Malta and accommodation is made as simple and efficient as possible.
Applications Our work begins by receiving the large amount of applications each day from student far and wide and processing them in a fast and 32
One thing students don’t complain about is our accommodation. Located in Sliema it is conveniently close to many restaurants, cafes, beaches and the hospital. During the past year we have worked hard to ensuring the high standards of accommodation is maintained and have managed to extend our contract for a further 6 months to allow the future electives officer to consider future apartments expansion to ensure we are able to accommodate the increasing number of students.
Transport and feedback Upon arrival the students are offered free transport from the airport to their accommodation in Sliema free of charge. We had a meeting with the transport company to ensure that the transportation of students under our care is done in the most efficient and smooth manner. We have also introduced this year a 24/7 emergency phone that students can use in case of flight changes and emergency. We realise the importance of feedback and as such have introduced this year a feedback system to enable us to constantly gage our work and to improve were possible.
Administration Most of our work is administrative and as such, we have focused this year on improving the current system while making sure it remains simple and effective. This year we increased the number of elec-
tives team to include 2 assistants: Michela Galea and Vanessa Mercieca and one financial assistant: Ryan Farmosa. We have also continued working on the electives financial report insuring transparency and accountability. While being able to maintain an efficient, friendly and smooth application system and making sure the student’s experience is a positive one, we managed to break the record for the total amount of profit made by the electives team so far.
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So why do we bother with all this work?.... simple‌ to offer you guys the best possible experience . Of course none of this would have been remotely possible if it wasn’t for the hard working and committed teammates I had: Ryan Formosa, Michela Galea and Vanessa Mercieca.
ALL THE BEST!
Thomas Gatt, Nicole Attard, Ahmad Almass
carried out, with one of the applicants citing bias during the discussions prior to the vote. The applicant in question was invited to a Board of Directors meeting to discuss the issue in person and explain what was said as per the meeting minutes, and explain the way the voting had been carried out.
SUPERVISING COUNCIL As the Supervising Council for the term 20152016, it was our role to oversee the day-today activities of the MMSA Board of Directors, making sure that the statute and bylaws are being adhered to, and also giving our advice as a council when needed. Throughtout the term we attended every Executive Board and Board of Directors meeting, including a few meetings held by externals such as with officials from Bart’s Medical School. As a council we are also available for MMSA members to send forth their queries on particular issues which we will then investigate. Throughout the term, only a minority of complaints received where via the official email servers; the rest were mentioned to us in passing or in confidence via social media. All complaints were tackled with the strictest confidentiality unless specified otherwise. We would direct the queries to the responsible Board of Directors member and communicate with them accordingly. In exceptional cases where the issue could not be resolved, it would have been brought up at the next Board meeting. Below we are highlighting a list of the issues we were involved in throughout the term. For a full detailed report plus refer to the Supervising Council Report presented at this year’s AGM.
Supervising Council Internal Election
Coordinator Applications As in previous years, we reviewed all applications received for coordinator posts in an attempt to increase transparency within the MMSA. In cases where we felt any bias may have occurred, we brought it to the attention of the respective SC head who tackled it accordingly. We received queries for two posts; SCORP Secretary and the MM OC Fundraising Assistant Post. In both cases, we consulted with the SC heads who presented their reasoning as to why particular applicants were chosen over others. These where then conveyed to the individuals in question.
Travel Assistance Fund Applications As Supervising Council, we anonymised and vetted all TAF applications this year before forwarding them to the Executive Board for rating. We then compiled the results from the individual members, checking for bias in the points during the process. Throughout the term we oversaw TAFs for • IFMSA August General Assembly Macedonia • EMSA General Assembly • SCORA Southern European Cooperation on Sexual Education • IFMSA EuRegMe Greece • IFMSA March Meeting Malta
Exchanges Incomings
As acting-Supervising Council we received a report to look into the process of which the Supervising Council Internal election was 34
During the summer months we received a complaint from a group of incoming students who claimed they were unfair-
ly charged money after a member of their group was found responsible for breaking a shower door. Furthermore they claimed that the landlord was charging an exorbitant amount to have the broken door changed. This issue was brought up at BD weekend, where the NEO-NORE Incomings explained that she was in talks with the landlord and that the MMSA is looking for quotes to replace the door. Correspondance with the individual who forwarded the complaint was carried out by the President and refunds where given to the students who were not directly involved with any breakages.
ignation of the SCOME Officer, and the process by the new SCOME Officer was elected. Our role was to make sure that no bylaws were being broken during this extraordinary protocol, and to make sure that the internal election was carried out in an unbiased fashion. Since only 1 applicant applied for the vacant post, an extraordinary BD meeting was held whereby the applicant was interviewed by the Board and a secret vote was held to approve the new SCOME Officer by 2/3rds majority.
Exchanges Outgoings
As Supervising Council we tried to keep ourselves in the loop as much as possible with regards planning for the GA. Unfortunately the majority of the contracts were signed before the official start of our term during the handover period, and we were thus unable to be involved in the process. Attempts were made to be involved in the rest of the planning as much as possible however our ability to do so was quite limited. At the time of writing we are still waiting to hear from the OC with regards the budget following the GA.
A number of complaints were received regarding delay in receiving points throughout the first half of the term. As Supervising Council we brought this up to the Executive Board, who in turn contacted the NEO to set a number of deadlines, following which the reminder of the points were inputted. We also received two further complaints regarding delays in the NEO-NORE Outgoings getting back to certain individuals via e-mail. We spoke to the NORE personally, and asked him to communicate with the individuals immediately. Another complaint was also received regarding the unfair awarding of an exchange to Denmark. This exchange was awarded on a first-come first-served basis which was seen as unfair. We contacted the necessary BD member, who explained that this was the 3rd time that the exchange was being offered, and awarding it on a first-come first-served basis was necessary to speed up the process. The Supervising Council agreed with this view.
Resignation of SCOME Officer and Subsequent Internal Election The Supervising Council oversaw the res35
March Meeting OC
Meetings with Officials from Bart’s Medical School. As Supervising Council we were invited by the Executive Board to attend meetings held with officials from Bart’s Medical School, in an attempt to keep us in the loop on proceedings with regards this issue. As Supervising Council we feel that there is a limit as to what can be done regarding the contracts which have already been signed, and we thus advised attempting to gain as much from the situation as possible given the circumstances.
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