MotivationLetter 2

I am much obliged to you for giving me the honour to serve you in the capacity of Vice President for the 2021/2022 Executive term. Years ago in Premedicals, I would not have imagined writing this letter. John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, once stated that “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” Yes, they are! As Vice President, I have not only worked on my plan of action but also discovered a lot more for the continual growth of our association. “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” These are inspiring words from Benjamin Franklin, the Founding Father of the United States. For the past years, we have been proud of the successes we have achieved so far, especially in the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA). In the presence of all these achievements, we still have a lot to work on internally. I believe if we address the internal issues still living with us, we will set the stage for bigger achievements both internally and externally. This is why I am filing this candidature for the highest position in our NMO, the SLEMSA Presidency!

I am Benjamin Koroma, a fifth-year medical student. It all started in Premedicals when some senior colleagues paid our class a visit and brought to our knowledge this wonderful platform called SLEMSA. Since then, despite all the hassles that come with being a medical student, I have in various capacities, worked for the Association. Besides working for the Association as Vice President, I have also worked in different capacities among which are: Director of Registration for the 6th NGA in 2021, General Assistant of SCOPH (2020/2021 financial year), and Director of Technology for the Medical Festival 2022 (MedFest’22). I have made tremendous achievements in all these tasks. When I was the General Assistant of SCOPH, I made sure to work closely with my NPO to work on all of the SC's plans. The SC did extremely well and we ended the term to be one of the most successful SC for that financial year. Also as a Vice President, I have worked on my plan of action. In partnership with SCOME, I have for the first time in our association’s history introduced the Medical Students’ Holiday Clinic Visitation (MSHCV) Programme.

The MSHCV Programme is a clinical rotation programme aimed at providing a platform for us to acquire more clinical knowledge and skills during our holidays. Last year (2022), it was a massive success.

In addition to working on my plans, I ensured to be a hard-working and positive-minded team player to the rest of the other EB members. So far, the SLEMSA journey has been worthwhile.

One of the things I have learned during these years is that we need to keep thinking of innovating better ways of handling matters in our association. It is very clear that innovation is still struggling for a place in our association. “It is always safe to assume, not that the old way is wrong, but that there may be a better way.” words from Dr. Henry Harrower, a controversial early figure in endocrinology and the impetus for the foundation of the Association for the study of Internal Secretions (now called The Endocrine Society). These words are significant for the growth of our association. If always our target is only to organize our traditional events exactly the way they have always been, we will always have the same old situations with us. It is upon us to bring new ideas to life. I am not saying we should stop our traditional events. However, we should get them done in a different fashion.

Another area we should consider innovation is our Finances. I believe we should create ways to have sustainable income. We have always been seeking for funds to fund our activities. What if we seek the same funds to help address one of the daily issues the majority of our members face? That is the issue of our daily transportation to and from our different campuses . We can address this by securing a SLEMSA bus. In addition to solving transportation issues, the SLEMSA bus will also serve as an innovative method of fundraising for the Association.

Constructive continuity has not been a usual practice. An example of the benefit of continuity is the success of hosting the best Africa Regional Meeting (ARM 2022) here in Freetown. This will always be a very important reference to look back on. Implementing constructive continuity in our internal affairs will definitely make a huge contribution to our association’s development. I am here to magnify continuity!

Besides all these, there is a very important need to provide our freshmen and new members with adequate knowledge about the Association and the Federation. This will serve as a foundation to build their capacities. Building our members' capacities will help in sustaining our successes. I believe this is the most important aspect we should continually work on in our association. It is from this poll of members that leaders for this association will emerge in subsequent years. “Without the right succession planning put to play in human resources, we build for the future without a future”. Again I say, capacity building is a major aspect that should be consistently worked on

With all these highlighted things, I want to say that I am more ready than ever before to take our NMO to another level. I am confident in my observations and ideas to improve the work and leadership of our association. I am ready to take our presence and our impact to a higher level. I am here to make those

SLEMSians that feel different, shy, and afraid to dream, feel empowered enough to express their voices and stand up for what they believe in To achieve our beloved SLEMSA’s vision and mission, to unlock our potential, and to reach newer heights.

Let us bring the dream of "Another approach beyond the usual old with MORE!" to life by making me your next President. I trust your decision.

Sincerely

Benjamin Koroma