education
HOW DOES SWIMSA ADVOCATE FOR YOU? Text:
Emilie Kabase (NORA), Gaia Grigorov (NPO), Nico Friedrich (NORP), Matias Jacomet (VPA), Rahel Laager (VPG), Amedeo Giussani (VPE), Kate Gurevich (President)
Dear medical students, We, the people working on all the wonderful projects within swimsa, frequently get asked “so what does swimsa do, exactly?”. Sometimes, the concept is hard to grasp. However, swimsa does wonderful things, ranging from helping you go on an exchange to promoting various public health issues. One thing swimsa does is give a voice to you, dear medical students, on a national level. How do we do this? Read below! Representing the opinion of medical students Policy Papers Policy Papers are used to represent the stance of medical students on a general topic. They are adopted by the Delegates’ Assembly of swimsa. At these meetings, which take place once per semester, you are indirectly represented by your local association (e.g. FaMBa for Basel). The representatives appointed by you vote on the adoption of the Policy Paper, thus indirectly representing the Swiss medical students’ stance on a certain topic. A Policy Paper provides background information regarding one broad subject, as well as a call to action for different stakeholders. You can find all of our policy papers on the swimsa website. This type of document can only be adopted after being voted on at the Delegates’ Assembly and represents the opinion of medical students for the next 5 years on a topic. Once approved, a Policy Paper can be used to advocate for change. 30
swimsa
What sort of Policy Papers do we have? Just last autumn, three new ones, among them one on STI prevention and one on equity in healthcare, were adopted; in 2020, swimsa issued one on quality medical education as well as on comprehensive sexuality education. You can find all of them on the swimsa website. Statements A statement is more specific - it usually states the opinion of medical students on a particular, punctual issue , e.g. the initiative on tobacco advertisement the Swiss population voted on in February. Sometimes, a statement can derive from a Policy Paper. In this case, it automatically represents the opinion of medical students and requires no other legitimisation. However, a statement can also tackle a completely new topic. In this case, the statement is sent to all the local associations and associate members, which have the opportunity to give a two-week referendum vote.
