How to get involved

WE WANTED TO KNOW: WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED?

Text: Benedikt Reuthebuch | Vice-President for Communication

“Spending even more time for things having to do with university why would you do this?” This is certainly a frequently asked question to everyone who is doing more apart from their everyday studies or other occupations. At first sight, all the people steadily questioning getting involved must be right: more leisure time, less online meetings, less responsibilities and no deadline to keep an eye on. But why are there so many people out there still getting involved and still dedicating their time and their capacities to such a huge association like swimsa? One could get the impression that there must be something magnetically attracting about working for and with swimsa. So we went out and asked the people directly to find an answer. And to conclude, we might have to revise our introductional question: “Why wouldn’t you do this?”

A friend of mine was involved in the LC of Bern. I was always asking him about the stuff he did with swimsa exchanges, so one day he just invited me to a LC meeting. I met a lot of cool people there, and that’s basically how my swimsa journey started. I met many amazing people who inspire me with their “ commitment and their positive energy, and I also made many valuable and useful experiences for myself, for example how to work more efficiently, how to lead an online meeting, how to use excel and so on. - Céline Ueltschi, National Exchanges Treasurer I joined the national swimsa Meeting in February and thought that swimsa was a great opportunity to get in touch with medical students from all over Switzerland as well as on an international Level. Additionnaly, I’ve always wanted to go on an exchange so I thought my chances to get in there “ would be higher if I started as a LEO. First of all, I learned how to cooperate with the hospital and other institutions. Then I joined the swimsa exchange weekend which was a great experience and I already organized a Fondue with an incoming! :) - Rahel Aeschbacher, Local Exchange Officer Fribourg

It was over Zoom that I first heard about swimsa. Honestly, I didn’t pay much attention as I first wanted to focus on my studies just like most freshers. A year went by before I attended a VSAO Zürich meeting (mostly because of the apéro ;) where I randomly met the Vice President for Exchanges. What “ started as a casual conversation, ended up being an encouragement to run for the open position of

General Secretary. Wanting to do more than just study, I applied for the position and I met the minds and the energy behind swimsa. The motivation and determination of my fellow swimsa Internals (especially of the EB) & the kind of work done at swimsa taught me lessons I couldn’t have learned from books and lectures. That’s when I truly understood swimsa. - Adnan Kareem, General Secretary 21/22

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Text: Kate Gurevich | swimsa President

Have you just started your studies? Or been at it for a while but would like to do more? Ask no more. We are here to give you the answers.

There are many ways to become involved during your studies, with participation in swimsa being just one of them. Have a look at the possibilities listed below and do not hesitate to contact the people directly they are just like you and started at one point. They would love to assist you.

How to be aware of opportunities opening up?

swimsa posts all her new openings and new possibilities to engage on social media mostly on instagram. However, we also use the newsletter and Facebook for promotion. Scan the QR codes to keep up to date.

Join our events!

A great event to get started is the SMSC - Swiss Medical Students’ Convention, which takes place twice a year. The next one will take place from the 8th10th of April 2022 in Lugano with the topic of Conciousness. More information on how to sign up will be available on the swimsa social media and through your local student council.

Capacity Building events

Capacity Building is a fancy word. What it means is passing on knowledge, in our case knowledge on soft skills such as public speaking, nonviolent communication or leadership. swimsa holds these events to help you be more prepared for the future and give you the skills medical school does not give. At the moment no fixed events are planned but keep up to date through our social media or contact our National Officer for Capacity Building at nocb@swimsa.ch.

International events

swimsa is part of the international organisation of medical students IFMSA International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations. They host events several times a year, in March, April and August. There is an application process and your chances of getting a spot are largely increased if you are already a little bit active in swimsa. For more information, subscribe to our newsletter or contact our VicePresident for Global Affairs at vpg@swimsa.ch.

Join our Commissions!

swimsa is active in different areas of work. We need motivated people to join our commissions to work on various projects for the upcoming year.

CoSH - Commission on Sexual Health: Are you passionate about sexual health and rights? Do you know a lot or would like to learn more about STIs? The Commission on Sexual Health is the right place to start. Contact our National Officer on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights including HIV and AIDS under nora@swimsa.ch.

CoPHR - Commission on Public Health and Human Rights: This commission encompasses a wide variety of topics ranging from Mental Health to Planetary Health. Interested in contributing? Contact our National Officers on Public Health (npo@swimsa.ch) and Human Rights and Peace (norp@swimsa.ch) for more information.

AK/CoFo - Ausbildungskommission/Commis-

sion de la Formation: Our medical education commission ensures voices of medical students in Switzerland are heard and medical education keeps up its high standards and is improved where necessary. For more information or if you wish to join a meeting, contact vpa@swimsa.ch.

Get active in Exchanges!

swimsa helps organise your exchange in another country. There are two types of exchanges, professional (clinical) exchange in a hospital and research exchange in a research facility. You can find more information on how to go on an exchange on our website or social media. Registrations for exchanges take place between the 1st of March and the 30th of June each year. However, you can also get involved in exchanges by becoming active on a local or national level. We are always looking for motivated people to help assure that students coming for an exchange in Switzerland have everything they need. So if you are interested in meeting people from all over the world and would like a smooth start into swimsa, contact our VicePresident for Exchanges at vpx@swimsa.ch.

Check out our members!

swimsa is great because of her members. The members of swimsa are on the one hand the student councils of your university and on the other hand, various associations focusing on Public Health or Sexual Health and Rights. You can find a full description of the members on our website. Feel free to contact them directly in case you are interested in joining their midst or contact our VicePresident for Internal Affairs at vpi@swimsa. ch for more information.

Liked this journal?

We are still looking for a journal coordinator. This is your opportunity to start your journey within swimsa with a rather creative task. Coordinate the articles and layouting of the next journal, due to come out in Spring 2022. For more information, do not hesitate to contact our VicePresident for Communications at vpc@swimsa.ch.