How to get involved

Text: Kate Gurevich | swimsa President 21/22

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 21st-23rd of March 2023 in Bern with the topic of Precision medicine. 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, non-violent 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 Vice-President 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.

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 Vice-President for Exchanges at vpx@swimsa.ch.

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.

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.

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 Vice-President for Internal Affairs at vpi@swimsa.ch for more information.

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ACHTUNG LIEBE HOLDS THEIR BIANNUAL WORKSHOP

Text: Elìa Carcer

After almost two years of tentativeness and makeshift gatherings, Achtung Liebe is slowly getting back on track! This November, we had the latest of our biannual workshops, training 27 new motivated people to teach our curriculum of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in schools. Now encompassing our newly revised methods, on which our “Methoden-Überarbeitungsgruppe” worked very hard and passionately! The participants were thrilled as well; therefore, we welcome our newest members to join the amazing Achtung Liebe crew!

The workshop itself was at the Cevi house “Wartburg” in Mannenbach TG, overlooking the beautiful Lake Constance (Bodensee). Concurrently (and ibidem), existing members could participate in our regular advanced workshop, this time with the exciting topic of “Sex Work”. Group discussions, lectures, self-discovery exercises and reputable guest speakers ensured that the participants could behold the topic from different perspectives.

Meanwhile, our wonderful OC and their aides were working diligently in the background, planning and preparing for Saturday’s social evening, the highlight of every workshop. As is customary, there was a rally, where different styles of music, represented by the participants, would compete against each other. Less customary was probably the outcome: country music won.

The latter, however, was represented by our topclass kitchen crew – which spoilt all attendees with delicious dishes – so probably not wholly undeserved.