Swiss Medical Students' National Journal | Edition 21

SWISS MEDICAL STUDENTS’

NATIONAL JOURNAL

Focus | Medicine Abroad

Last SMSC in Fribourg (21st-23rd of October 2022) focused on the subject of "Medicine Abroad". Read through the Journal and let yourself be inspired by the wonderful things accomplished this year and never forget to "Widen your Horizon" !

swimsa family | Updates from our members

The swimsa family has grown a lot in these past months. We now have 2 new Associate Members and 1 new Full Member! Read the Journal to find out who joined our family!

Exchanges | (Ex)change the world

Read through the stories of medical students living their exchanges in different countries with different health care systems. You could be the lucky one next year!

IMPRESSUM CONTENTS/ INHALT

What is swimsa ? 3

Head of Journal

Bansi Butani | Journal Coordinator

Erica Piccinni | Vice-President for Communication 2022 - 2023

Publisher Swiss Medical Students’ Association swimsa 3011 Bern www.swimsa.ch

Contacts

General | contact@swimsa.ch Publications | vpc@swimsa.ch

Front side pictures

IFMSA August Meeting 2022, General Assembly - Istanbul, Turkey

© Portions of the NJSMS may be reproduced for non-political and non-profit purposes mentioning the source provided. Notice | swimsa cannot accept any liability. The opinions expressed in this journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of swimsa. Some of the photos and graphics used in articles are property of the authors. We have taken every consideration not to violate their rights.

AGENDA

March 1-7, 2023

IFMSA March Meeting 2023, Tallin - Estonia

Letter from swimsa´s President 4 The swimsa Executive Board 5 The swimsa Internals 6

Focus: Medicine Abroad 12

SMSC Fribourg 2022 12 SMSC Bern 2023 13

Exchanges 16

Algeria, Entry in an unknown world 18 To Uganda, with SCOPE 20 My exchange in Peru 26

International 28

IFMSA August Meeting 2022 in Turkey 30 IFMSA EuRegMe 2022 in Portugal 32

News from the swimsa family 38

Why did you get involved? 39 How to get involved 40 JSEMS 43 NCWiki 44 CALWHA 46 swimsa positions 47 Where to turn to? 48 swimsa’s projects 50

March 24-26, 2023

April 10-14, 2023

May 6, 2023

SMSC in Bern"Precision Medicine"

EuRegMe 2023, Bosnia and Herzegovina

DV/AD Geneva

WHAT IS SWIMSA?

The Swiss Medical Students’ Association (swimsa) commits itself to creating a sustainable, healthy society and motivates medical students through innovative engagement to become better doctors.

swimsa is the voice of over 9’000 medical students by the membership of eleven medical students’ as¬ sociations, represented on a national level via seats in health organizations such as the FMH and the BAG/ OFSP, as well as on an international level as part of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA).

With currently 21 associated members, swimsa helps to shape public health – by teaching sex educa tion in highschools, destigmatizing mental health or working in developing countries. Additionally, swimsa enables students to complete international exchanges in clinical (SCOPE) as well as in research (SCORE) fields.

With the Commission on Medical Education, swimsa plays an active role in shaping medical education in Switzerland and is aspiring to be the link between education and work, students and professionals, across all fields of health care.

Twice a year, swimsa organizes the Swiss Medical Students’ Convention (SMSC), which brings together over 400 Swiss medical students from all universities and allows them to network and bond over interesting subjects.

A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS AND SPONSORS

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Salut à tout le monde, liebe Leser:innen, Cari/e studenti/esse

As the days get shorter and the lack of sunlight in our lives becomes more noticeable, we have finally arrived at the last weeks of this year. I hope that you all were able to accomplish the things that you set for yourself in summer. Whether it was to find friends in the new environment for all those starting the studies, to finish the strenuous Master‘s thesis for everyone that is a little further along or to simply enjoy every day to the max. If you weren‘t able to accomplish them don't worry, if I've realised anything in my four and a half years of studying, it's that plans often don't work out the way you want them to.

With this being the first year that has started to resemble pre-pandemic conditions we as students were able to resume our once normal day-to-day life. With all the positive and negative aspects this old new normality brings. Fortunately, tools that helped us through the last two years, mainly podcasts and online lectures, haven't been abolished, enabling us to manage our most scarce resource: time. Don‘t forget to invest this resource in yourself. I am not just talking about educating oneself and thus staying up to date with the studies but also about staying healthy physically and mentally. Go talk with that friend you haven‘t seen in a while, go to that party, go see that new movie you‘ve been dying to see or go take that spa weekend you‘ve been talking about for weeks now. Student life is stressful enough as it is, hence never forget to unplug every once in a while.

I am still in disbelief that my medical school journey is slowly approaching the home stretch and with this in mind I wanted to challenge myself one last time before a more serious part of life begins. I will do my very best to serve as your president for this term and I am so grateful for all the wonderful individuals who will accompany me this year.

Happy holidays, take care of yourself and hopefully see you soon!

Novotny, in the name of the Executive Board

OUR EXECUTIVE BOARD

The President is the heart of the executive board, coordinates swimsa internally and represents swimsa to the external partners.

Communication

Erica Piccinni | Lugano vpc@swimsa.ch

The VPX is the head of the Exchanges Team within swimsa and represents swimsa Exchanges on an international level within the IFMSA.

General Secretary

Faizan Kareem | Zurich gs@swimsa.ch

The VPA is the head of the Commission on Medical Education [AK/CoFo], which discusses topics related to medical education, decides on measures and writes swimsa’s official statements.

Internal Affairs

Danae Bucher | Lausanne vpi@swimsa.ch

President Jakub Novotny | Lugano president@swimsa.ch

The VPC is in charge of swimsa’s representation on social media, the website, the newsletter (swimsagram) and the swimsa journal.

Exchanges

Aline Pinto Monteiro | Zurich vpx@swimsa.ch

The General Secretary is the backbone of swimsa, the first contact person on any swimsa question and in charge of administrative tasks.

Education

Luca Siragusa | Lucerne vpa@swimsa.ch

The VPI has an open ear for the members of swimsa, be it local committee or project, and supports them in their needs.

The VPE represents swimsa towards our external partners and sponsors, and is in charge of networking.

Treasurer

Annina Biri | Zurich treasurer@swimsa.ch

The VPG connects swimsa to the IFMSA (International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations) and is responsible for Capacity Building.

External Affairs

Chloé Rosenfeld | Lausanne vpe@swimsa.ch

The Treasurer manages swimsa’s finances, and is in charge of the swimsa Fonds, from which members can receive money in order to accomplish their vision!

Global Affairs

Sven Stalder | Zurich vpg@swimsa.ch

THE SWIMSA INTERNALS

Rahel Laager SVC svc@swimsa.ch

Supervising Council

The SVC oversees the work of the executive board and makes sure the bylaws are being adhered to.

National Officers

Ana Zimmermann

NEO-In neo.in@swimsa.ch

National Exchange Officer for Outgoings

The NEO-Out coordinates all international clinical exchanges for Swiss medical students.

National Exchange Officer for Incomings

The NEO-In checks the applications of international students who want to do a professional exchange in Switzerland and distributes them to the local committees.

Boya Zhang NEO-Out neo.out@swimsa.ch

National Officer on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights including HIV & AIDS

Kevin Brunold nora@swimsa.ch

National Officer on Research Exchange

The NORE is responsible for the research exchange in Switzerland and coordinates the exchanges of Incomings and Outgoings.

The NORA connects projects and members within swimsa working on Sexual Health with each other and with empowering international opportunities in this field.

Jan Theiler NORE nore@swimsa.ch

National Public Health Officer

Khalid Azalmad NPO npo@swimsa.ch

National Officer on Human Rights and Peace

The NORP represents swimsa, its projects and commitments in the area of Human Rights and Peace on a national and international level.

Sumanie Gächter NOCB nocb@swimsa.ch

The NPO represents swimsa, its projects and commitments in the area of Public Health on a national and international level.

Pascale Meyer NORP norp@swimsa.ch

National Officer on Capacity Building

The Capacity Building Coordinator is responsible for the training activities swimsa provides to its internals and members and represents the link in this area to the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA).

Liaison Officers

Liasion Officer FMH

Marc Reynaud de la Jara

LO-FMH fmh@swimsa.ch

Lara Serban

LO-BAG bag@swimsa.ch

The FMH is the association of swiss doctors, which gathers representatives of cantons and all medical specialties. The LO-FMH attends the “Ärztekammer”/”Chambre médicale” twice a year and represents swimsa’s views.

Liasion Officer BAG/OFSP

The LO-BAG/OFSP represents swimsa’s views and can vote on behalf of swimsa in the plattform “Zukunft ärztliche Bildung/Avenir de la formation médicale”, which collects all stakeholders in medical education four times a year.

Liasion Officer vsao/asmac

Clara Ehrenzeller

LO-vsao vsao@swimsa.ch

The LO-vsao/asmac represents swimsa’s views and can vote on behalf of swimsa in the monthly “Geschäftsausschluss/Comité directeur” and the bi-annual “Zentralvorstand/Comité central” in the vsao, which is the organisation representing the “Assistenzärzt:-innen and Oberärzt:innen/médecins assistant(e)s et chef(fe)s de clinique”.

Liasion Officer MeBeKo

LO-MeBeKo mebeko@swimsa.ch

The LO-MeBeKo represents swimsa’s views and can vote on behalf of swimsa in the extraparliamentary Commission of the BAG/OFSP, which mainly discusses the recognition of foreign diplomas as well as the federal licensing exam four times a year.

Liasion Officer WHO

Valeria Scheiwiller

LO-WHO vss@swimsa.ch

WHO stands for "World Health Organisation". Since a few years swimsa has a Liasion Officer who represents our organisation at the WHO assemblies.

Coordinators

Benedict von Allmen Legal Counsel legal@swimsa.ch

Legal Counsel

Our Legal Counsel is here to support the EB with legal advice where needed.

Bansi Butani Journal Coordinator journal@swimsa.ch

Journal Coordinator

Hi, that's me! The Journal Coordinator is responsible for putting together the bi-annual swimsa journal, highlighting the events of the year, as well as collecting articles showing new and unique information.

Clémence Aellen Website Coordinator website.coordinator@ swimsa.ch

Diego Hack Website Coordinator website.translator@ swimsa.ch

Website Coordinators

The website coordinators are responsible for the swimsa website (www.swimsa.ch) and keeping it up-to-date with the latest information about upcoming events and is the to-go spot for any information you may require about the activities of swimsa. It is also currently being translated to other languages for more accessibility.

Exchanges Coordinators

Catalina Nierlich NEO-In Assistant neo.in@swimsa.ch

NEO-In Assistant

The NEO-In Assistant supports the NEO-In in coordinating the international students coming to Switzerland for an exchange (SCOPE Exchanges).

Jennifer To NEO-Out Assistant neo.out@swimsa.ch

NEO-Out Assistant

The NEO-Out Assistant supports the NEO-Out in coordinating international clinical exchanges for Swiss medical students.

Diogo Zimmermann NORE-Assistant nore@swimsa.ch

NORE-Assistant

The NORE-Assistant supports the NORE in coordinating the international students coming to Switzerland for an exchange (SCORE Exchanges).

Martina

National Exchanges Treasurer

The

Elena Truetsch Third State Coordinator drittstaaten.students @swimsa.ch

Third State Coordinator

The “Third-State-Coordinator” is responsible for providing invitation letters to non-EU medical students who want to work in Swiss hospitals.

FOCUS:

MEDICINE ABROAD

THERAPY!

Text: Lea Wahl | University of Bern

The swiss medical student’s convention 2023 in Bern will be all about precision medicine. Precision medicine is a new paradigm of medical care. It assumes that every person is unique and that these individual patient characteristics should also reflect in therapy planning. Thus, therapies depend not only on disease patterns but also on genetic predisposition, environmental factors and lifestyle.

The SMSC’s presentations will introduce the concepts of precision medicine and the role of data-based technologies in the development of individualized therapeutic approaches. Several short symposium presentations will provide an overview of the application & challenges of precision medicine in the clinical practice of various specialities. Finally, the convention will reach its climax in an exciting panel discussion with representatives from the clinical, research, business and policy communities. The panel will discuss the ethnic & economic implications of precision medicine, thereby encouraging the participants to critically engage with the topic.

In addition to the medical content of the weekend, a great social program and an extraordinary party are waiting for you.

To stay up to date, follow the Instagram account of swimsa and check out the swimsa homepage. Be as excited as we are and mark the date in your calendars!

See you in Bern, Your SMSC OC

Dates:

Medizin statt Münzen

Glaubt man den Ausführungen des Präsidenten der Mitte-Partei Gerhard Pfister im Parlament, dürfen Sie sich als angehende Ärztinnen und Ärzte bald im «Perpetuum mobile der Selbstbedienung» vergnügen: Sie dürfen im «Paradies der Numismatik» Münzen scheffeln und es sich als «Profiteure eines Kartells» gut gehen lassen – auf Kosten der Prämienzahlenden und ohne sich «beim Geldzählen stören» zu lassen.

Es braucht in den Augen der Politik immer mehr Regulierungen, um uns Kostenbewusstsein zu lehren. Dabei ist Kostenverantwortung und Effizienz unser täglich Brot.

So deutlich werden die Ressentiments gegen die Ärzteschaft und andere «Akteure» des Gesundheitswesens zwar selten formuliert, im Kern beinhalten jedoch sämtliche aktuellen Gesetzesvorlagen den gleichen Vorwurf: Die Ärzteschaft nehme ihre Kostenverantwortung nicht wahr. Es braucht darum in den Augen der Politik immer mehr Regulierungen, um uns Kostenbewusstsein zu lehren. Mit der Realität unserer Tätigkeit hat dies freilich nichts zu tun. Die Mitglieder der FMH betrachten bereits heute den Kostendruck im Gesundheitswesen als zentrales Problem. Ärztinnen sind deutlich häufiger Druck ausgesetzt eine sinnvolle Behandlung aus Kostengründen

nicht durchzuführen als umgekehrt aus finanziellen Gründen unnötige Massnahmen zu ergreifen. Trotz zunehmender Teilzeittätigkeit arbeitet etwa die Hälfte der VSAO-Mitglieder immer noch über 50 Wochenstunden. Genauso viele haben bereits Gefährdungen von Patientinnen durch Übermüdung der Ärzte erlebt. Patientengespräche kommen im Spital oft zu kurz – und unterliegen auch praxisambulant Limitationen, damit es nicht zu teuer wird. Dass wir keine «Mengen ausweiten» sondern schlicht immer mehr Patientinnen zu betreuen haben, wird politisch vielfach ignoriert.

Tatsache ist: Als angehenden Ärztinnen und Ärztinnen steht Ihnen keine «Selbstbedienung» bevor, sondern ein herausfordernder und gewissenhafter Dienst am Patienten. Zum Münzen scheffeln wird Ihnen keine Zeit bleiben. Und auch ohne die Rezepte Pfisters und Bersets wird Kostenverantwortung Ihr täglich Brot sein. Die FMH arbeitet daran, im Bundeshaus diese Realität aufzuzeigen – damit Sie unter guten Bedingungen arbeiten können und die Wertschätzung erhalten, die Sie verdienen.

Nach dem Bachelorabschluss können Medizinstudierende der FMH gebührenfrei beitreten: Die Studierenden-Mitgliedschaft ist unter anderem verbunden mit einem kostenlosen Abonnement der Weiterbildungszeitschrift Swiss Medical Forum und der Schweizerischen Ärztezeitung. Anmeldung: www.fmh.ch

La médecine ne se monnaye pas

À en croire les propos tenus par le président du Centre Gerhard Pfister au Parlement, les futurs médecins que vous êtes n’auront qu’à se servir. Bienvenue au paradis de l’argent facile dans lequel vous n’aurez plus qu’à ouvrir grand vos poches et à profiter d’un cartel au détriment de celles et ceux qui paient les primes, sans que personne ne vous demande des comptes.

Selon les politiques, la régulation est nécessaire pour nous apprendre à économiser, or la responsabilité en termes de coûts fait déjà partie de notre quotidien.

De tels ressentiments à l’encontre du corps médical et d’autres acteurs du domaine de la santé sont rarement exprimés aussi clairement, mais dans leur essence, de nombreux projets de loi actuels reposent sur le même reproche: les médecins n’assument pas leur part de responsabilité en matière de coûts. Pour le monde politique, une plus forte régulation est la recette pour nous apprendre à économiser. Or cela n’a rien à voir avec la réalité de notre travail. Selon les membres de la FMH, la pression sur les coûts est d’ores et déjà un problème majeur du système de santé. Les médecins y sont particulièrement confrontés et les questions de coûts leur font plus souvent renoncer à un

traitement pertinent qu’à des mesures inutiles. Même s’ils exercent de plus en plus à temps partiel, presque la moitié des membres de l’ASMAC travaille encore plus de 50 heures par semaine. Presque autant a déjà été confronté à des situations à risques pour les patients en raison d’une trop grande fatigue des médecins. À l’hôpital, les entretiens avec les patientes et les patients sont souvent trop courts et leur durée est également limitée dans le domaine ambulatoire pour éviter une augmentation des coûts. Le fait qu’on n’augmente pas le volume par patient mais qu’on doive prendre en charge toujours plus de patients n’intéresse pas les politiques. En tant que futur médecin, ce n’est pas le profit qui vous animera, mais le défi de travailler consciencieusement pour le bien des patients. Vous n’aurez pas le temps de vous «remplir les poches» et assumer votre responsabilité en termes de coûts fera partie de votre quotidien, avec ou sans les bons conseils de M. Pfister et M. Berset. C’est cette réalité-là que la FMH s’efforce de montrer au Palais fédéral pour que vous, les médecins de demain, puissiez travailler dans de bonnes conditions et obtenir la reconnaissance que vous méritez.

Les étudiants en médecine peuvent s’affilier gratuitement à la FMH après le bachelor et bénéficier entre autres d’un abonnement gratuit au Swiss Medical Forum et au Bulletin des médecins suisses. Inscriptions : www.fmh.ch

EXCHANGES

swimsa

SCOPE: Standing Committee

SCORE: Standing Committee

IFMSA: International Federation of

SCORE and SCOPE organize clinical internships as well as research internships from the list, as well as supports students coming to

EXCHANGES

complete an internship in a foreign country through the largest international program in the world.

Committee on Professional Exchange Committee on Research Exchange of Medical Students Associations

internships for interested students from Switzerland in a country of their choice to Switzerland from other countries for exchanges.

contact: vpx@swimsa.ch

ALGERIA, ENTRY IN AN UNKNOWN WORLD

My exchange in Algeria was definitely one of the greatest experiences in my life. After two years of preparation, my exchange finally became a reality. In March 2022, my airplane landed in Constantine, Algeria.

Algeria is the largest country on the African continent. Its society, culture and religion were completely foreign to me. I chose it for my exchange because I felt the need to see the world from a different perspective and break out of the comfort zone of my daily routine in Switzerland. Thus, I had the honour to enjoy the hospitality and fascination of Algeria.

Constantine is an ancient city, built on rocks in the northeast of Algeria. I worked in the Department of Neurosurgery of the CHU Constantine, the Centre Hôspitalo-Universitaire, Dr. Abdesselam Benbadis. One of the focuses was on the surgical treatment of primary brain tumours such as gliomas, meningiomas or vestibular schwanno-

mas. Furthermore, we treated many patients with traumatic skull or brain injury.

During my internship, my shift started at 8 a.m. with the staff meeting. In this meeting, we discussed the serious cases of the last 24 hours and the upcoming surgical interventions. The neurosurgery department was built with 2 operating rooms, 6 intensive care beds, as well as 20 regular hospital beds. Along with the other medical students, I could assist in surgeries, attend the physician’s visits, take patient histories and do neurological examinations. In addition, I had the opportunity to work night shifts in the neurosurgical emergency department, where I was allowed to perform small interventions under supervision.

The procedures at the CHU were completely different from what I was used to.

Everything was documented on paper, technical equipment and radiological examinations were limited. This allowed a very patient-centred medicine, based on the physical examination and the medical history.

During the whole internship, local medical students took care of me. In the first week, they organised a Teddy Bear Hospital in a primary school in Constantine. For excursions and field trips, a police escort had to be arranged. Once fulfilled security protocols, we discovered, for example, the breath-taking balconies of El Ghoufi at the gates of the Sahara.

I was deeply touched by the Algerians' joy to welcome me and to share – to share their daily life, their social customs, their rich culture and traditions, their religious beliefs, and, last but not least, their home-made dishes.

My study visit in Algeria ended far too quickly and I returned to Switzerland happy and with many unique memories. Memories, that will shape me for the rest of my life. I would like to sincerely thank all those who contributed to making this exchange possible, especially all the representatives of the NMOs swimsa, Switzerland and Le Souk, Algeria.

TO UGANDA, WITH SCOPE

You are only in your first years of medical school, you don't know anything about medicine yet. Why are you going to Africa?

There are many many reasons. Kagando Hospital gives the opportunity to any medical student, who is either in their early years of training or is already well experienced (or everything in between of course), to have a unique experience - to see a completely different hospital system, and get to experience the African culture, which is so different from the one we have here in Switzerland.

That is why I would advise any student interested in this field to get out of your comfort zone, and out of this beautiful little country called Switzerland, and see how the world works elsewhere.

Kagando Hospital is a small community hospital in the west of Uganda in the Kasese district on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a few kilometers from the equator. It is surrounded by the magnificent Queen Elisabeth National Park where you can go on safari whenever you want to take a break from hospital routine.

At the end of June 2022, I left for a month to visit Uganda. The organization of the trip was simple enough.

First of all, you need a visa: better to take it as a tourist rather than as a stu-

dent, because then you would need a permit from the university etc. and to have a yellow fever vaccination. Repeating other vaccines e.g., hepatitis vaccine, can also be a wise thing. The planning is crucial and probably I could have done better myself. This is why just a week before my exam session started, I found myself in a tricky situation: I had to receive vaccines for everything possible and imaginable … I had to get 7 vaccines in one go. I still wonder how I didn't get sick afterwards…

Finally, the hospital charges a residence tax of about CHF 75 per week with board and lodging (which is extraordinarily good value, although not luxurious!).

The journey to the hospital takes two days from Switzerland because it takes nearly a full day of driving to get from the airport to the hospital. In Uganda there is only one international airport in Entebbe. Since it is strongly recommended not to travel at night, I spent the first night in Entebbe.

Already during the journey, you can recognize that you are in a developing country. Mopeds designed to carry one or two people, in reality carry a family of 5 plus luggage. In the city, the houses and hotels are all surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. The further you get from the city, the poorer the people become, houses with roofs are harder to find, and the roads change from paved to dirt roads with many potholes.

After the long journey I finally arrived in Kagando. The first surprise as soon as I arrived was a small tarantula in the room. Fortunately, a maid, who

looks after the different homes of the hospital staff came to help me chase it out of the room. And she told me “Oh that is just a baby tarantula”, but that was the biggest spider that I had ever seen.

On my first day at the hospital, I went into the pediatric ward. I entered this big building with only one common room where there were cots in every corner. When the ward was at its least capacity, everyone was lucky and could get a bed to sleep on. But the nurses there explained to me that if the hospital was very full, there would often be patients on the floor.

The normal day starts at 8am in the chapel with a short service for staff, students, and visitors. All are encouraged to attend (but this isn't compulsory). This service includes introductions, notices, and

information about the program for the day as well as forthcoming events in the hospital and local community.

Then around 8:30 wards round start, which lasts until all the patients have been seen (so the ending time is very variable, on short days at 12:00 while if there are a lot of patients it can go on until 14:00).

Once the round started, I joined the doctors, and everyone was very kind and ready to explain to me the clinical situation of each patient and the reasons for the prescribed treatment.

I was always assisted by the doctors there, who gave me plenty of opportunities to try and do things myself first with their support and then on my own. Basically, a great way to learn! The doctors there are all from different parts of Uganda and most of them are just finished with their studies (interns). It is also super interesting to speak with them and understand how their schooling system works.

After a few days they started to give me small tasks, such as auscultation and then explaining what I was hearing, but also looking at X-rays and explaining what I thought the problem was, abdominal palpation, or helping to put in or take away some stitches in surgical patients.

An example that comes to mind is that of a child who was admitted to the hospital with Hirschsprung's Disease, which is a congenital condition

that results in missing nerve cells in the muscles of the baby's colon. Without these nerve cells stimulating gut muscles to help bowel movements, the contents can back up in the colon and cause blockages in the GI tract. I had the opportunity to carry out a rectum wash twice a day: in Kagando this is simply done with soap and water rather than with warm saline and lubricating gel due to lack of supplies.

Due to malnutrition, especially in adolescence, many girls do not fully develop the bones of the pelvis, which therefore remain too narrow. Once they get pregnant and they approach delivery with the start of contractions, they arrive at the hospital and many of them then need a cesarean section because their pelvis is too narrow to deliver the baby naturally. And one thing they taught me at Kagando is for example how to do a vaginal examination and determine whether the baby will be born with a natural birth or a cesarean (of course this is only one of the many parameters for choosing cesarean or not).

Or finally I remember one time when in the surgical department there was a 50-year-old patient who was hospitalized for Elephantiasis and one of my tasks during the round was to remove some worms from the surgical incision.

Then after the morning round you had time to relax a bit (which is much needed because of the hot temperatures) and in the evening I used to go back to the hospital to check if there were some new patients and if everyone was stable. Also, in this case, I was always accompanied by another doctor.

Unfortunately, not everything was easy. I was confronted with death sometimes and I found this very challenging and almost unbearable at times.

I would like to remember a little angel by telling his story.

One evening I arrived at the neonatal ward and the nurse asked me to confirm that one of the babies had stopped breathing for a while. The baby had passed away. Next to the cot was the father who had already understood the situation. And as

soon as I informed him of the baby's departure, he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said: 'thank you, thank you for everything you did, thank you for taking care of my baby'.

At that moment I had to leave the ward with a mixture of emotions such as anger and sadness. I was helpless, I hadn't done anything for that newborn, I didn't even know what pathology he had. Yet the father said thank you to me, the least deserved thank you of my life. I had done nothing; I had not been able to do anything, and he was grateful.

People in those areas of the world are different from here. In the hospital I have never heard raised voices or stressed people, you work together, everyone cares about each other. The support is strong.

Alongside hospital life there were also many other projects going on. Throughout my stay I was very lucky to have met two wonderful people Chris and Chris, with whom I was able to experience this trip together. They allowed me to go through with them the different projects they have in

Uganda. All of whom, supported by acomplishtrust.uk, such as distributing medicine against epilepsy in a huge area of western Uganda or supporting schools for children with disabilities. Obviously, if you would like to look at one of these projects during the time you spend in Kagando you could do so by visiting the website.

One of the most positive aspects of this hospital is that it is extremely flexible, and you can visit the different departments in which you are interested. All the doctors, medical staff and team are ready to teach you patiently, as well as explain what goes on. For example, I spent the first few days in pediatrics, neonatology intensive care, then moved to maternity and finally to surgery. But there are so many other departments: HIV Clinic, male wards, intensive care, eye clinic, dental clinic…

I saw and learnt about a completely different culture, and about diseases that we do not have at our latitudes such as Malaria, Elephantiasis, enteric fever, …

I think it is important to go there with the mindset of learning not only in the hospital but also from outside about a new culture and a different way of life. The most important thing is not only that you are there to visit the hospital but also to get in touch with the people there. For example by visiting the schools (and there are many interesting projects!). And always remember when you are there you are visiting Kagando as a guest and it is important to respect and show appreciation for all the work that they do.

The people I want to thank, especially for this experience, are my family, Chris Acton and Dr. Chris Harris.

Se siete arrivati fino in fondo a questo articolo e sono riuscita a suscitare un po’ d’interesse in Kagando non esitate a contattarmi al seguente email: ele.cerutti@icloud.com

Wenn Ihr es bis zum Ende dieses Artikels geschafft habt und ich Euer Interesse an Kagando wecken konnte, dann könnt Ihr mich unter der folgenden E-Mail-Adresse kontaktieren: ele.cerutti@icloud. com

Kagando, as well as the experience of working and making friends in a developing country is something that will remain in my life forever.

Si vous êtes arrivés jusqu'à la fin de cet article et que j'ai pu éveiller votre intérêt pour Kagando, vous pouvez me contacter à l'adresse e-mail suivante : ele.cerutti@icloud.com

H as t H is story awaken your interest ? i t ' s now your turn !

SCOPE: For professional exchanges to one of over 100 countries, for students who have completed their 3rd year.

SCORE: For research exchanges to one of over 80 countries, for students who have completed their 1st year.

Find more information at: https://swimsa.ch/exchanges/

MEDISERVICE ? INTERESSIERT MICH NICHT!

mediservice vsao-asmac? Sind das nicht die Versicherungen und den Krankenkassen? Das interessiert mich nicht. Ich wohne noch zuhause. Meine Eltern bezahlen das alles, solange ich noch studiere.

Sollten Sie so oder ähnlich denken, verstehen wir Sie. Versicherungen, Krankenkassen und ähnliches sind etwa so verführerisch wie Gebrauchsanweisungen für Staubsauger. Dennoch lohnt es sich auch für Studierende, mediservice etwas besser kennenzulernen.

Die Dienstleistungsorganisation soll ihren Mitgliedern in allen Lebensphasen vor allem in Versicherungsfragen zur Seite stehen. Daneben bietet mediservice eine weite Palette von andern Dienstleistungen an. Eine davon, das vsao Journal, haben Sie vielleicht schon in den Händen gehalten.

Sie wohnen noch zuhause, ziehen aber bald aus? Ihre Eltern zahlen noch bis zum Ende des Studiums Ihre Krankenkasse, doch der Studienabschluss rückt näher? Höchste Zeit, sich mit den leidigen Versicherungsfragen auseinanderzusetzen.

Und höchste Zeit für mediservice!

Das auf der Homepage von mediservice aufgeschaltete Lebensphasenmodell informiert Sie bei jeder privaten und/oder beruflichen Änderung, worauf Sie versicherungstechnisch achten müssen.

Dank unseren Kollektivverträgen können wir Ihnen vorteilhafte Angebote bei verschiedenen Krankenkassen und weiteren Versicherungen (Haftpflicht, Mobiliar, Rechtsschutz, Fahrzeug etc.) unterbreiten. Da wir einzig unseren Mitgliedern verpflichtet sind, können wir Sie unabhängig beraten und die für Sie beste Lösung suchen.

Als Dienstleistungsorganisation für Ärztinnen und Ärzte (angestellte und selbstständige) sowie Medizinstudierende, können wir das von uns erwirtschaftete Geld in verschiedenste Projekte zugunsten von vsao und swimsa einfliessen lassen. Als Platinsponsor unterstützen wir die swimsa in diversen Bereichen und sind immer offen für neue Ideen, die wir zusammen umsetzen können. Gemeinsam mit dem vsao organisieren wir alljährlich den Laufbahn-Kongress medifuture, der sich insbesondere an angehende und junge Ärztinnen und Ärzte richtet.

Auch auf Ihrem weiteren Berufsweg, z.B. beim Schritt in die Selbstständigkeit bis hin zur Pensionierung, steht Ihnen mediservice zur Seite. Sie sehen Dienstleistungen in allen Lebensphasen. Von daher lohnt es sich wirklich, uns besser kennenzulernen.

Als Medizinstudierende können Sie das übrigens ganz einfach: Werden Sie kostenlos Mitglied bei vsao und bei mediservice und profitieren Sie von allen unseren Angeboten. Wir freuen uns darauf, Sie besser kennenzulernen!

MEDISERVICE ? CELA NE M’INTÉRESSE PAS

mediservice vsao-asmac? Ce ne sont pas ceux des assurances et des caisses-maladie? Cela ne m’intéresse pas. J’habite encore chez mes parents. Tant que je suis aux études, ils paient tout.

Si telle est votre attitude, nous vous comprenons. Les assurances, les caisses-maladie et ce genre de choses sont aussi attrayantes que des modes d’emploi d’aspirateurs. Pourtant, même pour les étudiants, il vaut la peine de s’intéresser d’un peu plus près à mediservice.

L’organisation de services accompagne ses membres dans toutes les phases de vie, notamment pour les questions d’assurance. En plus de cela, mediservice propose une large palette d’autres services.

Vous avez peut-être déjà tenu entre vos mains l’une de nos offres, le Journal asmac?

Vous habitez encore chez vos parents, mais allez bientôt quitter le domicile familial? Vos parents paient encore votre caisse-maladie jusqu’à la fin de vos études, mais la fin de celles-ci approche? Il est donc temps de se pencher sur les désagréables questions d’assurance et de s’intéresser à mediservice. Le modèle des phases de vie présenté sur le site web de mediservice vous informe sur les points à observer en matière d’assurance lors de chaque changement de nature privée et/ou professionnelle.

Grâce à nos contrats collectifs, nous pouvons vous proposer des offres intéressantes auprès de diverses caisses-maladie et autres assurances (responsabilité civile, ménage, protection juridique, véhicule, etc.). Comme notre engagement est réservé à nos membres, nous vous conseillons en toute indépendance et cherchons la meilleure solution pour vous.

En tant qu’organisation de services pour les médecins (employés et indépendants) et les étudiants en médecine, nous pouvons investir les recettes générées dans différents projets en faveur de l’asmac et de la swimsa. En tant que sponsor platine, nous soutenons la swimsa dans différents domaines et sommes toujours ouverts aux nouvelles idées que nous pouvons mettre en œuvre ensemble. En collaboration avec l’asmac, nous organisons chaque année le congrès de carrière medifuture qui s’adresse notamment aux futurs et jeunes médecins.

Pour la suite de votre parcours aussi, p. ex. lors de l’ouverture de votre propre cabinet et jusqu’à la retraite, mediservice sera probablement à nouveau à vos côtés. Vous voyez, ce sont des services pour toutes les étapes de vie.

Il vaut donc vraiment la peine de mieux nous connaître. En tant qu’étudiant en médecine, vous le pouvez très facilement: adhérez gratuitement à l’asmac et à mediservice et profitez de toutes nos offres. Nous nous réjouissons de faire votre connaissance!

MY EXCHANGE IN PERU

My time in Peru did not start with the exchange right away. I spent a few exciting days exploring the Peruvian cuisine in Lima, before moving on to Cajamarca to visit an IFMSA friend and his family. Since my friend was the current NEO-Out of Peru, he was very much involved in SCOPE exchanges and wanted to introduce me - the current NEO-In of Switzerland - to the dean and principal of his university. They organized a whole ceremony and held speeches to welcome me at their university. It was both exciting and scary to be faced with so many official people in a language that is not my mother tongue. This ceremony was later featured in the local newsletter.

After spending three lovely days in the beautiful hills of Cajamarca, I took a night bus to Piura, where I would be spending the next month on my exchange. Piura is a small city in the northern coastal part of Peru. It’s almost always sunny and warm during the day. I arrived at 4.30am and was picked up by my contact person Victoria. She drove me to my host family’s home, where I was greeted by my host brother Roberth. He showed me around the house and I went to sleep, exhausted.

On my first day in Piura, LEO and her friend picked me up from home and took me to breakfast. They showed me around the city and taught me how to use “public transport”. Those consisted of combi-buses and moto-taxis.

In the evening of my first day in Piura I accompanied Roberth and his friends to a bar, where we had some drinks and then moved on to a wild party at an open-air club.

A few days later I started my internship in trauma-

tology and orthopedics. My host brother accompanied me on my first day and showed me around the hospital. This was the first time I was thrown off by the cultural shock. I’m used to modern hospitals with high-tech equipment and rooms with a maximum of four patients. Now I was faced with rather basic and old equipment, sometimes eight patients cramped up in a room and completely different patient-doctor relationships. While in Switzerland we learn about shared decision making very early on in our studies, in Peru the classic paternalistic model prevails, where patients or relatives more than often are not consulted when making medical decisions.

The doctors were very knowledgeable, up to date on research and especially motivated to teach me. I was allowed to enter surgeries, hold hooks, fasten screws, and suture a lot of times. During consultations I assisted my tutor by doing the

anamnesis, physical exams and ordering further imaging. Two weeks into my exchange, while I was treating a diabetic foot by cutting off the dead tissue, I suddenly started feeling dizzy and was about to pass out. My tutor and two other medical students that were on orthopedic rotations helped me get to the break room. They took really good care of me. That afternoon I got to meet my tutor’s family. His wife invited me to two weddings that were going to take place the next weekend. Of course, I went! In general, people were so welcoming and friend-

night, to never use moto-taxis after 8pm and to always be aware of my surroundings, I never really felt unsafe. That was due to the fact that I always had company.

As part of the SCOPE exchange program in Peru I held two presentations at the university’s auditorium: one explaining the Swiss health care system, the other about a particularly interesting case during my internship.

In summary: I had the best time of my life. I got to meet so many people, improve my Spanish skills, experience Peruvian culture, and taste their excellent food. I learned a lot about traumatic injuries and their treatments and was able to improve my suturing skills.

ly. My host family was great. My CP Victoria and I went to get dinner in different restaurants almost every night. She introduced me to her friend group. I was invited to all kinds of fun events: cinema, movie nights, to eat ice cream, parties. And even though I was warned to never walk alone at

INTERNATIONAL

Durch die Zugehörigkeit zur IFMSA bietet swimsa ihren Mitgliedern die Möglichkeit, an Kongressen teilzunehmen, die Medizinstudierende aus aller Welt zusammenbringen.

Durch die Teilnahme an Schulungen wie auch europäischen oder globalen Kongressen, kannst du den Einfluss von Medizinstudierenden auf die öffentliche Gesundheit, den Austausch und die medizinische Ausbildung mitgestalten!

INTERNATIONAL

Grâce à son affiliation à l’IFMSA, la swimsa offre l’opportunité à ses membres de prendre part à des congrès réunissant des étudiant·e·s en médecine du monde entier. En prenant part à une formation, à un congrès européen ou mondial, tu peux façonner l’impact que les étudiant·e·s en médecine ont sur la santé publique, les échanges et l’éducation médicale !

IFMSA AM22 IN ISTANBUL, TURKEY

Between the 1st and 7th of August 2022 the IFMSA (International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations) General Assembly hybrid August Meeting took place in Istanbul, Turkey.

swimsa was represented by 8 in-person and 1 online delegate. The prior experience within swimsa and the IFMSA of the delegates varied largely with some only just getting to know swimsa. This was the first full scale in-person General Assembly to take place since the beginning of the pandemic, so expectations but also the anticipation was high!

The swimsa delegation prepared tirelessly by reading many documents to be adopted during the meeting but also by stocking up on tons of chocolate (one of the reasons Swiss delegations are so well liked) and buying matching wear.

In addition to being present in 5 Standing Committees (Public Health, Professional Exchange, Research Exchange, Medical Education and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights including HIV and AIDS), the swimsa delegation participated actively in all decision making on the level of the Federation by writing and supporting statements, submitting questions to the candidates and attending all presidents’ sessions and plenaries.

Does participating

If you are new to the world of swimsa and IFMSA and do not know what this means exactly, let’s just say we did what the Swiss do best - executed our rights as active members of the international medical community and shaped the organization further with our input.

During the August Meeting the IFMSA:

• TO (Team of Officials) 22/23 was elected

• IFMSA gained 2 new meambers (from Vietnam and United Arab Emirates)

• 14 Policy Documents and 30+ reports were accepted

• After lengthy discussions 82 Bylaws Change Proposals and 3 Constitution Change Proposals were voted upon. No wonder discussions sometimes lasted until deep into the night and the social programme only started after midnight.

During the National Food and Drinks Party, swimsa proudly prepared Raclette, Rivella and chocolate for delegates from other NMOs (National Member Organizations) to try and was frequently complimented on hosting the best table.

Laager, VPG 21/22

thing

experience? General Assemblies take place twice a year, in March and August. The call for participants to the next August Meeting will start in April so stay tuned and make sure to follow us on social media or contact the VPG (vpg@swimsa.ch) for more information!

at an international meeting like this one sound like some

you would like to

“I have been enchanted by the spirit of this meeting. This week has been enough to show me that I want to be part of this big family that is striving to be a voice for all medical students in the world.”

“When I signed up for the AM22 I could never have imagined how wowed I would be by the whole experience. That there could be a student based interest group that would achieve what felt as truly global representation”

“When I left for AM22, I went into the unknown and with an open mind to what I would discover. The experience that followed is deeply moving and I regularly recall chapters of it. The exchanges, the discussions, the interculturality lull us during this week and I felt like at home and at the same time like abroad: Imagine the whole planet in miniature represented by medical students from different corners of the world. The term "family" used regularly by IFMSA made sense and was our strength to move things forward, represent our colleagues, and have a positive global impact.”

“After an intense week in Turkey, where we shaped the future of the Federation, danced to The Weekend at 4am, enjoyed food from various continents and hugged many friends I’m proud to say that I was present. Present in the moment.”

“The simulation was supposed to mimic the proceedings of the Committee on the standing of Women-Meeting by the United Nations and we were supposed to simulate different countries, NGOs and associated members. While working in a team made up of completely different nations such as Libya, Russia, Niger, the Netherlands, Indonesia, Palestine, it was incredibly rewarding. Coming together, researching the stances of another country on women's rights and their standing when it comes to climate change was very inspiring.”

“One of the greatest aspects of general assemblies is that we get to meet people with completely different backgrounds and cultures. We get to interact and connect with them, share experiences and hopefully form lifelong friendships.”

“Attending the IFSMSA GA AM22 was like living all of life in a single week.”

“If I were to describe my AM22 personal experience, I would definitely describe it as a storm after which comes the best rainbow I have ever seen. There were very difficult and exhausting moments, which were then compensated by greater ones, and in the end this was the perfect balance which allowed me to grow as a person on a social, spiritual and cultural level.”

IFMSA EUREGME 22 - PÓVOA DE VARZIM, PORTUGAL

Not only did swimsa send delegates to the IFMSA General Assemblies, but also to the European Regional Meeting 2022.

swimsa was represented by 10 in-person delegates from a total of 5 different faculties (Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lugano and Zurich), enabling the delegation to take advantage of very diversified perspectives.

In addition to being present in all 5 Standing Committee Sessions (Public Health, Human Rights and Peace, Exchanges, Medical Education and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights including HIV and AIDS) swimsa was also represented in the Plenary and in 3 Sessions Teams, which made us particularly proud.

“I couldn’t just see this inspiration and spark of motivation in the swimsa delegation, but everywhere. During one specific session called “sharing is caring” the presidents session delegates (most of them NMO presidents) shared good practices, struggles and ideas which lead to an amazing exchange and collaboration. This event gave me a lot of hope that IFMSA and swimsa is going to recover and come back stronger after the pandemic. “

“It was really inspiring to see how all SCORA Angels are devoted to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in their own countries and how strongly each one stood for their beliefs. Every session was a place for an unexpectedly fruitful and interessant discussion and I can only recognise that even as a session team member, I came back with more knowledge than before.”

“The days were less packed than at General Assemblies and there was enough time to get to know our delegation and new people as well as talking to old friends who I haven't seen since the pandemic hit.”

“Vivre cette semaine pleine de workshops et de belles rencontres avec des personnes partageant les mêmes valeurs et les mêmes visions de notre futur métier, malgré les différentes nationalités, n’a fait que croître mon envie et mon besoin d’agir encore et encore: localement, nationalement et internationalement. “

“Besonders hervorheben möchte ich die inklusive und vorurteilungsfreie Atmosphäre, die mir in Erinnerung geblieben ist. Ich hatte das Gefühl, dass jede Person sein konnte wer sie sein wollte.”

“After enjoying four amazing days with old and new friends, while impressing everyone with our amazing roll call including raining chocolate and a cow split I’m convinced that we understood the true meaning of „Saudade“. “

“I particularly enjoyed the Activities Fair where I had the chance to present Marrow to students from all over Europe. Although the application for the fair is a bit tricky, it forced me to take a closer and deeper look at my heart's project, Marrow. This made me realize where more work is needed and which points we need to improve. The exchange and feedback with and from the participants and especially from the jury were incredibly helpful. They also gave me new ideas and inputs for projects and sessions and I am very motivated to implement these in my work within Marrow.”

“The sessions were incredibly interesting and enriching, and even though we were on a pretty tight schedule, we found time to share this experience not only with people from our own delegation, but also with delegates from other NMOs. “

“Meeting people who shared the same passion and engagement for medical education from roughly 38 other countries in Europe was a truly inspiring experience: On one hand it showed that medical education in Switzerland is already handling a lot of challenges well, on the other hand there seems to be a few problems that no institution in any country seems to have a good solution for (yet). And it's a completely different experience if you can actually talk with somebody who is directly affected by these problems, than if you "just" read about these things. “

JETZT GRATIS VSAOMITGLIED WERDEN

Der vsao setzt sich für die Anliegen von angestellten Ärztinnen und Ärzten, insbesondere von Assistenz- und Oberärztinnen und -ärzten ein, auf nationaler Ebene und mit den 16 regionalen Sektionen auch in den Kantonen.

Mit rund 22’000 Mitgliedern ist der vsao die grösste Basisorganisation der FMH. Wir vertreten die Interessen der jungen Ärztinnen und Ärzte innerhalb der FMH.

Zu unseren wichtigsten Zielen zählen die bessere Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Privatleben, die Förderung von Teilzeitarbeit, zeitgemässe Arbeitsbedingungen an Spitälern (dazu gehört auch die 42 + 4 Stunden-Woche), eine qualitativ hochwertige und finanzierbare Weiterbildung für Ärztinnen und Ärzte und gute Bedingungen für Medizinstudierende.

Medizinstudierende zahlen im vsao keinen Mitgliederbeitrag, profitieren aber voll von allen Dienstleistungen wie zum Beispiel:

• kostenlose Beratung durch unsere Sektionsjuristinnen und -juristen

• Laufbahnplanung: kostenlose Teilnahme am medifuture–Kongres

• Kostenloses Telefoncoaching durch die Fachstelle UND zu beruflichen und familiären/privaten Frage

• aktuelle Informationen zu wichtigen vsao-Themen: Website, Newsletter, vsao-Journal

• unser politischer Einsatz für Ärzteschaft und Medizinstudierende

• attraktive Versicherungen bei mediservice vsao-asma

Jetzt auf vsao.ch Mitglied werden!

ADHÉREZ GRATUITEMENT À L’ASMAC

L’asmac s’engage pour la défense des intérêts des médecins employés, en particulier des médecins-assistant(e)s et chef(fe)s de clinique, au niveau national et, avec ses 16 sections régionales, également dans les cantons.

Avec près de 22 000 membres, l’asmac est la plus grande organisation de base de la FMH. Nous représentons les intérêts des jeunes médecins au sein de la FMH.

Parmi nos principaux objectifs figurent une meilleure compatibilité entre profession et vie privée, la promotion du travail à temps partiel, des conditions de travail modernes dans les hôpitaux (dont la semaine de 42 + 4 heures), une formation postgraduée de qualité et finançable pour les médecins et de bonnes conditions pour les étudiant(e) s en médecine.

Les étudiant(e)s en médecine ne paient pas de cotisation à l’asmac, mais profitent pleinement de toutes les prestations, telles que:

• Conseil juridique gratuit par nos juristes des sections

• Planification de carrière: participation gratuite au congrès medifuture

• Coaching téléphonique gratuit avec le bureau UND relatif à la situation professionnelle et familiale/privée

• Informations actuelles sur les thèmes importants de l’asmac: site web, newsletter, Journal asmac

• Notre engagement politique en faveur du corps médical et des étudiant(e)s en médecine

• Assurances attractives chez mediservice vsao-asmac

Devenez membre sur asmac.ch!

NEWS FROM THE SWIMSA FAMILY

Die swimsa bietet engagierten Medizinstudierenden eine Plattform, sich auf nationaler und internationaler Ebene auszutauschen. Lokal initiierte Projekte können über die swimsa zu nationalen und internationalen Projekten weiterentwickelt werden.

La swimsa offre la possibilité aux étudiant∙e∙s en médecine d’évoluer au niveau national et au niveau international. Ainsi, les projets initiés localement peuvent se développer, avec l’aide de la swimsa, en projets nationaux et internationaux.

WE WANTED TO KNOW: WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED?

“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.

“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! :)

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.

21/22

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

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/Commission 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.

ACHTUNG LIEBE HOLDS THEIR BIANNUAL WORKSHOP

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 dis-

cussions, 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.

JSEMS - BE ACTIVE

Physical activity plays an important role in our daily lives! Professional and amateur athletes practice sports to achieve their goals and enjoy their passion. People with mainly other interests than sports, are physically active as well when they go to work, meet friends, do the household etc.

During sport activities, injuries can happen, and they do. According to a study from Denmark, there is almost 20% prevalence of sport injuries per year1. Moreover, physical inactivity is not healthy and contributes to the development of chronic diseases. Kohl et al. report it as the fourth leading cause of death worldwide2.

Physicians with diagnostic and therapeutic skills are needed, so that sport injuries are treated properly and best advice concerning physical inactivity is given.

With our Junior SEMS (Sports and Exercise Switzerland) association, we try to give medical stu-

dents an insight into sports medicine and raise the consciousness of this topic in the prevention of chronic diseases.

We like to take this chance and present our next event: The Student’s Day! It took place on the 26th of October in Interlaken and consisted exciting lectures (e.g. exercise and retinal microvascular function, meniscal rehabilitation in athletes etc.), hands-on workshops, a short sports session and a tasty dinner!

It’s our annual main event, so if it was not possible for you to join this year, there are a lot of interesting topics waiting for you next year ;)

If you’re looking for more activities in the meantime, check out our online events and the upcoming podcast through our website (https://sems. ch/junior-sems) or Instagram (_jsems).

Lots of Love to everyone and stay active, Junior SEMS

1Bueno AM, Pilgaard M, Hulme A, Forsberg P, Ramskov D, Damsted C, et al. Injury prevalence across sports: a descriptive analysis on a representative sample of the Danish population. Inj Epidemiol. 2018;5(1):6-

2Kohl HW, 3rd, Craig CL, Lambert EV, Inoue S, Alkandari JR, Leetongin G, et al. The pandemic of physical inactivity: global action for public health. The Lancet. 2012;380(9838):294-305

NCWIKI

Im Februar 2021 sassen fünf Medizinstudierende zusammen im Zoom Call und grübelten Stunden darüber, wie NCWiki die Zukunft mitgestalten sollte. Mittlerweile sind wir, das Team NCWiki, über 50 Medizinstudierende aus den verschiedensten Regionen und Universitäten der Schweiz. Alle drei NC-Sprachen sind bei uns im Team vertreten. Uns alle verbindet die Mission, die Voraussetzungen für den «Eignungstest für Medizinstudiengänge» fairer zu gestalten. Uns ist es wichtig, dass die Chancen beim Numerus Clausus nicht von den finanziellen Ressourcen der Medizinstudiums-Anwärter:innen abhängen. Ausserdem möchten wir durch unser dreisprachiges Angebot die sprachliche Chancengleichheit fördern. Für französisch- und italienischsprachige NC-Teilnehmende gab es vor NCWiki nämlich kaum Übungsmaterial. Alle unsere Inhalte und Angebote sind natürlich für jede*n kostenlos und frei verfügbar.

Seit unserer Gründung vor schon bald zwei Jahren ist viel passiert: Wir haben Informationen sowie Tipps und Tricks zu den einzelnen Untertests zusammengetragen und eine Vielzahl an Übungsserien produziert. Darüber hinaus konnten wir NC-Erfahrungen von Medizinstudierenden in Form von Berichten bereitstellen. Dieses Material können wir dank unserer beiden Übersetzungsteams in den Sprachen Deutsch, Französisch und Italienisch anbieten. Ein besonders eindrückliches Ereignis war die diesjährige Testsimulation an verschiedenen Schweizer Universitäten, an denen wir insgesamt fast 700 Teilnehmende zählen durften. Auch konnten wir Spendengelder von verschiedenen Organisationen gewinnen und unsere Beziehungen zu Partnerorganisationen stärken. Im nächsten Jahr planen wir selbstverständlich unser bisheriges Angebot beizubehalten. Zusätzlich dazu wollen wir aber noch eine Vorberei-

tungskurs für den NC (natürlich auch kostenlos) lancieren.

Es ist schön zu sehen, wie unsere ehrenamtliche Arbeit Früchte trägt. Aktuell dürfen wir ca. 4000 regelmässige Besucher*innen auf unserer Web site verzeichnen. Und wir erhalten viele sehr dankbare und positive Rüc kmeldungen von EMS-Teil nehmenden. Als kleines Tüpfelchen auf dem i wurden wir ausserdem mit dem Youn gCaritas Pu blikumspreis ausgezeichnet. Diese Zeichen der Wertschät zung motivie ren uns sehr, uns weiterhin mit viel Elan für unser Pro jekt zu enga gieren.

Wir sind überglücklich, associate members der swimsa zu sein und sind sehr dankbar für die Unterstützung und Wertschätzung. Wir freuen uns auf die Zusammenarbeit und hoffen so, eine echte Alternative zu For-Profit Firmen zu bleiben!

NCWIKI

En février 2021, cinq étudiant-e-s en médecine se sont réunis autour d'un Zoom Call et ont passé des heures à réfléchir à la manière dont NCWiki devrait contribuer à façonner l'avenir. Depuis, l'équipe NCWiki compte plus de 50 étudiant-e-s en médecine issu-e-s des différentes régions et universités de Suisse. Les trois langues NC sont représentées dans notre équipe. Nous sommes tous unis par la mission de rendre les conditions du "test d'aptitude pour les études de médecine" plus équitables. Il est important pour nous que les chances de réussite au numerus clausus ne dépendent pas des ressources financières des candidats aux études de médecine. En outre, nous souhaitons promouvoir l'égalité des chances sur le plan linguistique grâce à notre offre trilingue. En effet, avant NCWiki, il n'existait pratiquement pas de matériel d'exercice pour les participants francophones et italophones au NC. Tous nos contenus et offres sont bien entendu gratuits et librement accessibles à tous. Depuis notre création il y a bientôt deux ans, il s'est passé beaucoup de choses : Nous avons

compilé des informations ainsi que des conseils et des astuces sur les différents sous-tests et avons produit un grand nombre de séries d'exercices. De plus, nous avons pu mettre à disposition des témoignages d'étudiants en médecine sur leurs expériences avec le NC. Nous pouvons proposer ce matériel en allemand, en français et en italien grâce à nos deux équipes de traduction. Un événement particulièrement mémorable a été la simulation de test organisée cette année dans différentes universités suisses, à laquelle nous avons pu compter près de 700 participant-e-s au total. Nous avons également pu récolter des fonds auprès de différentes organisations et renforcer nos relations avec des organisations partenaires. L'année prochaine, nous prévoyons bien entendu de maintenir nos prestations actuelles. Mais en plus de cela, nous voulons lancer un cours de préparation au NC ( naturellement aussi gratuit).

C'est un plaisir de voir que notre travail bénévole porte ses fruits. Actuellement, nous enregistrons environ 4000 visites régulières sur notre site Internet. Nous recevons également de nombreuses réactions positives et reconnaissantes de la part des participant-e-s à l'AMS. Cerise sur le gâteau, nous avons également reçu le prix du public YoungCaritas. Ces signes de reconnaissance nous motivent beaucoup pour poursuivre notre engagement dans ce projet avec enthousiasme. Nous sommes très heureux d'être associate members de la swimsa et sommes très reconnaissants pour le soutien et la reconnaissance. Nous nous réjouissons de notre collaboration et espérons ainsi rester une véritable alternative aux entreprises à but lucratif !

CALWHAMAKE A DIFFERENCE!

CALWHA (Children and Adolescents living with HIV/AIDS) is a project from the M.E.T.I.S association. We aim to improve the therapeutic adherence of Tanzanian children and adolescents through HIV education and by overcoming financial barriers.

The Tanzanian government provides antiretroviral drugs but there is a heavy stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS and a low therapeutic adherence which can lead to viral resistance to the drug. Therefore, to improve the adhesion, CALWHA organizes two to three activity days per month in the two CTCs (Care Treatment Centers). During these days, the children receive their treatment, a meal, and a medical consultation.

We currently have two Care Treatment Centers in Tanzania and we’re working on the opening of a new CTC on the Island of Ukerewe. We also seek to improve education about HIV/ AIDS to the youngest through illustrated books about a young giraffe living with HIV since the current resources may be too complicated for small children.

In order to raise money we are organizing a raffle with many prizes, for more information do not hesitate to contact us on Instagram @metislausanne.

You can also make a donation by TWINT using the following QR code.

We are always looking for donations to help us carry out these two new projects and to continue to help the 300 children in the already existing centers. Every donation counts!

SWIMSA POSITIONS - JOIN

WHERE TO TURN TO?

Meet your local student association

FaMed - Fribourg fs-medizin@unifr.ch student.unifr.ch/med

FaMBa - Basel praesidium@fachschaftmedizinbasel.com www.famba.ch

fsmb - Bern sekretariat@fsmb.ch www.fsmb.ch

AEML - Lausanne aeml@unil.ch www.aeml.ch

aemg - Geneva aemg@unige.ch aemg.unige.ch

ANEM - Neuchâtel contact.anem@gmail.com

FluMed - Lucerne flumed.vorstand@gmail.com www.flumed.ch

mesa - Zurich ETH praesidium@mesa.ethz.ch www.mesa.ethz.ch

smusi - Lugano smusi@usi.ch www.smusi.usi.ch

fvmed - Zurich UZH info@fvmed.ch www.fvmed.ch

MUSt - St. Gallen info@must-hsg.ch www.must-hsg.ch

MEET SWIMSA’S ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

Achtung Liebe www.achtungliebe.ch

ASC - Action Santé Communautaire www.facebook.com/actionsantecommunautaire

NCWiki www.nc-wiki.ch

CLASH www.instagram.com/associationclash

AGT - Aufklärung gegen Tabak www.gegentabak.de

gruhu www.gruhu.ch

ASTiM www.astim.ch

Doctors and Death www.facebook.com/doctorsanddeath

EROS www.association-eros.com

escolhares www.escolhares.com

Marrow Switzerland www.marrow.ch

Medstache

www.medstachelausanne.jimdofree.com

JSEMS - Sport & Exercise Medicine Switzerland www.sems.ch

M.E.T.I.S. www.metislausanne.ch

Medic www.association-medic.ch

MedSICS

www.medsics.wixsite.com/medsics

SCS - Swiss Chiropractic Students www.sc-students.ch

POZH - Projekt Organspende Zürich www.fvmed.ch

Teddybär Spital www.tbsbern.ch

UAEM Switzerland www.uaem.ch

YS - Young Sonographers www.youngsonographers.ch

ROOM FOR THOUGHTS...

...AND NEW IDEAS

THIS IS YOUR LOCAL STUDENT COUNCIL for all the medical students at your university. They organize social events, parties, represent you to your faculty and fight for your medical education.

THIS IS YOU, a medical student in Switzerland

THESE ARE OUR ASSOCIATE MEMBERS which work on different public health and human rights topics. You can join any project you like or even start your own.

THIS IS YOUR NATIONAL ORGANISATION swimsa is the umbrella organisation for all Swiss medical students. Its members are 10 student councils and the local projects. In the comittee for education, swimsa works towards an improved education on a national level. Via the IFMSA, it enables worldwide student exchanges. Twice per year, it organises the SMSC-Conference with students from all parts of Switzerland. An event you MUST have experienced at least once! www.swimsa.ch

... AND THIS IS HOW WE CHANGE THE WORLD TOGETHER The International Federation fo Medical Students‘ is the umbrella organisation for all the national associations of more than 120 different countries worldwide. They gather twice per year in the so-called General Assembly (GA), where 1000 students come together and exchange ideas. swimsa is always represented by a Swiss delegation, which YOU can be part of as well! www.ifmsa.org