Students concerns – COVID-19 and beyond

Fizz said students are energised to support the Black Lives Matter movement addressing recent protests and more are thinking about what they’re doing to “ensure they’re addressing the concerns for black students. For example, little things like ensuring ethnically diverse case presentations really make a huge difference and it’s so important."

COVID-19 remains a high priority issue for students, as many still find themselves in limbo. "It’s all things COVID of course, so what are the plans next year, are we safe to go back to placement? If we were to go back to placement, then what support has been allocated for us? Specifically for BAME students. On top of that, how will lectures take place? What will happen with accommodation? …Given that the COVID is ever changing, I’m sure more concerns will arise."

Saying farewell to the post of president

Fizz is rightly proud of his team and tenure as MSA president. In his own words, “I’ve had the greatest privilege this year to work with my wonderful committee to ensure that GKT’s 2000 plus medical students’ needs are heard and also addressed.”

One of his highlights includes the Humans of GKT initiative. To mark Mental Health Day (10 October), the society launched Humans of GKT, an opportunity for the welfare team to acknowledge medical students and faculty members who had overcome adversity. The aim was to continue to break down the stigma of mental health issues and provide further support by signposting wellbeing support service and initiatives available to those who want to access them.

Among other achievements, Fizz said, “some of my own highlights were restructuring our rep system to allow for better student representation across placement sites and also developing a new MSA app which is going to be launched next year which I’m very excited about.”

Being a president is evidently rewarding but it’s also a significant commitment. As Fizz puts it, “the role is very time consuming and sometimes it can feel like a 9-5 job on top of going to medical school, but one of my own views is that an important characteristic of a medical student is of course being organised and also having good time management skills.”

The new committee is now running the society which means Fizz has more time on his hands as he moves into his next year at university. He leaves these tips for anyone who might hold office at a student society.

Running a student society during a global pandemic

Running a student society during a global pandemic