National Working Groups are teams that work on specific areas of Medsin, providing a bridge between local and national. They are open forums to which you can contribute as little or as much as you want. No background knowledge or experience is required– NWGs are a shared learning experience, which aim to capture the enthusiasm, skills and knowledge of individuals from across the country.

We’re looking for new members for the NWGs of 2012-2013, so whether you’re stepping down from a branch or activity role but wanting to stay involved, or have never worked with Medsin before you, we want you to be involved! Check out the various groups below and sign-up for any you might be interested in, and you’ll soon get a welcome email! You can register interest in as many different groups as you like, and decide which you would like to work within at a later date. Anyone can be involved - there are no minimum requirements, but there will also be the opportunity to formally apply for named lead roles at a later date.

Policy and Advocacy

The policy and advocacy NWG connects like-minded individuals and enables collaboration in Medsin’s policy and advocacy work. To define what we stand for, we need enthusiastic and dedicated individuals, such as YOU as part of our team!

Join our exciting new NWG to be part of the driving force behind our policy statements and campaigns. We aim to build knowledge on specific issues, to design a vision for change and to create strategic plans for campaign efforts that can be enacted nationwide. No prior Medsin experience is required, just enthusiasm and a passion to bring about positive change!

Please sign up to the NWG here.

Global Health Education

Global Health Education (GHE) National Working Groups are all about educating people about Global Health as well as trying to get more global health into curricula. The NWG aims to create GHE Resources for local groups, promote Ethical Electives, and assess GHE content in medical schools, then advocate for more. We are looking for leads in each of these areas.

Please sign up to the NWG here.

Communications

The Communication NWG is a large and varied NWG, open to any interested individual to gain experience and contribute to our communications strategy, with no minimum time commitment. The NWG will work on our writing and publications (magazine, blogs and social media), interactions with the press, and creating resources for branches and activities (including leaflets and other publicity materials and merchandise). In addition, we are looking for individuals with experience in managing websites, graphic design and creating specific materials such as videos. Through the NWG there will be an opportunity to lead in the following positions: Press

Officer, Magazine Editor, Blogging Editor, Social Media Editor, National Resources Officer, Local Support Officer,Merchandise Manager and Website Manager.

Please sign up to the NWG here.

Finance

We are looking for some energetic people to work with the treasurer to secure Medsin’s financial security. This is necessary for Medsin-UK to continue to provide assistance and support to branches, maintain the website, produce the magazine, support our amazing national conferences and all the other amazing things Medsin does. NWG members will gather funds through grants, securing sponsorship, and supporting branch fundraising initiatives, and we are looking for individuals to lead in each of these areas.

Please sign up to the NWG here.

Training

Medsin training aims to equip individuals, branches and activities with the skills they need to fulfil their role, and combat inequity in health to the best of their ability. Through this NWG we want to create a network of qualified trainers to deliver quality sessions to Medsin members across the UK at a branch, regional and national level. We need you to get involved– whether you’re interested in becoming a trainer, developing new training resources for our trainers, or building the foundations of the Medsin training network, we want you!

Please sign up to the NWG here.

Topic-Specific NWGs

This is your network and we aim to be educating, advocating and acting in the areas which YOU feel passionate about and where YOU want to see change.

Please let us know if you have specific areas of interest that you’d like to focus on and contribute to  so that we can further our vision of achieving a fair and just world where equity in health is a reality for all. Hopefully most of the groups will start work soon, but depending on interest some may not be launched yet.Some suggestions are below, which reflects areas where prior interest has been shown, but we’d love to also hear new ideas.   

- Maternal and Child Health

- Mental Health

- Conflict and Health

- Non-Communicable Diseases

- Social determinants of health

- Open Access and the Right to Research

- Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

- Health Systems Strengthening

- The UK Health Service Campaign (Formerly the NHS)

- Legal issues and Global Health

Please sign up to topic-specific NWGs  here.