Newsletter 178

Contents

Action of the Week

Petition for Tibet

Click here to go to the news story and link to the petition.

National News and Events

Anything Else

Of The Month

Website and News

The website is for YOUR events being held by YOUR branches, projects and campaigns. It is really, really easy to submit events and news, so please do, and let everyone know what wonderful things you are up to! Join in Medsin discussions at http://www.medsin.org/discuss

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National News and Events

Be on the National Committee

Why not think about dedicating those few spare hours a week to Medsin? Anyone can candidate for any position, the only exception being that the president must be a medical student. Experience in Medsin is desired but enthusiasm is much more important. If you're interested, contact the person in that role already to find out a bit more.

Gemma Owens, Medsin President, is more than willing to give advice and information for people who would like to know a bit more before applying. It’s a wonderful opportunity to change the world. Contact her here

Have a read of the official job descriptions, and of the current committee's take on their role here, and follow the instructions!

Next: Print and sign the form, appear at the Spring General Assembly on 26th-27nd April in Leeds, and tell the voting members (branches, nationally recognised projects and priority campaigns) why they should vote for you in 2 minutes.

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Global health conference 08

Oxford Global Health Conference 2008 has sold out!

If you're lucky enough to have bought a ticket and would like accommodation, please go here and follow the instructions.

If you're a project or campaign and would like a stall at the conference, please e-mail the committee.

The motions for the voting session are available here

If you would like to be considered for the waiting list in case of cancellations, please e-mail the team.

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IFMSA Podcast from the Lancet

Here you can find this week's featured podcast - an update on the Stop AIDS campaign, the IFMSA and AMSA Conferences from the Lancet Student. It's only 20 minutes long, perfect for breakfast time listening.

Gerard's IFMSA Meeting Blog

The 57th Annual March Meeting of the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA) has just finished in Monterrey, Mexico. The theme for this General Assembly was Migration and Health. Gerard Millen, a medical student at Queens University, Northern Ireland was there and gives The Lancet Student.com a brief report on the main policy events here.

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Bargain of the Century!

A wonderful flipchart (complete with paper and some complimentary pens) for a bargain price of £15

Who wants one, get them whilst their hot!!

Can be picked up at the Global Health Conference

Useful for trainings, planning sessions and doing ENORMOUS drawings :)

Email training if you want one (I have 6 left!)

Daze XX

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Become a Medsin Trainer

This year, Medsin-UK is hosting a Training New Trainers (TNT) workshop, from the 18th-20th April 2008 and now is the time to apply.

The TNT workshop is an IFMSA-recognised course designed to train new trainers. Over three days, participants will be equipped with the skills and knowledge to design and deliver training workshops. Then, the following weekend, you will be putting your new training skills into operation at the Spring General Assembly.

The main TNT event will take place at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne on 18th-20th April. The SGA on the following weekend (which is complulsory to complete to course) is in Leeds on 26th-27th April.

Click here for more information and an application form

Daze

Enormous Exciting Pharmaware Debate!

"This house believes that the relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and doctors is detrimental to health"

With speakers including

  • Peter Mansfield - world famous Pharma campaigner all the way from Australia
  • Assoc. British Pharmaceutical Industry
  • .....and other exciting people!

Friday 25 April, 18:30-21:00, Leeds.

This event is perhaps going to lead to Leeds becoming the first pharma free med school in the UK, following the example of some in the US such as Penn State and Standford...witness policy change in action!! And all this the evening before the Spring General Assembly in Leeds so you'll be in Leeds anyway!!! so come along! For more information, contact Medsin Leeds

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SGA08

Medsin's National Spring General Assembly, for a great weekend of.....

  • Mass Debating,
  • Training,
  • Networking,
  • Elections of next year's national committee
  • More Voting, including the NAME CHANGE!

Saturday 26 April- Sunday 27th April 2008

And of course, socialising!

All of this is happening in lovely Leeds!!!!

How to get involved NOW:

  • Send you ideas for mini-meetings and discussions to the committee

For more information, contact the national committee

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Sir Graham Catto visiting Imperial

Sir Graham Catto, head of the GMC is visiting Imperial college. See the facebook link. This talk is must for all at the medical school and is expected to be full. Get there early to secure seats. Refreshments of cheese and wine will be provided and soft drinks too.

  • Date: Wednesday, March 19, 2008
  • Time: 5:45pm - 7:00pm
  • Location: SAF, South Kensington

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Anything Else?

The following aren't officially affilliated with Medsin, but we thought you might be interested.

Global launch of Medical Peace Work

Physicians, medical students and health workers around the world can now improve their skills on violence prevention and peace-building by linking up to the new Medical Peace Work course, launched in Tromsoe (Norway), New Delhi (India), Berlin (Germany), Mexico City (Mexico), Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and London (UK) on Tuesday March 11th.

The course is the world’s first of its kind and it applies the latest e-learning technology in offering seven separate but interlinked modules, available free of charge to physicians, health workers and students globally.

“All you need to undertake this course is a computer with an internet connection, which means you can access it from anywhere in the world,” says Michael Rowson, a senior teaching fellow at UCL’s Institute of Child Health and editor of the Medical Peace Work textbook. “A CD-ROM with an off-line version of the course is also available. We hope to make this course as internationally accessible as possible”.

With EU-funding, eleven partners from Norway, Germany, Slovenia, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom have worked for two years to develop the course, coordinated by Centre for International Health at the University of Tromsoe.

“We wanted to design a course that is technologically innovative and user-friendly,” says Project Manager Dr. Klaus Melf at the University of Tromsoe. “The peace capacity of the health sector is simply too big to fit into a regular, old-fashioned lecture hall.”

At the University Hospital North Norway, Ole Danbolt Mjøs, Chair of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, hands over the first Medical Peace Work CD-ROM to physician and potential MPW student Morten Skandfer. (Picture attached)

For more information about Medical Peace Work, please visit our website: http://www.medicalpeacework.org

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Child Family Health International

Click here for more information.

Socially responsible, financially just, global health programs for Medical & other students of the health sciences in Bolivia, Ecuador, India, Mexico, Nicaragua and South Africa.

Attend CFHI's workshops on Socially Responsible Electives at the Medsin GHC; March 29th and 30th

  • Choose from 17 program sites around the world.

  • Programs are 4 to 8 weeks long & run every month of the year.

  • Clinical rotations with local preceptors in a variety of settings
  • Housing with local home-stay families (guest houses where home-stays are not available)
  • Spanish language instruction (including Medical Spanish) in all Spanish-speaking programs

  • Fundraising resources (including scholarships) available

  • Academic credit arranged upon request

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Carbon reduction and health:A guide to reducing the footprint of the health sector

Where: Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health 5-11 Theobald’s Road London WC1X 8SH

When: Monday 30th June 2008

How much?: £10 fo students

More info and a booking form? See attachment.

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IFMSA-WHO initiative

Below is a link to a survey which is being run in association with the WHO. This is a great opportunity for the IFMSA (International Federation of Medical Students' Associations) to further solidify our relationship with the WHO, and an opportunity for future collaboration and joint projects.

The survey will only take 5 minutes to complete, and as an incentive to complete the questionnaire, there is an opportunity for some lucky people to win iPods and coupons for amazon.com.

Also, if more than 30 Medsin members complete the survey, Medsin will appear under the acknowldegement section of the WHO publication!

The survey is part of a research study about our educational experience in trauma and burn care during medical school, and will contribute to developing a worldwide curriculum/programme on trauma and burns management.

If you would like to participate, please go to www.traumasurvey.org.

Previous IFMSA research can be found here.

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International Congress of Medical Sciences for students and young doctors

We are honored to invite You to the upcoming - 7th International Congress of Medical Sciences for students and young doctors in Sofia, Bulgaria (ICMS).

For the last 6 years this annual event has become the biggest and most perspective conference of its type in Eastern Europe with more that 300 active and passive participants. The attendance of more than 100 international participants from 17 countries (including 2 from Medsin) last year transformed ICMS into a cosmopolitan, internationally recognized scientific meeting. ICMS is organized by the Association of Medical Students in Bulgaria, member of the International Federation of Medical Students Associations, the Students Council of Medical University – Sofia and the Bulgarian Dental Students Scientific Association. This letter is a warm invitation to all future scientists who are seeking an opportunity to present their research works and exchange ideas upon topics in the field of

  • Medicine
  • Dentistry
  • Pharmacology
  • Medical technologies
  • Biomedical sciences

And thus strengthen the European network for scientific collaboration.

The conference will be from 8 – 11 th May 2008 and can offer its participants:

  • Internationally respected certificates
  • Lectures of world-leading professors
  • Interesting workshops devoted to the latest discoveries in the field of medicine
  • Exciting social program every day (including post-congress tour)
  • Contact person who will meet you at arrival

For further information visit our website or do not hesitate to write to us at info@icmsbg.org

Deadline for abstracts has been extended to 20.03.2008, but you don't have to submit one in order to attend!

Looking forward to seeing you in May! Best regards ICMS 08 Organizing Committee

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Royal Society of Medicine talks

Upon arrival at meetings all participants must register to collect their personalised name badge, programme and other related information.

The Forum will be providing lunch as part of the meeting. Please note that we require full payment and details of any dietary requirements to guarantee your place at least four working days before the meeting.

Lauren Wynn Events Co-ordinator www.rsm.ac.uk/Catastrophes ´

Medicine Overseas(http://www.rsm.ac.uk/academ/cce103.php)

Organiser: Catastrophes & Conflict Forum Date: Friday 25 April 2008 Venue: The Royal Society of Medicine

Topics include –

  • Careers overseas and Elective preparation
  • Training courses - security issues
  • Interactive clinical scenarios - Landslide in the mountains, junior level
  • Interactive clinical scenarios - Tropical medicine
  • Humanitarianism - History, philosophy and law
  • Humanitarian Operations
  • Alternative medical careers - Academic, personal safety

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Multi- extreme and complete drug resistant TB with HIV; the deadliest duo?

Organiser: Respiratory Medicine Section Date: Wednesday 26 March 2008 Venue: The Royal Society of Medicine

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Pandemic Flu Preparedness Course

Organiser: Society Conferences Date: Thursday 24 April 2008 Venue: The Royal Society of Medicine

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Global Health: Current Issues, Future Trends and Foreign Policy Conference

On Tuesday 29th April 2008, the Royal College of Physicians of London will host a conference on global health.

"Global Health: Current Issues, Future Trends and Foreign Policy" will explore the growing UK debate on global health, with updates on communicable and chronic disease. Coming after the publication in 2007 of Lord Crisp's "Global health partnerships" and Sir Liam Donaldson's "Health is global: proposals for a government-wide strategy" this conference will discuss their impact and the latest Government initiatives. Drawing together experts from the clinical and policy worlds, the conference will examine the role the UK has to play through the prism of its foreign policy. It will afford an opportunity for people from different fields to interact in lively and informative debate.

The Rt Hon Lord Malloch-Brown, Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN will deliver a guest lecture on "Health security: foreign policy and global health"

A full programme and registration details can be found here.

Venue: Royal College of Physicians Location: London

Audience: Physicians, public health specialists, healthcare personnel, policy makers, political lobbyists, journalists, supranational organisations, NGOs.

For more information please click here or email the conference team.

There are student places at £75, down from £225! Just state that you are a full time student on the apllication/payment form.

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£500 Student Essay Prize

MEDICINE, CONFLICT AND SURVIVAL is offering a £500 prize for the best essay BY A MEDSIN MEMBER on a topic covered by the Journal, and publication of the essay in a forthcoming issue.

The Essay should be no more than 2,500 words long and the deadline for submission is the end of July 2008

For the topics covered by the Journal, go here and click ‘Aims and Scope’. On the same page, click ‘Instructions for Authors’ to find how the essay should be presented.

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Of The Month

UAEM

Access to Medicines, Trade, and the Role of Universities

Millions Are Dying

The World Health Organisation estimates that 10 million people die every year because they’re unable to access existing drugs and vaccines. Several factors impede access to the medicines that exist, chief among them being the cost.

Yet generic competition has been able to lower the price of antiretroviral therapy for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from more than $15 000 per patient-year 6 years ago to $99 today. Unfortunately, generic drug production has been impeded by trade agreements that prevent generic companies from producing new drugs for up to 20 years. Millions wind up dying because competition can no longer take place, and pharmaceutical companies wind up having exclusive rights to vital medicines.

Universities Can Help Change This

Because many of these life-saving drugs are developed in campus laboratories, universities wield substantial leverage when they license their drugs to pharmaceutical companies. That means that you have the power to help save lives without leaving your campus!

Our proposal is simple: When a university licenses a promising new drug candidate to a pharmaceutical company, it require that the company allow the drug to be made available in poor countries at the lowest possible cost. This would have virtually no financial impact on the company or university, but could ultimately save millions of lives.

You can help: A Call to Action

Events and Actions are planned throughout the UK, US, and Canada. Join students, faculty, and researchers at top research institutions in the UK, US and Canada for this Day of Action: Demand that lifesaving drugs developed in your campus laboratories be made available in poor countries.

Learn

  • Screen a movie: show the film Pills, Profits Protest on your campus to teach your fellow students about the barriers to ensuring access to medicines.
  • Organise or attend a workshop on trade agreements and access to medicines. Email Lauren.Smith@essentialmedicine.org if you need help finding a speaker.

Build

  • Have students from your whole school sign letters to the Board of Trustees to let them know how many of you care about the 10 million who don’t need to die!
  • Host a sign-on for the Philadelphia Consensus Statement (PCS) to add your campus’ voices to the thousands already calling for universities to play their role in ensuring access to medicines.

Act

  • Have a mass mailing – send the signed letters to your university’s Board of Directors urging them to address this issue within their Board and to the President.
  • Log your new PCS signatures on http://www.essentialmedicine.org/cs to be counted as more voices calling for change.

Our contact details are: E-mail: uaem.uk@gmail.com Website: http://www.essentialmedicine.org

Mori

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Last updated on Thursday 20 March 2008 at 16:34.