Joshua Villanueva

Vote Joshua Villanueva for MedSoc Welfare Officer!

As incoming RUMS Academic VP Y1-3, I would be in a strong position to build closer collaboration between Medical Society and RUMS, especially around academic stress and student wellbeing. Welfare and academics are closely linked - when students feel overwhelmed, or unsupported, it directly affects how they learn and cope with medical school.

I want to use this role to make welfare more visible, practical and embedded in Medical Society’s academic and social activity. Through my involvement in the Pre-Clinical MedSoc tutorials and RUMS tutorials, I have seen how valuable peer-led support can be in making medical school feel more manageable and less isolating.

I also bring direct welfare experience as a RUMS Welfare Rep, where I have supported welfare initiatives and worked closely with the previous, and incoming RUMS Welfare VP. This has given me insight into what effective student welfare looks like: approachable, sensitive, proactive and genuinely useful.

My priorities would be to:

Strengthen collaboration between MedSoc and RUMS around exams, transitions and academic pressure.

Improve welfare signposting so students know where to access support.

Expand existing/create new peer-led wellbeing initiatives.

Make welfare a more consistent part of Medical Society activity.

I would bring academic leadership, welfare experience and wide RUMS involvement to make Medical Society welfare more practical, visible and student-centred. Vote Josh!