RUMS Society: Welfare Vice President

Hey! I’m Khadeejah (she/her) and I’m super excited to be running for Welfare VP. I’ve spent the past couple of years as Welfare Rep and I’d love to build on the work we’ve done to make RUMS a warm and happy space for us all <3

Reading manifestos is kinda long, so to make this easier I’m going to bullet point my key focusses. If you have any Qs/just fancy a chat, do contact me on either [email protected] or read this in full on @khadeeejaaah :)

What do I plan on doing?

• LISTENING - Listening to you and the RUMS community, understanding key issues and sharing ideas on how to fix them
• Tackling Exam Stress - Include welfare reps in student-staff academic meetings to highlight what regions of the course/exams are stressful so this can be reduced.
• Mums&Dads - Less orphans, more adoptions and more chances to make family memories!
• Improving Student Support/the Tutor System
• Integrating - With groups like Medics4Medics, EDI and Events to make an inclusive RUMS
• Support with Anatomy Labs - Have casual spaces for support post-anatomy labs which can be disturbing/daunting
• Putting anti-discrimination work back on the agenda - Bigotry exists in RUMS. This affects our welfare, and we can’t afford to not fight these battles.

Why me?

In short, I want to make med school a time which people look back on with fun and happy memories. I think my experience, personality and motivation to shake things up and make a change can help this happen :)

My priorities are to help students choose the UCL support service that best suits their welfare concerns through the creation of an online quiz, expand death and bereavement work to help students struggling emotionally with anatomy sessions or clinical experiences, improve the personal tutor allocation system, and increase chemistry within RUMS families by allowing students to request a change after term 1 and embed meetings in our schedules. I also want to help international students by extending international freshers’ events for those not arriving 1 week earlier and creating holiday support groups. For Welfare Week, I will add a session on safety for students insecure about living in a large city, along with materials for long-term mindfulness groups. Finally, I will organise termly meetings with the welfare officers of all societies to produce honest reports on students’ wellbeing.  

I know how this sub-committee is ran because I am part of it and I believe the RUMS committee will benefit from a younger member because I can facilitate communication with lower years and provide a fresh perspective. Plus, as a Y1 and sustainability representative, I have met members of upper grades, so I understand different years’ needs and can foster cooperation. 

Overall, this is an invaluable opportunity to share the tools I acquired while struggling with my own welfare with other medics.