Surgical Society: Paediatric Surgery Chair

Hello, I’m Aishwarya and I’m a third-year medical student, intercalating in Surgical Sciences. UCL Surgical Society has an incredible platform, and I hope to further develop what has been built as Paediatrics Surgery Chair, to increase awareness of paediatric surgery as a specialty. 

What I have achieved in the role so far:

• Provided UCL Paediatric Surgery with the opportunity to host the 'Case to Case' series, which I led the creation of
• Created national collaborations with other paediatric societies
• Went from ~100 Instagram followers to over 1000 
• Created a presence for the specialty across various social media platforms 
• Established a newfound collaboration with another large UCL society (keep your eyes peeled on our socials for some exciting announcements...)

If elected Paediatric Surgery Chair, I would:

• Be able to provide UCL Paediatric Surgery with the opportunity to host the 'Case to Case' series for another year
• Build more paediatrics/surgically-related collaborations, nationally and internationally 
• Establish more collaborations that are outside of the medical realm
• Further expand our online presence
• Create a conference
• Provide opportunities for students to understand the practical elements of the specialty

Due to the connections I have built, skills I have developed and familiarity with the role, I believe I can achieve even more in the same period of time and continue to ensure paediatrics surgery successfully reaches medical students' radar.

I'm Aksha and I would love to be your Paediatric Chair next year !

If you elect me, I will greatly advance the Paediatric sector within Surgical Society, bringing in a wider variety of professionals to give talks, organise workshops, and hopefully a conference, and overall, simply bridge the gap between medical students and healthcare professionals, to provide more opportunities in shadowing as well as academic research. As a BIMA rep, I've gotten to know a wide network of clinicians and professionals, and I hope to use this to propel aspiring paediatric surgeons, helping them understand the field, and develop their personal portfolios.

Having been a Support worker for nearly 5 years, working with children and young people with disabilities, I understand the importance of first-hand experience, so a main priority for me would be to work with the Shadowing Coordinator and develop this scheme further, providing more opportunities for healthcare students to gain clinical exposure to Paediatrics, as well as organise Paediatric-focussed workshops, such as Paediatric first aid, safeguarding, and many more!

As Indian Soc's Vice President this year, I've gained a lot of experience in planning events, communicating effectively and successfully working in a team. Partnering with BAPIO, I've also had experience in organising a Medical Conference, and after having attended multiple this year myself, I would love to introduce a Paediatric Surgery Conference !

Thank you!