RUMS Society: Academic Vice President Y1-3

Hi, I’m Vivin, a second-year UCLMS student, and I have been serving as RUMS Equity officer. At times, medical school can be daunting, and as Academic VP, I want to alleviate some of the many stressors – primarily academic. I envision clear, concise, demystified academics focusing on clear, consistent communication and pertinent resources to ease our time through the content-heavy preclinical years!

To achieve this, I aim to:

Create more opportunities for students to give tutorials/workshops, not necessarily with societal affiliation, advocating for inter-year discussions as ‘myth-busting’ and ‘worry-quelling’ sessions.

Collaborate with the Welfare subcommittee to co-deliver sessions aiming to cater to students’ overall well-being as well as regarding their academics.

Produce an up-to-date opportunity bank and further advance the Academic calendar.

Begin to rework the treasure trove to revitalise outdated resources and implement an integrated system of collecting, vetting, and aligning students’ resources within the medical school.

My unique experience working with a wide range of people as an academic rep, welfare subcommittee, and on the RUMS committee allows me valuable insight into diverse student communities and academic needs. Combined with attending meetings with the assessment unit, for example, I understand our students’ needs and the medical school’s stance. As Academic VP, I will strive for an academically empowering and supportive RUMS!

I am committed to effectively representing the pre-clinical years, using my culminative experiences on a larger scale to challenge problems we face as a collective and continue to modernise our teaching, to gain the most from our time as part of our amazing student body.

Whilst being an academic rep for 2 years, I’ve developed strong resolve and an appreciation for how the chain of feedback works. Balancing this alongside being the SurgSoc Pre-clin Rep, a member of the RUMS Events subcom and RUMSBC, I’ve thoroughly integrated with our diverse community and endeavour to represent us all holistically. Joining the Assessment Unit’s task and finish group, I pushed for more personalised assessment feedback, resulting in getting our exam papers back, an aim many of you shared.

As your Pre-clin Academic VP I would:

• Advocate for widened students’ input in the upcoming curriculum review, ensuring our feedback is reflected in decisions made
• Organise the “Rob the Bank” opportunities trove, making a dedicated timeline to streamline applying for projects and grants
• Create a dedicated section for iBSc-related opportunities that can help as a starting point for applications
• Collaborate with RUMS Events and Welfare for more frequent Q&A sessions to better integrate pre-clinical and clinical years
• Progress the changemakers project to update anatomy lab sessions to better suit students
• Focus on closing the feedback loop, posting termly updates on how YOUR feedback has been actioned