The IFMSA Asia-Pacific Region has a publication called the PULSE. Pulse is a quarterly publication that showcases the talents and interests of medical students across the Asia-Pacific region. The magazine consists of articles on projects and activities conducted by the various National Member Organisations that make up IFMSA Asia-Pacific.  Pulse also has articles on various health related issues and events.

Please see attached invitation from the NZMSA President Michael Chen-Xu, application form and IFMSA attendance obligations documents below. Briefly, applications will require:

• A letter of motivation (½ page) illustrating what you will get out of participating in this experience
• A letter outlining your plan to contribute to the delgation
• A recent CV (max 2 pages)
• Compliance with the IFMSA attendance obligations document

Applications are due to be sent to ifmsa.iac@gmail.com and secretary@nzmsa.org.nz no later than January 10^th 23:59 GMT.

• Invitation Letter
• IFMSA Application Form
• IFMSA attendance obligations document

If you have any questions about the IAC, read the invitation letter above or email ifmsa.iac@gmail.com for more information.

Applications to host the NZMSA Sports Exchange must be received by midnight on Friday the 20th January. If you would like to submit an application or have any questions please email the NZMSA secretary at secretary@nzmsa.org.nz. For more information about the NZMSA Sports Exchange, see the Sports Exchange page and read bid document guidelines here.

We hope that the students in your association will be interested in this unique and innovative program, which is completely free of charge.

Attached is the press release describing the courses. For further information, please see our website:  www.ircad.fr/student

We look forward to your participation.

Kind regards,
Vivian de Ruijter
IRCAD Student President

• IRCAD Student Press Release (.pdf, 63 kB)

HWNZ is a business unit of the National Health Board, within the Ministry of Health. We are responsible for leading transformational change to meet future challenges in health workforce planning and development. Our work is important and incredibly rewarding, which you’ll discover first-hand when you undertake a summer studentship with us. Help us to enhance the health of New Zealand’s people, and experience the variety, challenge and opportunities that will enhance your career.

Studentships will involve research projects that will inform health workforce policy development. Studentships are available to students studying toward clinical qualifications who have completed at least three years of study toward their qualification. Studentships will begin on Monday 5 December 2011 and will take place for a period of up to 10 weeks (depending on start dates for the 2012 academic year). Studentships will be based at HWNZ’s central Wellington office.

Applications close at 5.00pm, November 21st 2011. See attached form for more details.

• Summer Studentship Notice and Application Form (.doc, 131 kB)

Seven nominations have been received for the role, and voting papers are being emailed to all NZMA trainee intern members this week. Votes can be made via post, fax or email. The DiTC represents the interests of NZMA trainee intern, RMO and medical student members. The DiTC advises the NZMA Board on issues of relevance to doctors-in-training, contributes to NZMA responses to government policy proposals, and develops its own policy proposals. To find out more about the candidates click here: http://www.nzma.org.nz/Doctors-in-Training. If you do not receive a ballot form please contact Anna Phipps anna@nzma.org.nz.

UPDATE: Elections have now closed.

Pre-General Assembly workshops will be held from 28th February to 3rd March 2012 and are a great opportunity for professional development in various areas of clinical leadership.

Please see attached invitation from the NZMSA President Michael Chen-Xu and invitation package from the MM2012 Ghana Organising Committee for more information.

Please note that for application, a letter of motivation, stating why you would like to attend, and a brief CV should be emailed to: ifmsa@nzmsa.org.nz by 3rd November 2011.

• IFMSA Ghana GA Invitation from NZMSA (.pdf, 197 kB)
• IFMSA March Meeting 2010 Invitation Package (.pdf, 631 Kb)

The first is in Kenya at the end of this year, and the second is in Peru at the start of 2012. Both are Regional Meetings of the IFMSA. More details, including the conference program me and application info, can be found on our International Conferences page.

Michael was elected as the President by the NZMSA Executive in July of this year, and will remain in the position for one year. Michael can be contacted at any time by email: president@nzmsa.org.nz.

NZMSA wishes to acknowledge and thank Oliver Hansby, the Immediate Past President. Oliver’s outstanding leadership skills and direction ensured a very successful year for NZMSA. Oliver can be contacted by email: ipp@nzmsa.org.nz.

After 7 whole days of conference, plenary and party until the dawn break (trust me, the Scandinavian sun rises abnormally early at 3am), 5 hours or less of sleep is finally beginning to take its toll. Still, it was no amazement to see a room full of people up bright and early for Prof. Sir Marmot’s talk, as 4 days of SCOPH session climaxes.

Sir Michael Marmot, the chair of the WHO commission on social determinants of health, is the author of the report ‘Closing the gap in a generation’ that you might remember from those beloved 1^st year population health lectures. Hypothetically, two babies are born into two nearby suburbs in Glasgow Scotland, one of them is expected to live on average 34 years less than the other simply because of he is born into the more deprived suburb – such is the socioeconomic circumstances leading to huge health inequity. In order to reduce health inequity, we should proportionally improve living condition across the entire social strata, across the poorest, the poorer and the poor. Marmot proposed an action plan based on empowerment, creating social, cultural and political infrastructure for people to take control of their own lives. He spoke with passion and conviction reiterating ‘when we have the need and means of reducing health inequity, it is MORALLY wrong to not to do so, it is morally injustice’ – deep down, it is a moral question. The room fell into contemplative silence followed by an hour of heated, thoughtful and enthusiastic Q&A session in which the NZ delegates fired a few questions close to our heart. It goes back to the thought that we, as medical students, alongside of juggling medicine with social life, with hobbies or flatting, have the time, means and moral obligation to not only take action on health inequity but also to make it easier for others to do so.

Asia-Pacific delegates (including Josephine from NZ) with Sir Michael Marmot. Keep an eye out for Global week of action on Social determinants of health in NZ.

Over lunch, we met up with Xaviour Walker, past NZMSA president who joined NZMSA to IFMSA at the 2006 GA in Serbia. Xaviour was an alumnus at this GA and the coordinator of the World Medical Association Junior Doctors Network. He emphasized IFMSA GA as one of the most powerful eye opening global health and networking experience a young medical student could have – an experience I lived in the past 7 days. IFMSA is a collection of individual excellence, is an individually enriching experience and the realization that as a group we are more than the sum of our parts. Each one of the NZ delegates is ready to bring back home seeds of activism to disseminate in NZ. IFMSA also acts as a platform to connect NZ medical students internationally offering conference opportunities to World Health Assembly, Conference of Parties, WHO regional meetings, volunteering opportunities to Calcutta Village Project, Uganda Village Project and refugee peace camp, internship opportunities to the WHO and also 10,000s of exchanges around the world each year. At a local level, NZ can also benefit from IFMSA projects and campaigns which are at the heart of IFMSA. We talked about the possibility of holding Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting in NZ, running Training of New Trainer and Think Global workshops, establishing the first exchange, working closely with the Asia-Pacific region and establishing a global health fund for attending GAs. Future possibilities are endless, and we collectively, determine its path.

Learning the differences and similiarities between NZ and other nations and networking with fellow Asia-Pacific nations and the commonwealth, epitomize diplomacy in action. It is not only about NZ & IFMSA, but also mutual learning and collaboration between NZ and Australia, Taiwan, Fiji, UK and many other countries. I appreciate and am proud of the things NZMSA does brilliantly in – our strong organizational structure, distinct political voice in advocacy and rich range of projects. In an era where health care is about to take a huge paradigm shift to primary health care and public health. In a mobilized, outward looking and conscious world where we are global citizens holding accountable for inequity across all of society. A kind of global network is vital for the education of 21^st century doctors.

IFMSA, as an international organization is not unaffected by beaucracy. And we have to be realistic about this. However, there is just simply no other place to meet 1,000 medical students all carrying amazing ambition and passion. I’ve always told people to learn global health at Global Health Conference in Australia but to feel global health at IFMSA. On the final plenary night, Ryan Barber played his happy 60^th birthday IFMSA video which went viral on youtube and included birthday wishes from all around the world. Phillip Chao was voted the new projects support division director – the 1^st New Zealander to be an IFMSA official. Everyone danced crazily to vamos a la playa during breaks between voting sessions, per usual. Hugging everyone goodbye, looking forward to the 26hr flight ahead of us, the past 10 days have only gone by too quickly. Flying high above the clouds, I compiled pages of notes of planned activity in NZ after IFMSA. A climate change and health campaign, involvement in the global week of action of social determinants of health and running IFMSA workshops in NZ will only be a start.

Stay tuned for a strategic plan of IFMSA in NZ. Email projects@nzmsa.org.nz to show your interest. We will be in touch shortly.