Malteaser: a Preview of MM16

Hello friends, it’s that time where I write funny things as a thinly veiled mask of blatant self-promotion for my NMO, IFMSA-Québec, which is the best place in the world according to many sources (my mom, me, my dog, our favorite incoming students, etc.).

Since the last GA, a lot of things have happened. I have become the Development Assistant on Academic Quality and Recognition, which makes me a part of the SCORE (Standing Committee on Research Exchange) International Team. The position, which bears the affectionate acronym of DA on AQ, is responsible for the development of the academic quality of the research exchanges offered by SCORE. This roughly translates into supporting training initiatives by creating materials (manuals, presentations), analyzing Academic Quality status data, and facilitating Small Working Groups and trainings with the goal of increasing the quality of the projects and programs we offer on a global level. The positions also involves supporting NMOs who wish to have their exchanges formally recognized by their medical faculties.

Plans for this GA: there are three major events for which I am extremely excited in this General Assembly.

1) Small Working Group on Outcome Assessment in SCORE: in this SWG, we would like to come up with a set of questions that we could ask in the obligatory end-of stage evaluation forms, the data from which could later be analyzed and reveal to us the outcomes of research exchange. Through this, we can hope to know whether the fact of going on a SCORE exchange develops certain medical competencies. If yes, then we could perhaps publish this information internally as a way to promote our exchanges to external partners, such as deans and organizations. #EvidenceBasedScience meets #EvidenceBasedExchanges meets #AppropriateUseOfHashtagsForExternalRepresentation

2) Small Working Group on SCORE/SCOPE exchanges: Up until now, NMOs can only sign bilateral SCORE contracts (both outgoing and incoming students are doing research) and bilateral SCOPE contracts. What this means is that NMOs without research infrastructure who cannot become research-exchange active do not have the opportunity to send their outgoing students on research exchanges through SCORE. In an idyllic world where an NMO could offer a professional exchange through SCOPE and send a student off to a research exchange through SCORE, our Standing Committees would be able to increase access to research exchange opportunities on a global scale and break barriers in research opportunity access. In this SWG, we hope to first assess the interest in bilateral professional versus research exchanges. Then, we hope to create a way forward for the implementation of such exchanges in terms of contract signing, database issues, and budgeting.

 3) SCOREME Joint Session in collaboration with SCOME, the Standing Committee on Medical Education: along with my NOME colleague from Quebec, Alex Lachapelle, we will be hosting a joint session that explores the benefits of incorporating hands-on research into a medical education curriculum through a dynamic presentation that may/may not involve advanced aerobics. The latter part of the presentation will consist of a SWG that investigates how our respective SCs, SCOME and SCORE, could increase exposure to research in medical education systems. SUNDAY MARCH 6TH, 5 PM, BE THERE.

Also, our NORE-in, Xiya Ma, is presenting her candidature for the SCORE Supervising Board, namely the entity that revises and approves projects at the global level – quelle fierté pour notre NMO!

I know this is a lot of text and I know it’s a lot easier to follow easily digestible Tweets and palatable Instagram posts with small animals, so thank you for having read through this!

Academically yours,
Tara